SethG Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 (edited) Went for lunch fit the first time in… fifteen years, give or take. Let it be known that Ali is as much a delight as always. A simple meal: a mezze platter (hummus, baba, foul, mini falafels, fried kale, assorted veggies and fruit) and a dish of braised lamb cheeks. Which, because lamb cheeks aren’t rich enough, he finished by cooking an egg in it shakshuka-style and mixing the raw yolk through. Two dishes but it left us well-sated, and his aggressively-spiced food still kicks. It’s almost shocking how much cumin and cardamom was in the lamb, but… it works. Were it dinner we’d have ordered much more - there were all sorts of things available, meat and organs of lamb, beef, chicken, and rabbit, plus a few whole fish. Yes, he still just kind of makes up the prices at the end. $71 after “tax” for the two dishes and three drinks, which sounds egregious but we were well-stuffed and frankly it was $30 less than a brunch at Eataly last week and you don’t get Ali’s conversation there. So it’s worth every penny. It is clear that he’s getting older. It was never smart to dine here if you were in a hurry fifteen years ago, and even less so now. Food is ready when it is. It’s a one-man show, and when it ends it’ll end, and unlike Shopsin’s there’s no next generation to take it over and keep the legacy going. Enjoy it while it’s here. Our original plan was to have lunch at KC, hit the Noguchi Museum, meet up with some friends and then return to his brother’s restaurant (Mombar, also around 15 years, and which also may not be around much longer) for dinner. But alas, Noguchi was closed, so on a whim we trekked out to the other side of the borough to the Queens Zoo. The Mombar return will have to wait until another week. Edited August 17 by SethG 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchW Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 Great report, Seth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 I feel bad about how long it’s been. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve R. Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 (edited) We went back to Ali's for dinner a couple of years ago had those dishes plus a fish (cant remember specifics) & a beets/apple salad. Always a good time. After dinner, we went over to Mombar to speak with Mustafa about doing a full dinner for a group from HO. That dinner turned out great (link below) & it was really nice to have touched base in both places again. https://www.hungryonion.org/t/nyc-group-dinner-at-mombar-w-dean-kay-7-27/30400 Edited August 17 by Steve R. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SethG Posted August 17 Author Share Posted August 17 18 minutes ago, Wilfrid said: I feel bad about how long it’s been. Thank you. If you can go on a weekday afternoon, you might be the only one(s) there as we were, and get the full Ali experience to yourself. Although he told us a bluegrass band comes in on Saturdays (or maybe it was Sundays) now, which might be fun. Where they set up I haven’t a clue. There are only three tables, one of which is his “office” - but I guess they make it work somehow. For today we got his old jazz mix, mostly Louis-es Armstrong & Prima. 23 minutes ago, Steve R. said: After dinner, we went over to Mombar to speak with Mustafa about doing a full dinner for a group from HO. That dinner turned out great & it was really nice to have touched base in both places again. Good to know he’s still going strong. We’re going to try and do Mombar in a few weeks. SO has never been. I described it to her as basically a living work of American folk art. But with food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
relbbaddoof Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 I first went to Kabab Cafe with friends who'd started eating there soon after it opened (35ish years ago). This couple eats at very good places, but without thinking too much about food, and often without knowing that these places have a reputation. They stumbled on KC early, liked the food, liked Ali, and became regulars. Once, when the parents of one half of the couple were visiting, Ali opened early for them and treated them to lunch. They had no idea that Kabab Cafe was "hot". I've known them for 35 years in New York (longer going back to Bombay), and we'd eaten together many times in Queens but they didn't think to suggest KC. To them it was just a greasy, local joint that they liked, not a place to go to with friends. When they did happen to mention it in passing 12 or so years ago they were taken aback and amused that (a) it had a following, and (b) that there existed discussion groups where people talked about food and went by names such as omnivorette (those were the drama-a-day days), sneakeater and fooddabbler. I've been there a few times with them since, always sticking to the offal and always ending up a bit queasy after. Partly it's that my insides, deprived as they are of a steady flow of innards, rebel at the sudden infusion. But, to be honest, I also think that in a society where there isn't a huge demand for this stuff it can perhaps sit around past its short peak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakeater Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 There was NEVER a poster called foodddabbler. Come on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
relbbaddoof Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 You've got me there -- making things up again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve R. Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 always getting things backwards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
relbbaddoof Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 Wait till you hear what my friends had to say about the plausibility of "Steve R" as a name. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 The only time I ever met Jim Leff was at the KC and Ali served us bull’s penis. That was a first for me too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GerryOlds2TheReturnofGerry Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 Kenka on St. Marks is the only place I've ever had bull's penis. I wonder if Ali's is less chewy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 Ali’s penis was tender. Oh dear. You can find the cut, if we might call it that, in the freezer bins at the Hong Kong supermarket on Hesther and braise it to perfection. My daughter has yet to forgive me for letting her order “bollocks” at a London restaurant, thinking it was a fish dish. But she did like the dish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakeater Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 Never mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orik Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 I've never eaten Ali's penis but his sizeable testicles were delicious and taught me that's the (only?) good part of turkey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieL Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 I was at a dinner in Oakland on Saturday and met a young woman who had lived in Astoria and had gone to Kabab Cafe on several occasions. What are the odds?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilfrid Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 Much less interesting (except for the odds), I saw on off-Broadway show at The Tank on West 36th on Saturday night; today I had a business meeting in a hotel more or less opposite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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