Uzbek | Chopsticks and Marrow

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by Joe DiStefano

07/14/20 9:13pm

Uzbek Plov and Fruit Pie Via a Rego Park Pharmacy

by Joe DiStefano

Take two plates of plov and call me in the morning.

One of my favorite things about Queens is that there’s deliciousness around every corner: killer tacos down the street from a sex toy emporium; Chinese style nougat outside the Flushing LIRR; even Mexican seafood cocktails in the back of a bodega.

Today’s Twofer Tuesday—Uzbek plov and fruit pie from Greenway Health & Pharmacy, a drugstore/butcher/glatt kosher market in Rego Park—falls squarely in the latter category. Plov is a hearty Central Asian one-pot rice dish scented with cumin and studded with sweet bits of carrot that I’ve come to know and love after 20 years of living in the neighborhood.

Greenway’s excellent version uses beef, and is heavy on luscious nubs of carrot and also has chickpeas, and naturally, cumin. It’s made by a grandmotherly woman stationed next to the butcher counter. She also cooks up bakhsh, a plov variant that gets its greenish hue from coriander, parsley and dill; and a third type that features raisins. (more…)

beef, fruit pie, Greenway Pharmacy, kosher, plov, Rego Park, Uzbek

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by Joe DiStefano

04/28/20 9:44pm

Lagman & Plov at Rego Park’s Chaikhana Sem Sorok

by Joe DiStefano

Chaikhana Sem Sorok’s lovely lagman soup.

“Is Bella Roza open?” my pal Rocky asked about two weeks ago about the Uzbek bakery/restaurant in Rego Park, where many restaurants have shut down due to COVID-19. “Pretty sure they are just closed for Passover,” I replied. Like me, Rocky’s a good—and single-minded eater—so a few days ago he messaged me that Bella Roza was open.

“Samsa, plov, and lagman,” he responded when asked what he was ordering. The samsa—meat pies filled with either beef or lamb—are cooked in a tiled tandoor that sits behind the counter. Time it just right, and you can score one fresh out of the furnace.

So the other morning I strolled over to Bella Roza to mimic my pal’s order. The bakery was most definitely open, but it’s now under new ownership and has a new name: Chaikhana Sem Sorok. Other than that things looked pretty much the same, rows of samsa were arrayed in the glass case, and a giant pot of plov sat on the stove. (more…)

Chaikhana Sem Sorok, comfort food, lagman, noodles, plov, Rego Park, samsa, soup, Uzbek

Dish O' The Day

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by Joe DiStefano

12/18/17 5:28pm

Taste of Samarkand’s Nakhot Garmack will Warm Your Bones

by Joe DiStefano

A platter of Uzbek soul food.

There’s an old Pat Cooper routine about pasta fazool. I misremember it as “When Mama would make pasta fazool in the winter I wouldn’t need to wear a coat.” No doubt that’s somewhat of an exaggeration about the warming effect of the humble beans and pasta dish. If there’s an Uzbek Pat Cooper—and I hope there is—I’d like to think that he tells the same joke about nakhot garmack a hearty veal and chickpea stew.

The menu at Taste of Samarkand—an Uzbek spot located in Middle Village a 10-minute drive from the restaurants that line “Bukharian Broadway” as 108th Street is known in Forest Hills—breathlessly describes nakhot garmack ($10) thusly: “veal tail braised for an eternity with chickpeas, until its soul leached into the surrounding broth.” I’m not sure about all that, but the veal stew topped with with raw onions and crushed red pepper, girded by slices of bread is definitely Uzbek soul food. The bread makes an excellent vehicle for the rich broth. And while the hospitality and stew at Taste of Samarkand will definitely warm you up, you’ll still need a coat.

Taste of Samarkand, 62-16 Woodhaven Blvd., Middle Village, NY 11379, (718) 672-2121

chickpeas, Middle Village, Pat Cooper, stew, Taste of Samarkand, Uzbek, veal

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by Joe DiStefano

04/14/17 1:00pm

Our Favorite Lamb Dishes in Queens

by Joe DiStefano

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

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: @restaurantfairy) Kurry Qulture, 36-05 30th Avenue, Astoria, 718-674-1212 (more…)

Dish O' The Day

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by Joe DiStefano

08/05/16 9:16am

Cheburechnaya’s Uzbek Lamb Wellington Amazes

by Joe DiStefano

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

Cheburechnaya, meat pies, Rego Park, Uzbek

Dish O' The Day

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by Joe DiStefano

11/03/14 10:51am

Rokhat Kosher Bakery’s Awesome Uzbek Dumplings

by Joe DiStefano

MANTY1

The soup dumpling’s Central Asian cousin.

Rugelach and babka are the first things many people think of when they hear the phrase “kosher bakery.” You’d be hard-pressed to find either at Rokhat Kosher Bakery, though. The baked goods—round loaves of lepeshka and flaky onion filled piyozli qatlama—here skew savory, evoking Uzbekistan more than the Lower East Side.

