Do yourself a favor and pick another of the many restaurants in that area. Came in on a Friday night and my party of 4 was seated at a table. We found out that they do not have a liquor license but we could bring our own bottle. Too late for that! We placed our drink and dinner order. When our drinks came we were approached by our waiter and another staff member who asked if we would mind moving to another table, because they needed that one for another party. After we moved, we noticed that no one even occupied the table we had freed up. Some of the food such as some grilled vegetables had a funny after taste. There was also a problem because all the food came out except one entree, and by the time it did the rest of the table was finished. The dessert was not worth the $11. It tasted several days old, not fresh at all. We were tired of waiting and brought our bill and credit card up to the front and told the person there what an unpleasant evening it had been. All she could say was, "Sorry! But we're very busy." It was certainly not worth the $235.00 bill for the terrible service. I would not go back there again. read more

The food I would give it five stars no doubt, but I'm gave it 4 because the customer service is kinda off, but don't get me wrong theres still some nice people in there as well, just my experience with my wife and I was awkward we got ignored for couple of times, no one came to check on us, if you don't call someone no one bothers it still needs some improving! Honestly, I've been there couple of times and I order from them all the time, and I'm going to take some of my time to tell you guys, you should definitely visit this place and try their food, very authentic and most definitely the best kabab of any kind meat or fish in the area. Taste so good and you can tell how fresh it is! read more

See all

Only one thing wrong with this place. They think the heat from the kitchen is enough to warm up the whole restaurant. The whole staff is either wearing a sweater or a jacket. Otherwise the foods always good and consistent. read more

Nargis Cafe - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

See all

This review is solely based on my experience today. I understand that today is a holiday and it is therefore extremely busy. I called yesterday to find out when I should place an order for delivery on Mothers Day and was advised to place an order online that day (Saturday). So of course, I did just that. I had a lot of family coming over, and did not have enough time to cook... and therefore was fully relying on take out. Time for delivery came and went.. called Nargis and was told that due to holiday, our order was being slightly delayed .... another half hour later, was told our delivery is on the way and will arrive any minute... half hour later- receive a phone call and was told that they messed up and our order was not only not on the way but it was not even in the preparation process. The lady on the phone told me I had 2options- receive a refund or wait an hour for delivery. I asked for a discount and was rudely told that this was not an option and if I am not happy then I can just cancel. I was in shock. I wish to have canceled right then and there, however, I had no other food options .. and family has been waiting around for quiet some time. The food arrived an hour later. The salads had a lot of juice and did not appear freshly made- so was not impressed. Everything else was fine- we ordered variety of shish and potatoes.. Overall, I am greatly disappointed by the customer service. We should have at least been provided some sort of a discount. Anything would have been better then nothing. Although I will likely order from them again- I hope this was the first and last time for such a mess up. read more

This is a delicious gem that everyone living in Brooklyn should try at least once. But in reality, you'll want to live inside. If you're not familiar with Uzbek cuisine, to summarize it is basically mediterranean and Greek with Baltic flare. My Russian family first introduced me to it, and I've been addicted since. To the actual cafe, which should just be renamed because it's not a cafe, it's a full blown and massive restaurant with delivery in the area and long waits to get in during peak hours. So if you show up on a Friday night during the summer, expect 1hr+ waiting time. Just a note in general, there will probably be a wait anyway... so if you can get reservations, try to. Most people speak English, but Russian is the primary language, so be prepared. This isn't Outback Steakhouse with "Australians" running it, but rather legitimately tasty cuisine at great prices with huge portions, run by real humans with a soul. To be honest, I think Nargis is one of my top 5 favorite restaurants in all of NYC, and that's saying a lot. Some recommended food stuffs: * Kabobs (Chicken, Lamb, Salmon) * Home fries with mushrooms or Fries with garlic/herbs * Achichuk salad * Uzbek Round Nan * Cheese cigars I've never tried anything I haven't liked here, so hopefully that'll be your experience too. read more

I have been coming here for years. The beef kebabs use to my favorite. The beef and the lamb has been OVER-COOKED every single time that it was ordered during the past whole year. Either it is over-cooked or the quality declined because the meat has not been as tender. The flavor is still good. However, the texture is important too because it is part of the taste. Everything else is still good. Very disappointed about the beef and lamb though. read more

Great place and experience. Great staff! Work very hard during Covid. Delicious food, thank you!

