Category Archives: Restaurants & Food Courts

Momo Crave

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Instagram Post 10/25/2018

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At first, basing my expectations solely on a text menu sans pix, I anticipated a plate of typical momos but with a filling of sukuti (Nepali dried meat) or perhaps some kind of chili instead of regulation beef, chicken, or veggie. A few minutes of explanation from Jyoti, the chef/owner, and a few photos later, I realized that these are not your mama’s momos. Momo Crave, 38-07 69th St in Woodside, Queens has come up with a set of fusion variations that are a must-try. The fillings are indeed the prevailing big three (all nicely seasoned, by the way) but the treatment is what sets them a world apart. The list includes unique varieties like chili, sandeko, tandoori, sukuti, chaat, and kothey (in which the bottoms are crispy fried) along with a respectable number of other items. You can order any of those adaptations in beef, chicken, or veggie although they’re happy to provide recommendations to assist with your mixing and matching fun.

Shown here are the sukuti with beef filling and the sandeko with chicken. The spicy sukuti (on the left) boasts chunks of the Nepali jerky as the accompaniment. The sandeko has a kicky mustard oil overlay reminiscent of Bangladeshi cuisine and is topped with a dry bean garnish. Both variants are fried and all are beyond clever. And yes, I intend to go back to try the rest.
 
 

Cardamom – Part 5

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Instagram Post 10/21/2018

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Cardamom, the new Indian restaurant in Sunnyside, Queens at 43-45 43rd St, features the cuisine of Goa, the chef’s homeland, but not to the exclusion of other regions. Located on India’s west coast, Goa was formerly a province of Portugal, consequently the food is strongly influenced by their culture and imports; you’ll see chouriço keeping company with xacutti on a typical Goan menu.

[1] The most impressive dish we tasted at lunch that afternoon was Goan Tandoori Shrimp; it only took one bite to elicit a chorus of “oh yeahs” from our assemblage.

[2] Chicken Xacutti, a signature dish from the Indo-Portuguese section of the menu, boasts a complex blend of spices tempered with coconut. Delicious, but I would have welcomed more of a kick – again, possibly a communication misfiring since friends who visited here on another occasion were treated to a more robust level of heat.
 
 

Szechuan House – Fried Shredded Beef with Celery and Chilies

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Instagram Post 10/19/2018

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We had half an hour to spare and my friend @restaurantfairy exhorted @annegrrrll and me to meet her at Flushing’s Szechuan House, 133-47 Roosevelt Ave, for a bite before lunch (yes, we do that). She communicated her desire for the off-menu classic Sichuan dish, Fried Shredded Beef with Celery and Chilies; it was absolutely outstanding and we devoured our pre-game snack posthaste. I tracked down some recipes for Gàn Biān Niú Ròu Sī (干煸牛肉丝), literally dry fried beef threads, and I’m looking forward to doing a little home cookin’ when I get the chance, but in the meantime, I know where to get more!
 
 

Cardamom – Part 4

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Instagram Post 10/15/2018

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More from Cardamom, the new Indian restaurant in Sunnyside, Queens at 43-45 43rd St. The chef hails from Goa, the former Portuguese province in India; the menu includes a selection of dishes from his homeland.

Savoury (sic) Crispy Baingan gets the prize for the most unusual item we ordered. Truly crispy wafer thin slices of fried baby eggplant topped with yogurt inflected with mint and tamarind.

Lamb Caldin (or caldinho if your Portuguese roots are showing), a flavorful curry with a ginger/garlic onset and a coconut conclusion. Goan food has a reputation for a embracing a confident degree of spiciness but most of the dishes we were served never peaked above the medium level, perhaps a communication misfiring.

More to come from Cardamom….
 
 

Cardamom – Part 3

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Instagram Post 10/14/2018

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Two more tasty dishes from Cardamom, the new Indian restaurant in Sunnyside, Queens at 43-45 43rd St. The chef hails from Goa, the former Portuguese province in India; the menu features a few dishes from his homeland.

Prawn Balchao from the Starters list prepared in a tangy Goan style tomato chili sauce, with careful attention to presentation.

Bhendi Masala. Lightly seasoned pan fried okra with onions. If you think okra must always be slimy, this dish will disabuse you of that notion.

More to come from Cardamom….
 
 

Cardamom – Part 2

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Instagram Post 10/13/2018

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Two more from Cardamom, the new Indian restaurant in Sunnyside, Queens at 43-45 43rd St that’s offering a few dishes of Goan provenance. Located on India’s west coast, Goa was formerly a province of Portugal, consequently the food is strongly influenced by their culture and imports; you’re as likely to see the word galinha as you would murgh on a comprehensive menu.

[1] Flavorsome fried chunks of chix in Chicken 65, a dish that hails not from Goa but rather from Chennai. The origin of its name is the subject of irreconcilable debate: Does it contain 65 chilies? Was it fed to Indian defense forces in 1965? Did the dish cost 65 rupees? Was 65 the customary retirement age for chickens?

[2] Goan Fish Curry, described on the menu as “a staple dish in every household of Goa” and “Grandma’s secret recipe!” Coconut based, smooth and creamy, almost Goan comfort food.

More to come from Cardamom….
 
