Tag Archives: Middle Eastern

Ruzana

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Instagram Post 12/11/2018

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The secret’s in the sauce.

Ruzana is a Jordanian family owned Middle Eastern restaurant located at 486 85th St in Brooklyn’s Bay Ridge so it comes as no surprise that Mansaf, the national dish of Jordan, is ensconced on the menu. Their family recipe is simple in appearance but time consuming in preparation. Chunks of lamb on the bone are cooked slowly in an herby sauce of jameed (sheep’s or goat’s milk yogurt, dried, fermented, and restored to a fluid state) until so ethereally tender that they yield submissively to the touch (it’s eaten with the fingers). Garnished with toasted almonds and parsley and presented over rice, the cooking liquid is served on the side and, since that’s the essence of this delicious dish, begs to be applied liberally. I’ve heard that Ruzana does/has done a more elaborate, traditional presentation involving shrak/markook flatbread beneath and atop but ours arrived unadorned.

 
 

Karam – Spinach Pie

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Instagram Post 11/30/2018

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I’m usually not a fan of Middle Eastern spinach pies. Yes, I know, heresy. But they’re generally seasoned carelessly if at all, the dough is too tough particularly where the edges are pinched together, and when the spinach excretes its bitter juice, they turn into something that resembles wet cardboard with a filling my mother would have insisted was “good for me”. So when this plate appeared, I snapped a pic thinking I probably wouldn’t venture beyond that – but I would have missed out on a great treat. Karam, the Lebanese restaurant at 8519 4th Avenue in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn succeeded in changing my opinion of this ubiquitous snack. The filling was herbaceous and delectable and the dough was tender and supple, little pillows of delight that won my heart. Get these.

The second photo shows za’atar pita crisps, there for the asking.
 
 

Karam – Falafel

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Instagram Post 11/29/2018

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Falafel are customarily made from chickpeas or fava beans, ground, compressed and deep fried. The Lebanese restaurant Karam crafts theirs from a combination of both which, in the company of a proper balance of onion, garlic, parsley, cumin and other spices, is probably what makes their rendition so tasty. Served with tahini and pickled turnips, it’s one of the best versions of the crunchy treat in this Middle Eastern neighborhood. Located at 8519 4th Avenue in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Karam has earned its phenomenal reputation rightfully; head over there and see for yourself – they’re a cut above the rest. (See photo 2 for the inside scoop!)
 
 

Karam – Chicken Shawarma

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Instagram Post 11/6/2018

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The Arabic word shawarma has its roots in the Turkish word çevirme, turning, which describes the pirouetting conically-stacked slabs of marinated chicken as they inch past the searing glow of the vertical rotisserie. Karam, at 8519 4th Avenue in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, offers two variations on the popular street food: beef & lamb and chicken, and prepares one of the very best in this Middle Eastern neighborhood (which probably should have earned the moniker Little Levant, but didn’t).

Shown here is chicken shawarma; packed with deftly-seasoned succulent meat, lettuce, tomatoes, and dressed with a yogurt based sauce, it was one of the finest delicacies we enjoyed that day.
 
 

Karam – Za’atar and Tomato Pie

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Instagram Post 11/3/2018

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There are numerous Middle Eastern restaurants in Bay Ridge but there is only one Karam. Many of these restaurants make flatbread pies that go by many names like manoush, manoushe, manousheh, mankousheh, manakish, manaqish, manaeesh or manakeesh, not to mention specialized versions like lahmacun or lahmajoun, and each of these many names goes by many spellings.

Karam calls them simply “pies”. And that’s all you need to remember because they are far and away the best in the neighborhood in my opinion. The bread is fresh and supple, the toppings bright and flavorful, the aroma intense and intoxicating.

Here’s our tomato and za’atar pie, one of their many varieties. Za’atar (which itself goes by many spellings and regional recipes) is a blend of thyme and sesame seeds (the mandatory pair) and other herbs and spices like sumac, hyssop, oregano, and savory. Za’atar can be overpowering if applied with a heavy hand, but the sweet tomatoes mitigated any attempt to commandeer our palates. Try this pie.

That’s not all we enjoyed that day, of course; I’ll post more from Karam, the wonderful Lebanese restaurant, soon. In the meantime, I recommend that you experience their delicious food for yourself at 8519 4th Avenue in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
 
 

Republic of Booza

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Instagram Post 7/9/2018

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Booza (بوظة), an ice cream that hails from the Levant and Egypt, is known for two qualities, its stretchy consistency and its ability to resist melting. The elasticity comes from mastic, the resin that makes Turkish Delight delightfully chewy, and its prowess in fending off the consequences of Middle Eastern heat stems from sahlab (aka salep), a thickener that’s also used in beverages and puddings.

The stylish Republic of Booza offers seventeen flavors in three categories: classic (like vanilla, chocolate and strawberry), global (like horchata, red miso and mango-tajín) and “experimental” (like salted Oreo, Sichuan white chocolate and saffron peppercorn). Always eager to explore the roots of an ethnic dish before venturing into a more fanciful rendition, I chose Original Qashta, subtitled “candied cream”. (And I coyly chose “roots” here because sahlab is made from ground orchid tubers.) I was familiar with the word qashta from my Bay Ridge, Brooklyn ethnojunkets where it appears as ashta (colloquially) or kashta (more formally) and refers to the Middle Eastern clotted cream spiked with rose water or orange blossom water that suffuses many desserts of the region. My second selection was pistachio, simply because it seemed like an appropriate option given the territory. Because there’s no overrun (air that’s a component of most commercial ice creams), booza is remarkably creamy. Both flavors were delicious and the texture was a cool experience.

Since July is National Ice Cream Month, I’ll be writing a featured post about ethnic ice cream here on ethnojunkie.com in which I’ll attempt to run the global gamut of frozen, creamy treats. For now, I highly recommend your making the journey to Republic of Booza at 76 North 4th St in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (no passport required), especially in this heat. Suffice it to say that this may be the most unusual ice cream you’ve ever tasted…and that isn’t a stretch!
 
 

The World’s Fare – Wafa’s Express

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Instagram Post 5/7/2018

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Here’s another World’s Fare delight, this time from Wafa’s Express, 812 Grand St, Brooklyn. I like it when there’s a brick-and-mortar restaurant that anchors a festival vendor because it means we can indulge in their goodies pretty much any time we want to. Wafa’s features Lebanese cuisine, represented here by mujaddara and falafel.
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Mujaddara is a combination of bulgur wheat and lentils, but the caramelized onions on top are as important to the dish as the other components, not merely a garnish, and serve to make it something memorable. Those are crunchy turnips pickled in beet juice coddling the mujaddara.
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The falafel, artfully drizzled with tahini and hot sauce, were delicious as well and yes, I fell for their falafel!