{"id":8858,"date":"2018-08-22T15:15:12","date_gmt":"2018-08-22T19:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/?p=8858"},"modified":"2019-09-05T08:46:06","modified_gmt":"2019-09-05T12:46:06","slug":"cafe-dushanbe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/?p=8858","title":{"rendered":"Cafe Dushanbe"},"content":{"rendered":"

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 \u201cInstagram\u201d category from my home page \u2013 no signup required.) But because of Instagram\u2019s character count limitations, it’s often necessary to break up a review into several parts. This one originally appeared as three posts from 2018 and three more from 2019.
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Named for the capital of Tajikistan, Caf\u00e9 Dushanbe (formerly Caf\u00e9 Rokhat) brings its yogurty cuisine to Brooklyn and does so admirably. The Kurutob alone was worth the trip to Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn but there\u2019s lots more to recommend Caf\u00e9 Dushanbe.<\/p>\n

Here, in no special order, are a few of the extraordinary dishes we sampled.<\/p>\n

(Click any photo to view it in high resolution.)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Kurutob<\/p>\n

One of the most impressive dishes we experienced (so much so that one of our group requested an additional order of it to go) was Kurutob (you might see qurutob), the pride of Tajikistan\u2019s gastronomy. It starts with a base of fatir, flaky, layered flatbread which is then invigorated with qatiq, a delicious homemade yogurt, along with saut\u00e9ed onion, red onion, tomato, cucumber, herbs, and spicy green pepper for an essential kick. Mix well for maximum enjoyment. Tajikistan\u2019s answer to Italy\u2019s panzanella, perhaps?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Qatiq, Fatir, and Kulcha<\/p>\n

Straight-ahead qatiq along with two breads \u2013 the fatir and puffy kulcha \u2013 plus a ramekin of flavorful herb butter. If your only encounter with yogurt has been in the dairy aisle of your local supermart, you need to try this posthaste.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Non-toki<\/p>\n

A concave behemoth with a nod to matzoh.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Pan Fried Calf\u2019s Liver<\/p>\n

GBD (Golden Brown and Delicious). Are you a liver lover or a liver leaver? In the aftermath, not a morsel remained \u2013 and I had been hoping for leftovers. Ah well.
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\nEverybody loves dumplings and every cuisine has its own traditional renditions. I\u2019m no exception to that sweeping statement and IMHO, Caf\u00e9 Dushanbe has it knocked in this department. Manti are fist-sized steamed dumplings stuffed with chopped lamb, onions and herbs and are widespread throughout Central Asian and South Caucasian countries. This version is filled with relatively large, succulent hunks of seasoned lamb and are truly among the best I\u2019ve ever tasted. We ordered two styles, fried…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Fried Manti<\/p>\n

…and steamed. Both came with Tajik yogurt and were superb.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Steamed Manti<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Samsa Gizhda<\/p>\n

And just to round out the trio, we ordered Samsa Gizhda \u2013 baked (for contrast, right?) meat pies, a savory blend of lamb and beef encased in a light dough and served with a tomato based sauce.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Morkovcha Salad<\/p>\n

Abbreviated history lesson: In the 1920s-30s, the Japanese occupied Korea; some Koreans managed to escape to Russia, but Stalin subsequently moved them to Central Asia, mostly Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. These people, the Koryo-saram, unable to obtain the cabbage they needed to prepare kimchi, created a version made from carrots, red pepper, garlic, and ground coriander seeds. Abbreviated gastronomic review: yum.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Shashlik<\/p>\n

Three remarkable selections from the Barbecue section of the menu. In front, the biggest, juiciest, most perfectly seasoned lamb ribs I\u2019ve ever tasted. Behind those, Beef Roulade \u201cDushanbe\u201d; I usually eschew beef in favor of meats with a little more personality. Dushanbe\u2019s beef roulades are rolled around fat for flavor and accentuated with indescribably delicious seasoning; they were so good, they made me believe in beef again. Lurking beneath, skewers of tender, flavorful lamb.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Homestyle Potatoes<\/p>\n

Where would meat be without potatoes? This skillet of potatoes topped with saucy shiitake, oyster, and button mushrooms in the company of fried onions and herbs was the perfect partner.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Syuzma<\/p>\n

A bracing salad of radishes, cucumbers, and greens was dressed with yogurt by a different designation, \u201csyuzma\u201d, sour milk that had been strained through a canvas bag; for comparison, see qatiq above. Indeed, Syuzma was the name (and the whole point) of the dish. So many yogurts, so little time.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Okroshka<\/p>\n

Okroshka is a cold summer soup of Russian heritage, yogurt-based of course, made from boiled potatoes, raw vegetables, eggs, dill and other herbs. I neglected to inquire about specific ingredients, but I can assure you it was delicious; I guess I\u2019ll just have to go back and ask.<\/p>\n

As if I need an excuse. \ud83d\ude09
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\nCaf\u00e9 Dushanbe is located at 1788 Sheepshead Bay Road, Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.
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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 \u201cInstagram\u201d category from my home page \u2013 no … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3336,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59,115],"tags":[127],"class_list":["post-8858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-instagram","category-restaurant-reviews-extended","tag-tajik"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3336"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8858"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9702,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8858\/revisions\/9702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}