04/14/17 1:00pm
DESIRED-LAMB-LEG1

Why not have a large-format Dongbei lamb feast for Easter?

The New York Times recently had an article about lamb overtaking ham on the Easter table. Here in Queens I don’t wait until that springtime holiday to eat lamb.  Just in case you don’t yet have Easter plans, please enjoy this selection of Chinese, Indian, and Uzbek lamb delicacies. If I left your favorite out please let me know in the comments.   

1. Roast Lamb Leg, Desired Taste International
There are many, many places in downtown Flushing’s Chinatown to get juicy lamb skewers seasoned with cumin and red pepper, but there’s none quite like Desired Taste International. That’s because it’s star skewer—kao yang tui—is an entire leg of lamb. Salt, cumin, and sesame form a delicious crunchy crust that encases succulent purplish-red flesh. Ask for some cumin and ground red pepper to use as a dip for an extra burst of flavor. Desired Taste International, 35-20 Farrington St., Flushing, 718-888-9622

LAMBCHOP-KQ

2. Lamb Chops, Kurry Qulture
“My lamb chops are getting very famous,” says Kurry Qulture’s Sonny Solomon. “A Greek guy came in and ordered 50 for Easter, he loved it so much.” Marinated in yogurt, black pepper, garam masala, coriander, and cumin the Astoria restaurant’s chops are indeed delicious. Tandoor-cooked, they’re the tenderest, most flavorful Indian lamb in Astoria—and all of Queens. (Photo: @restaurantfairyKurry Qulture, 36-05 30th Avenue, Astoria, 718-674-1212 (more…)

08/05/16 9:16am
lambribpie

Piping hot lamb lies underneath a flaky crust.

Almost every culture has a meat pie be it Cornish pasty, Jamaican beef patty, Tibetan shapaley, or Uzbek samsa. In my stamping grounds of Rego Park, there are many places from bakeries to restaurants to get the piping hot Uzbek meat pies typically filled with beef or my favorite lamb.

Cheburechnaya may be named for the its namesake chebureki, floppy pies filled with meat or veggies, but the real star of the menu’s “dough products” section is the “samcy with ribs” ($2.25). The rib in question is a fatty lamb rib, the bone jutting out of one corner of the flaky triangular patty.

The golden brown samcy comes to the table piping hot, so best to bite a hole in the side and bask in the vapors of lamb fat and spices. Then pour in a bit of the piquant tomato sauce and indulge in the best Uzbek lamb Wellington around.

Cheburechnaya, 92-09 63rd Dr.Rego Park, 718-897-9080