So, I had another food experience. So soon? I know, it's out of the ordinary. However, there is a reason. It was EID!!!! And what better way to celebrate such a holiday than having dinner with the family at a mediterranean restaurant? So that's what we did. Reservations at 6pm cuz you know this places is always booked. On to the food. Oh and apolgies in advance, we did't take many photos of the food cuz it was rather dark and i figured that the internet would have beter looking ones. First, like any other restaurant they had a bread basket. But this was arab style. ain't no breadsticks here. just pita bread. But with regular triangles of pita bread there was also this spiced one which i believe the arabic phrase for it is zayt wi zaatar (oil with these seed like things, see photo).
The bread was crisp and crunchy. The seeds were too! They were kinda lemony though so I didn't really like it because it left an aftertaste of sour that I wasn't diggin. But according to the others it wasn't bad. Then, we had a yellow lentil soup. It kinda looked like that. It's what we call aatz. I dunno why but all I kept tasting was Indian. It was weird and apparently only I was tasting it although Mona said she kinda could too. With some soft pita bread, it was pretty good but sorry my mom makes it better. On to the entrees! We ordered three to share among 5 of us knowing that they would be quite large.We ordered the shepherd's pie, chicken fetti, and beef stew.
So the beef stew was a special sooo I couldn't find pictures of it but this one had most of the components. It had beef, spinach, chick peas, olive oil, and spices? I think that's what was in it. It sounded good so we ordered it. I liked it. The beef was really tender and falls apart in your mouth like it has been in that stew forever (which it probably was). The spinach that came with it was so spinach-y. Usually when I make spinach at home I can tell it's spinach but the flavor was so powerful I could probably identify it blindfolded, which I liked. The chick peas I gotta say didn't really contribute much but I love any type of bean so I was happy it was in there. It came with rice and salad too.
On to the chicken fetti. It is described as " shredded chicken, Egyptian-spiced rice, a rich yogurt-tahini sauce, crunchy toasted pita chips and fragrant toasted almonds." Pretty accurate I'd say. It was pretty good too. I think what surprised me the most were the almonds. When I was eating the dish I was like whoa this is weird, cuz there were like little crunchy almonds in it! I never had yogurt in a savory dish before so I wanted to try it. it wasn't bad! It made the dish really creamy! When I had all the components together it was really good! It was creamy, crunchy, soft (from the chicken), and with the pita chips.... lovely.
And finally, the shepherd's pie. This turned out to be the all star of the bunch. It stole the freakin show. It was sooo good! I have never had a traditional shepherd's pie but after this one I want one! It had
"Garlic mashed potatoes layered with lamb, pine nuts and Tanoreen spices, baked to a golden brown and served with salad." It looked like macaroni and cheese or something when it came but when you cut through it, you could tell it was shepherd's pie. The whole table loved it! It was a pretty much agreed upon fav of the thre dishes. The meat was so flavorful and the mashed potatoes were a nice consistency. I can imagine what the American version tastes like but I could also see the arabic twist on such a classic and I LOVED IT!! It was really really good. I would definitely recommend it and may get it the next time I'm there. Now, on to dessert!
MMMMMMMMMMM!!! Looking at this picture makes me want some more! Knafeh!! "Shredded filo stuffed with two types of sweet cheese and baked. Topped with homemade syrup and pistachio nuts." Om nom nom nom nom nom nom! Sooooo good! I can't really explain how knafeh tastes, you kinda have to try it yourself. It really is like sweet hay with sweet cheese in a syrup which makes it sound like it tastes ridiculous but it really is delicious! And tanoreen does it right! We had to wait 20 minutes for this bad boy because they make it fresh! Now, that is the way to serve knafeh! When it came to the table the waitress cut it into individual pieces for us. It came with a side of syrup too and extra syrup don't hurt! I liked my slice cuz it was last and she scraped all the good stuff on to mine. Hehehehehehe :) Anyhow, it's really good, and I'm not much of an arabic sweets person.
In summary, GO TO TANOREEN! It has been claimed to be the best mediterranean restaurant in New York and has won several awards for its food. And hey, after my experience there, they are well deserved. It's worth a trip to Bay Ridge so go visit whenever you can, but make sure you have a reservation cuz they're ALWAYS BUSY! I'm just really happy it's only a couple of blocks from my house! :)