 

Cardamom – Part 1

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Instagram Post 10/5/2018

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There’s a new Indian restaurant in Sunnyside, Queens at 43-45 43rd St with an emphasis on the cuisine of Goa. Located on India’s west coast, Goa was formerly a province of Portugal, consequently the food is strongly influenced by their culture and imports; you’ll see chouriço keeping company with xacutti on a typical Goan menu. The food is not as spicy as that of other regions of India although it does have a kick.

From Cardamom’s Tandoor category, we ordered Lamb Chops in a tamarind, ginger and garlic marinade, all of which were in delicious, succulent evidence.

Vindaloo is listed in the Indo Portuguese section of Cardamom’s menu. It’s often regarded as a pan-Indian dish unless you dig a little deeper: more specifically, it’s a Goan recipe and the name, sometime spelled vindalho, stems from the Portuguese vinha d’alhos referring to wine and garlic. These days, vindaloo is more about vinegar along with the garlic, chili peppers and spices we’ve come to expect. At a recent lunch, given a wide choice of proteins, we opted for goat. Tasty, but not nearly spicy enough although YMMV.

More to come from Cardamom….
 
 

Pigs’ Ears and Processed Noodles

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Instagram Post 10/4/2018

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Two yummy dishes from a quick trip to the food court downstairs in New World Mall, 136-20 Roosevelt Ave, Flushing, Queens.

[1] Pigs’ Ears from Sichuan Cuisine, Stall #9. You’re thinking, “Me? Eat pigs’ ears? In a pig’s eye!” But you’ve heard about them now so see what you think! Plenty of scallions and sesame seeds for contrast.

[2] Old Luo Yang Processed Noodle from Old Luoyang, Stall #4. The combination of slippery noodles, absorbent chewy chunks of gluten, and crispy bean sprouts in a sauce that’s spicy and a little sour is one of my favorites.
 
 

U Yuri Fergana

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When I write about restaurants on Instagram, they’re usually brief takes accompanied by a photo or two. (You can see my feed right here on ethnojunkie.com, updated almost daily, by selecting the “Instagram” category from my home page – no signup required.) But folks sometimes ask for more extensive reviews and photos, so in response, here’s a comprehensive report on one of my favorites.


The warmth exuded by a family run business and the luxury of a splendidly appointed restaurant are not at odds at U Yuri Fergana. This mom&populence, if you will, was in evidence from the gracious service through the appetizing dishes we enjoyed during a recent lunchtime visit to their location in Rego Park, Queens.

Its name translates to “Yuri from Fergana”: our host Yuri Moshev and his wife and head chef Myra hail from Fergana, the capital of the eponymous region in eastern Uzbekistan. They and their son Ben have created a unique establishment that distinguishes itself from the multitude of neighborhood Uzbek restaurants in that they operate a livestock production facility in College Point, so you can be certain that the meat is fresh and of high quality; the restaurant is kosher in keeping with the dominant Bukharan Jewish culture in the neighborhood.

Here are a few of the satisfying dishes we tried. (Click any photo to view in glorious high resolution.)

Sautéed Eggplant Salad

A bright, sweet and sour mélange of sautéed veggies with eggplant in the spotlight; the perfect foil to the richly flavorful kebabs (see below).

Meat Salad

Although there was a pronounced sweetness to this dish, it was considerably different from and less sweet than the eggplant salad. Fresh, crispy and crunchy, the combination of flavors was even better than I had anticipated.

Peeking out from the side is Toki, baked into a parabola on the convex side of a wok and similar to matzo but a little less brittle; its tiny flecks of cumin were a welcome element.

Lagman Soup

Characterized by long, hand pulled noodles with a perfect chew, lagman soup is a fixture in this part of the world. It’s worth noting that the word “lagman” is a cognate of the Chinese “lo mein”, their geographical proximity providing the clue. This beefy, tomato and vegetable infused version was delicious.

Kebabs

What Uzbek meal would be complete without them? From left to right, ground lamb, lamb chop, liver, chicken, beef, and ground chicken. Usually, chunks of chicken are the also-ran in the company of other meats, but these were outstanding.

Leposhka (Homemade Bread) and French Fries (with dill and chopped garlic, of course!)

Gusinie Lapki (Goose Feet Cookies)

Not too sweet, these delicate cookies along with some tea provided the perfect finishing touch to our delightful meal.

Note that some large family-style items on the menu must be ordered in advance, so call ahead if there’s something on the menu that piques your interest.

U Yuri Fergana is located at 94-09 63rd Drive, Rego Park, Queens.

Note: This was a complimentary meal sponsored by the management of U Yuri Fergana. The opinions expressed in this post are uninfluenced and impartial.
 
 

Kashkar Cafe – Samsa, Two Ways

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Instagram Post 9/30/2018

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While preparing for my ethnojunket through Little Odessa, I passed Kashkar Café, 1141 Brighton Beach Avenue in Brooklyn, and grabbed a few items to bring home. Kashkar serves the food of the Uyghur people, a primarily Muslim ethnic group who live on the Chinese/Russian border near Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan; as you’d expect, the fare is a blend of Chinese and Central Asian cuisines.

Samsa are baked (usually in a tandoor or clay oven), filled with a tasty lamb/onion mixture, crisp outside, moist inside, and often decorated with a few nigella seeds. On the left, a large, round one (triangular samsa are common too), one to an order. On the right, Samsa Parmuda, four smaller pieces to an order, same filling, but easier to divvy up on a food tour! The white bun in back is Yutaza, a plain, steamed multi-layer bread, a little like a Chinese bao but denser.

Photos of a dine-in experience to come soon.