Queens culinary adventure at Kabab Cafe
Rather than head to the usual spots — Williamsburg or lower-Manhattan — for a meal on Friday night, I did some research on restaurants in my borough, Queens, and came across Kabab Cafe on NY Mag’s Web site.
Upon further investigation, Kabab Cafe is a favorite on local Chowhound boards, has received a positive review in the Times and was even visited by Travel Channel food extremists Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern. I was sold.
I’ve driven down Steinway a number of times and always wanted to stop at one of the Middle Eastern restaurants in that part of Astoria. This culinary adventure presented the perfect opportunity.
After waiting on the sidewalk for about 30 minutes, my husband and I were seated with two other women in the back corner of the teeny tiny restaurant. Chef Ali El Sayed, who’s owned the restaurant for 23 years, told us about the types of meat he had available that night, including duck, goat and chicken, plus lamb “from the brain to the testicles.” Appetizing!
We started with the meze platter, which was delicious, especially the falafel balls, then moved onto a warm beet salad and a lamb cheek dip. Wow. Was especially blown away by the lamb cheek, which I’d never had before. For entrees I had the lamb shank, perfectly spiced and served with vegetables and rice, while the hubbie opted for the duck. Not a huge fan of duck, generally, but it was also well-spiced and tasty.
Totally worth the trip and will hopefully spur more culinary adventures in our ‘hood.
Travel Channel video from Kebab Cafe posted below:
Photo | nytimes.com