Samsa—meat pies filled with beef or lamb—cooked inside a tandoor are a favorite snack among the Rego Park locals. Recently the bakery added a new item, manty. I discovered the beef dumplings (8 for $10) the other week when I stopped in to thank the owner for letting me take a tour group there.

A gent was tucking into a small plate of four. Thinking that four was too few, I opted for a full order. The operative word being full. The beef and onion stuffed packages resembled gigantic soup dumplings and made for a formidable morning repast. With three pieces of lovely lokum for dessert I was one happy glutton.

Rokhat Kosher Bakery, 65-43 Austin Street, Rego Park, 718-897-4493

beef, dumplings, manty, Rego Park, Rokhat Kosher Bakery, Uzbek

Dish O' The Day

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by Joe DiStefano

03/31/14 12:41pm

Bella Roza’s Lagman is Pure Uzbek Comfort Food

by Joe DiStefano

LAGMAN

Bella Roza’s beefy lagman will do you good.

The combination of the bone chilling dampness and a lingering cold have been conspiring to turn C+M into a soup blog. Last week I found myself at Bella Roza, a Rego Park pizzeria turned samsa and Uzbek bread bakery. “Do you have soup?” I asked the grandmotherly woman behind the counter who looked at me quizzically. “Lagman?” I said reaching into the fevered recesses of my brain to recall that I once heard that they serve the hand-pulled beef noodle soup. “Ah yes,” she said with a glimmer of recognition in her eye. I took a seat and dipped some crusts of bread into Bella Roza’s excellent hot sauce as I waited for my soup. (more…)

beef, comfort food, noodles, Rego Park, soup, Uzbek

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by Joe DiStefano

12/10/13 9:53am

Savory Rices for Carnivores and Vegetarians in Queens

by Joe DiStefano

UZBEKPLOV

Bella Roza’s plof is real stick to your ribs fare.

Unless you count the crusty caramelized part, which adheres to the bottom of cooking vessel and is prized by Puerto Ricans and Koreans alike, plain white rice holds little appeal. Chinese takeout fried rice is much tastier. It’s been years—OK maybe six months—since I’ve eaten it. That’s because in Queens there so many other rice dishes from all over the world from biryani to bibimbap. Today, a look at two less common ones. (more…)

beef, Flushing, Ganesh, Indian, Rego Park, rice, tamarind, Uzbek, vegetarian

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by Joe DiStefano

08/15/13 9:54am

Ask C+M: Bizarre Foods America Edition

by Joe DiStefano

Mohammed Malik traveled to Jackson Heights to feast on Pakistani offal for his 25th birthday.

Mohammed traveled to Queens to feast on Pakistani offal for his 25th birthday.

Hey Joe I saw you on Bizarre Foods America with Andrew Zimmern eating that Pakistani dish. My parents are from Pakistan and I haven’t had the opportunity to try tawa kata-kat. I can’t find the name of the restaurant so I can go there. Can you please provide me the name and address? I will be visiting New York this coming Saturday for my 25th birthday. Thanks.
Mohammed Malik, St. Louis, Mo.

Young man, enthusiastic offal eaters like you are the future of our nation. Tawa kata-kat, the fry up of goat brains, kidneys, and heart seasoned with ginger and chili can be had at Kababish, 70-64 Broadway, Jackson Heights, (718) 565-5131. (more…)

Andrew Zimmern, Bizarre Foods America, food tours, Forest Hills, Jackson Heights, Kababish, offal, Pakistani, plov, Uzbek

Dish O' The Day

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by Joe DiStefano

08/12/13 10:05am

Café Avat’s Refreshing Ashylam-fu is Worth A Trip to Brookyn

by Joe DiStefano

Photo: Dave Cook/Eating in Translation

Photo: Dave Cook/Eating in Translation

PLEASE NOTE THIS RESTAURANT HAS CLOSED

From the way I hate on Brooklyn you’d think the only reason I went there was to eat weird ice cream and bitch about Ramen Burger lines. The truth about the County of Kings though is that there’s all sorts of foods available there that just can’t be found in Queens, from the Sicilian specialties at Joe’s of Avenue U in Gravesend to the Kyrgyz cuisine at Café Avat in Bath Beach. Savvy readers will note that both of these neighborhoods are blissfully free of hipsters and the food trends they slavishly worship.

My home turf of Rego Park has plenty of Uzbek kebab houses, but the cuisine of Kyrgyzstan is woefully under-represented. So when Dave Cook of Eating in Translation asked me to join a crew of like-minded eaters for dinner at Café Avat just down the street from the fourth to last stop on the D train I immediately said yes. (more…)

Bath Beach, Brooklyn, closed, Dave Cook, Dongebi, Flushing, Kyrgyz, noodles, Uzbek