Taste This: The Yakhni ($16 as of July 30, 2025) at SOLI Mac and Cheese (234-900-6446), located inside the Hibachi Xpress at 1510 S. Main St. in Firestone Park.
Creator: Moustafa Soliman, co-owner and lead chef
Eye test: After a few minutes, a bowl of Yakhni Mac and Cheese comes out the other side of a broiler. The top layer of shredded cheese is melted into a gooey crust with browned and bubbly bits. The finished dish is hefty enough to share.
What makes this item special: The Solimans said preparing yakhni at SOLI Mac brings back memories.
“My grandmother would love this so much because she loved to make food,” Zeina Soliman said. “If she knew that we made it in the restaurant, she would be so happy.”
“And it’s so delicious too,” Farah Soliman added.
Process: Moustafa Soliman starts with a beef brisket he cooks for 14 hours, flavoring it with hot peppers and seasonings he brings back from visits to Egypt. He cooks the onions separately for three hours, then brings the dish together with the tender shredded beef, soft caramelized onions and a savory broth.
In Egypt, Zeina Soliman said, this dish would be served with white rice on the side and bread to soak up the meaty juices. At SOLI Mac, it gets an American twist. Her father combines homemade béchamel sauce with macaroni, stirs a few generous spoonfuls of yakhni into the bowl, tops it with a shredded five-cheese blend and pops it into a broiler.
“Taste This” is our glimpse of the Akron area’s tastiest, distinctive and popular (or soon-to-be-famous) food, drinks and desserts — and the local culinary talents behind them. Tough job, we know. Know any menu items we should consider? Tell us here.
Creator’s backstory: Owners Moustafa and Jaclyn Soliman recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of their Hibachi Xpress restaurant. In September 2024, they launched another business — SOLI Mac and Cheese — inside the same grey-and-red building. They’re planning to renovate it soon.
With front-of-house help from daughters Farah and Zeina, the Solimans’ restaurant serves as the foodie version of the United Nations of Firestone Park. Its menu includes Japanese favorites from Hibachi Xpress alongside American macaroni-and-cheese dishes with international flair from SOLI Mac.
Customers can build their own mac-and-cheese dishes with a variety of veggies, sauces, Halal proteins and gluten-free options, and SOLI Mac has created 27 recipe options. Among them, an Italian “Pizza Mac” version with beef pepperoni, marinara and mozzarella, as well as a Mexican version with ground beef, Mexican spices, black olives, jalapenos and taco sauce.
But #27, “The Yakhni,” is special for the Soliman family. This traditional slow-cooked beef stew is a recipe that Moustafa’s late mother regularly cooked for family dinners when they he lived in Egypt.
Pairs with: SOLI’s menu also features appetizers, Italian-style pasta dishes, desserts, pop and water. But, if you bring the Yakhni Mac and Cheese home for dinner, you might want to end your meal the way the Solimans and many other Egyptian families have for centuries: sipping hot black tea sweetened with sugar and steeped with fresh mint leaves to aid with digestion.
About the company: SOLI Mac (and Hibachi Xpress) is mostly a carry-out location, with delivery available through Door Dash, Grub Hub and Uber Eats. The restaurant can seat about 10 people, and there is plenty of parking around the building.
How to buy: Open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to midnight. Orders can be placed in-person, by phone and online at www.macandcheeseakron.com.