Update: dear Boris, if you havent heard from other guests you need to read your reviews more careful to see that there are numerous complains about poisoning in your restaurant. And maybe instead of saying that you follow strict rules it's time to go to the kitchen and fix some issues because people get sick and I was about to die for two days. I got the worst food poisoning I could ever imagine! Last night I had salad and beef kebab. I have spent the whole night and still spending my day in a restroom. Not sure if I have to go to doctor. Not gonna leave it like this. read more

I have been gong since 2009. Since, Everything is super over priced.. And table service never been good now got worse. And yes service charge is also high. Sadly food quality is not same at all. Not recommended!!! read more

This place is so good! I thought my friend was crazy because she made me travel all the way from Manhattan to eat here, it's her birthday and she wants to try something new, so whatever, I took the train for an hour and got here. Everything is divine! My favorite is the ox tail, the meat is so soft and the soup is flavorful. The shurpa soup warmed me up from cold weather, and the kebab is definitely way better than what other restaurants serve in manhattan. We ordered so much and finished everything, left this place like pregnant women with three exploding stomachs. Just order anything you want to try, I'm sure you will love everything. Now all my friends want to come here and try this place. read more

Nargis Cafe - Shurpa Soup - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Got introduced to this spot from friends who rave about it. Came here and had their skewers and it was just delicious especially their chicken and for me their beef. My friends enjoyed the lamb one but the chicken was still the best. Def a great spot considering how far it is from the city. Would def go here again. The salads (especially the avocado one) was just DELICIOUS!! Was just craving for more! Didnt particularly enjoy the home fries too much, but they were ok, good if you are really in the mood for that. I dont think I was in the mood for it that night. The Samsa's were piping hot and they were also great! The Manti was also a nice addition, but definitely wasnt enough, need to order more of that next time Overall just a great place to eat if you are ok with traveling there read more

Our lunch at Nargis Cafe started out promisingly but went a bit downhill from there. It's a great menu full of Russian and Uzbek favorites. The food was quite good. We particularly liked the avocado salad and the fingerling potatoes with garlic and dill. The soups--Lagman and Sherpa--were also fine, chock full of vegetables and noodles and spiced with a deft hand. I also enjoyed the chicken and marinated tomato & onion kebabs. The Manti were a bit disappointing as the filling used poor quality cuts of meat. Our desserts were great, especially the Napoleon. Service was a problem, however. They delivered my chicken to the wrong table, and then didn't say or do anything about it until after we started inquiring. They didn't offer any amends, even though the chicken came about 25 minutes after the other food. Meanwhile, as they set up a big table nearby, the waitstaff groused to one another in Russian that the large party they expected "had better not just order soup and juice!" The last straw came with the bill, when we discovered that small print on the menu noted that we were to be charged a 10% "Service Fee", which was not connected with the efforts of the wait staff, was not a gratuity, and would not be shared with employees. Instead, it was an underhanded way for the owner to collect additional profits. If you want to raise prices, have the courage to do it in a way that customers can easily see and then decide whether they want to patronize your restaurant and what they want to order. read more

For many years I have walked by Nargis Cafe on a daily basis and it was always packed there. I knew I had to try this restaurant at some point but never got around to it. Today, I decided to do just that and I did not regret it. I placed an order and the woman over the phone was very helpful and patient with my questions. She told me about 45-50 minutes. My order came in less than 30 minutes after my call. Now onto the food... I ordered the fried manti and my mother ordered the salmon kebab and we split an order of garlic fries. The manti and garlic fries were out of this world!!!!!!!! My mother thought the salmon could have had a bit more flavor to it, but it wasn't that bad. I also ordered an assortment of baklava for dessert. It was pretty good. I am extremely satisfied with my experience with Nargis. I'll admit that at first, I was deterred from going here due to some negative reviews but after checking the reviews many years later and seeing all positive reviews, I'm going to guess that they have done all they can to improve their service which clearly is the case. This was also my first experience at a Former Soviet Union eatery (Central Asian/Uzbek to be exact) and it certainly won't be my last. Chef Boris, if you see this review, you have passed my test for great food and service. THANK YOU!!!!!! read more

Delicious, fresh food. Best chicken kebabs. Highly recommend to try it out. Fresh salads

Best skewers and samsa, a must try for all Brooklynites who are so graced to be within driving distance of this wonderful authentic establishment. read more

Nargis Cafe - Skewer Platter - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

This place definitely brought me back to grandma's kitchen. Where to start, where to start....well, the venue is a casual cafe so no need to dress up fancy to enjoy yourself here. Definitely uber as the only parking is street parking. As for the food, truly a large selection of Central Asian and Russian food. The home fruit drink or "Kompot" was very good. Not too sweet, just the way I like it. The Manti were amazing and the lamb skewers were made perfect. The meat was tender and flavorful. The Uzbek plov was so good, I got seconds and the Navruz was delicious as well. My friends wanted to be adventurous so we got some ox tail and that was tasty as well. I actually recommend trying it if you've never had that before. Overall a great spot. Definitely worth checking out when in Brooklyn. read more

We make frequent trips to NYC and stay with our friends that live here. This is one of the #1 places on our list every time we come. I may be a bit biased after living in Tajikistan for 2 months, but my wife who has never been to Central Asia love it as well! I recommend the Uzbek plov with an order of naan and black tea to wash it down. Tastes exactly like I remember it....and where else in the US can you try Central Asian cuisine?! Amazing and authentic! read more

