ThisWeek group After eight years of training in kitchens, Muhammad Khalifa was pretty sure he was ready to open a restaurant. With a nudge from friends, who helped decorate a small space with an assortment of potted plants, Khalifa opened Syrian Kitchen at 2630 Billingsley Road in northwest Columbus. Among a cluster of buildings with retail uses – and with virtually no visibility from the road – Syrian Kitchen is a carryout-only restaurant specializing in the cuisine of the Middle Eastern country. “It’s not hard for people” to find if they know what they’re looking for, Khalifa said. Certainly, the food will look familiar to many people who have tried cuisine from the region: various kebab platters, wrap sandwiches, soups, stuffed grape leaves, cold spreads including tabbouleh, baba ghanoush and msabbaha (a style of hummus) – all with distinct Syrian seasonings and preparations.