The Central Asian cousin of Taiwanese beef noodle soup.
Rego Park is home to so many kosher Uzbeki kebab joints that local friends and I joke that they’re all more or less the same restaurant, just with different specialties, and/or slightly surlier service. The latest entrant into the neighborhood’s crowded field of more than a dozen restaurants is a rather opulent looking establishment (think flocked Louis XIV wallpaper and chandeliers) called U Yuri Fergana. (more…)
Rokhat’s plov, a taste of home for Uzbeki immigrants.
In a neighborhood that seems to have a Central Asian kebab house on every block Rokhat Kosher Bakery is one of the more unique establishments. While other purveyors of samsa, Uzbek meat pies, hide their igloo-shaped tandoors in the kitchen, Rokhat’s sits proudly in the window. In fact there are two ovens in two storefronts.
The newer satellite location functions as a makeshift restaurant. It serves up an excellent version of plov ($7), Uzbekistan’s hearty one-pot rice dish. A few chunks of boneless beef shank sit atop rice that’s fragrant with sweet carrot, cumin, and coriander. Black pepper and chili and lend just a touch of heat. The rice has a wonderful chewy texture and flavor from absorbing the flavors of the meat, along with sautéed onions, and flax seed oil. (more…)