Three Lutfi brothers, three different cafes

Sixth in a weekly series profiling the chefs and restaurateurs of Brookline.

Though all the dishes you'll find at the three Temptation Cafes around Boston and Brookline are the invention of Adba Lutfi, the restaurants themselves are as different as the three sons who run them.

If you ask Nassib Lutfi, the 24-year-old brother who runs the St. Mary's Station Temptations, a worn-looking basement sandwich shop with a loyal following of lunchtime regulars, he'll tell you his brother Lou runs a much more "professional" Temptations up the street in Coolidge Corner, more like a coffee shop or trendy café. And the Temptations over on Huntington Avenue, run by Micheal Lutfi, is more akin to a college hangout, popular for late-night snacks.

"There are different personalities in the different stores," Nassib said.

Nassib's family, including his two brothers and parents Abda and Melhem, have been part of the lunchtime scene in Brookline for since 2001, when they family moved here from Montreal and took over a failing café on Beacon Street near the Boston line. Nassib was put to work immediately, working the cash register and making sandwiches at the age of 14.

The family held on to the original menu of their adopted café, slowly adding dishes from their native Lebanon to the typical lunchtime fare of sandwiches and salads. Humus, tabouli and falafel started to appear on the menu, followed by homemade pesto, and panini sandwiches.

"We added things to the menu and people loved it, and it grew," Nassib said.

Then about four years ago, Nassib and his brother Lou opened a second location on Huntington Avenue near Northeaster University, where Nassib was studying for a degree in business management.  Once it was open, Nassib would try to schedule his classes for 8 a.m. so he could be at the café by the time it opened at 11.

The experience of opening a new restaurant brought the brothers closer, but Nassib said he's happy to be back at his own café in Brookline.

"We're best friends," he said of his brother. "But when it comes to business, it's very hard for me to work with him."

With the addition of the new Coolidge Corner location earlier this year, the three Temptations have continued to offer slightly different fare. The baklava, artichoke spread and melts served at St. Mary's Station, for example can't be found at the Coolidge Corner cafe, which offers its own breakfast and sandwich menus.

These days, Nassib said, the brothers are so busy running their restaurants they often only see each other at weekly family meetings. And now the Lutfis are even talking about opening a fourth restaurant – one that the parents can run.

Temptation Café's Famous Lentil Soup

Lou Lutfi writes: "I don't have the recipe in terms of measurements because my mother just throws the magic quantities in a pot and it becomes delicious lentil soup. The soup is vegan and has a lemony garlicky flavor."

Ingredients:

• Lentils
• Swiss chard
• Garlic
• Mint
• Potato
• Water
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive oil
• Spanish onions