Posts Tagged ‘Middle Eastern’
Moustache in the West AND East Village
The first time I’ve ever heard of Moustache, a Middle Eastern restaurant with three locations dispersed in the city, was when I was sleuthing around for a dinner spot and came across my friend, Archana’s post about it on her food blog. I feel like I’m never disappointed when I follow her good taste(buds).
Moustache in the West Village
Moustache - West Village
I went there the same night with a friend to the West Village location. It was small and buzzy and the aroma coming out of the kitchen (which is barely separated from the dining area, and in fact, overlooks it), was intoxicating. We promptly ordered a Moustache pitza (their Middle Eastern version of pizza!), and the Merguez sandwich, made of spicy lamb sausage, and two big glasses of mint tea.
Moustache pitza
Merguez sandwich
The pitza is unlike traditional pizza with tomato sauce. Instead, the mozzarella cheese is topped over a mix of roasted red bell pepper, tomato, onion, parsley, and chili. It’s unlike any pizza I’ve ever had, and soo good. The Merguez sandwich is cooked to perfection and topped with onion and tomato but the tahini sauce really brings it together.
Best brunch ever at Cafe Mogador
Holly Jolly Christmas at Cafe Mogador
In my defense, I’ve known about Cafe Mogador’s celebrated brunches for years, but just never had the chance to experience myself. Until last weekend. It was every bit as fantastic as I hoped. It’s easily now my favorite brunch spot in the city (definitely up there with Cafe Orlin!).
I’ve been there for dinner few times before, and it was good, but I I realize now that if you haven’t been there for brunch, you really haven’t experienced the best this place has to offer.
Moroccan Benedict
Naya – Lebanese food in Midtown East
I’ve been so excited to test out my new camera [it's kinda like an SLR on training wheels...goodbye point-and-shoot, hellllo Canon G11]. The first restaurant I happen to use it at was Naya — a Lebanese restaurant in Midtown East.
Inside Naya
OK. First of all, Weirdest Welcoming Award goes to Naya.
“How many tonight?”
“Two, please.”
“Do you have a reservation?”
[Looks at half-empty restaurant] “I mean….”
“Ok, I’ll see what I can do.”
[uncomfortable laugh* He's probably trying to make a joke]
“This is all I have right now.” [points to a perfectly normal, empty table, sandwiched between two equally empty tables. The seriousness of his demeanor shows us he was in fact, not joking earlier]
“That’s…totally fine.”
Brunch at Cafe Orlin
Poached eggs over a potato pancake
Still can’t get over the delicious brunch I had at Cafe Orlin in the East Village last weekend. I’ve been to Orlin for some yummy dinner but this was my first day time meal there. We had a mix of savory and sweet, starting with this Middle Eastern inspired dish below:
Malawach, $8
What does the first date restaurant say about a guy?
Random thought: Where a guy takes you to dinner can be really telling of his personality…we agree, yes?
At least I like to think so. Especially in NY where there are so many choices of restaurants and cuisines, he picked the one he did for a reason. SO, just to make it fun, I came up with my own totally biased take on first-date dinner choices.
Veggie restaurant: Hummus Kitchen
OK, so I was really excited to try the food here, after passing by and noticing this new spot one day. The inside is absolutely beautiful, and I love hummus so thought this was a no brainer.
Oil and olives starters
