***Update 11/28/13 **** Went back for some more deliciousness. Had the same dishes and more (pictures at the bottom)
Before you Google Uyghur and read this post, I want you to do something for me. You must! Go to your kitchen cabinet and take out the cumin. Now open the cumin and let it sit by the monitor. That’s all. Continue reading.
Blink and you will miss this little café on busy Brighton Beach avenue in “Little Odessa”, Brooklyn . Nestled among Russian pharmacies, groceries, nightclubs and more Russian Pharmacies is this Uzbekh gem. Yes, Russians do love their pharmacies. They come to hang out, pick up their newspapers, their prescriptions, and the free roll of Bounty they were promised for switching from the pharmacy 2 doors down.
Once you are inside it looks like any other small Russian café with various Uzbekh decorations. This is Uyghur cuisine. The Uyghur is an ethnic group primarily living in Central Asia and and China. And boy can they cook!
In this fun, picture filled menu I went for some Lagman items and Kebabs. Lagman is like Lamian, Chinese noodles. They are long, thick and spectacular.
Started with the fantastic Lagman soup. Like a nice cross between Russian “Kharcho” and Ramen. Lamb, veggies, and plenty of those thick, airy Lagman noodles.
The Geiro Lagman (top picture) was even better and one of the best dishes I’ve had in the past 12 months. I knew it will be good as soon as it arrived. Lets see if you can see the same thing… click on the picture on top and stare at it for a few seconds. Do you smell the cumin?? It tasted as great it looks, with plenty of cumin and garlic, and got the same noodles and tender lamb as the soup, Great dish!
The lamb and chicken kebabs were some of the juiciest and tastiest I ever had. No sauce needed here. They sell them by the skewer here – about $3 per. And the crispy garlicky potatoes were such a beautiful compliment.
This cozy, family owned Uzbekh/Uyghur delivers big time flavors. No visa required. Check it out next time you visit Brighton Beach.
Eating With Ziggy 