What can I say.... This place is AMAZING!!! Love love love their kebabs (especially the lamb). I live out of state but whenever I come to Brooklyn this is the spot I go to eat. My boyfriend and I love having dinner here. We order the kebabs, Avocado salad and the rice polv. The food is delicious and juicy. Also, other than the amazing dishes the service is exceptional. We had this waiter Adema (hope I spelt her name correctly) as our waiter every time and I must say she is excellent. She's efficient, proper, and an exceptional waiter overall. I feel right at home here. This cafe is the best overall.. you won't be disappointed! read more

Nargis Cafe - Best Cafe in Brooklyn!! - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Looonnngg wait. But worth it. Came here for dinner with someone who orders delivery all the time and I was impressed with the food. This is the type of place I would be scare to go into because its a Russian restaurant and I'm Chinese lol. I will for sure be back sooon too. We got the avocado salad which was amazing. If you don't like dill don't get it because there's a lot of dill in this salad but they aren't cheap with avocados. Rice Pilaf- a must if you like chickpeas. Kebabs we got beef, chicken, and salmon- I think my favorite was the beef. This place is quite affordable for the amount you are getting. Also keep in mind they charged for bread. read more

If you are looking for authentic Uzbek food, you must come here! Each dish that we had tasted so good and fresh (I imagined a grandma in the back cooking all this goodness!). I've had bad experiences in the past with greasy Uzbek food at other restaurants but at Nargis Cafe all the food options that we ordered didn't have that oily taste that makes you feel horrible later. We ordered the eggplant salad, Nargis salad, Chicken Hearts kebob, Lamb kebob, Manti dumplings, Cheburakha. Service was excellent and extremely attentive; replacing plates for new plates for the different courses. We did have an advantage since we came for a weekday lunch and there weren't as many people during that time. Highly recommend as it was so tasty and very reasonably priced! We will definitely be back if we are in the area again! read more

See all

This place has steadily gone downhill over the years. Prices went up, the staff is rude and awful most of the time. Literally asked a girl for a check and she rolled her eyes at me. They also charge a service charge for no reason. The kabobs are good but not as good as they used to be. This place definitely only cares about making the most money but not about providing good service or good quality food. Sad because it used to be a favorite, fortunately there is no shortage of places to get good kabobs in Brooklyn. read more

Another successful Nargis dinner. My friends and I got together for Girl's Night, and as usual, we ordered from Nargis. We got three different salads, lamb and chicken kebabs, garlic fries, and "Kompot." Everything was fresh and delicious, and the total was very reasonable. All in all, this continues to be my favorite restaurant in Brooklyn. Highly recommend it. read more

Nargis Cafe - Everything was delicious, especially the kebabs - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Naan-delicious. Very chewy and fresh. Interesting round shape. Shurpa-delicious. Very flavorful soup with a lot of different spices at work. Super juicy and tender lamb meat. Chebureki with meat-very good. Deep fried. Juicy minced meat inside. Manti with meat-below average. Hard and old meat inside. Samsa with pumpkin-good. Crispy samsa. Sweet pumpkin. Lamb rib kebab-very good. Very tender and juicy. Some parts are too fatty. read more

Where to start. So much going on.. The meet and BBQ sticks are amazing, fresh,and great balance with the fat in between. The service...on weekends forget it. They always forget stuff. We waited an hour for soup.! On weekdays the the Service is good. The salads not sure why very unbalanced with seasoning. If you looking for plov and sticks. Great place. read more

I've been here a few times and have always enjoyed the food, service and atmosphere but I must say that it gets very very crowded and they place the tables and people very very close to each other. If you come here daytime during the week, you can eat and breathe but if you come here in the evening, especially over the weekend, don't expect to have much privacy and be prepared to hear every word of the table next to you, and vice versa. read more

Nargis Cafe - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

See all

Great staff. Great service. Always a friendly experience and the food is always good. Definitely stop in anytime I'm here. read more

Amazing and simply delicious food! Thank you! The best salads, shish kebabs in Brooklyn. Great service. read more

Nargis Cafe - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Amazing cafe , great plates and atmosphere . Love food and personal. Definitely recommend

We've been there a lot of times with my friends and we really enjoyed it. Everything is amazing about this place. Servers, food, atmosphere and music. Nice place to spend your evening or have lunch. I would recommend this place to everyone:) thank u read more

Love this place! Bring my friends that come to visit often. Looking forward to the new location. Supposed to have a rooftop. Used to be more affordable. They also changed chefs if you haven't been there in a while but still excellent. The chuchvara is fire and the beef kebab never disappoints. read more

Terrible service, food was good but server Nadya was so mean to our table.We won't come back.0 customer service...Very disappointed

Having visited Nargis several times in the past few years, I am happy to report that this small narrow cafe has established itself as one of the best choices for Uzbek/middle-Asian cuisine in Brooklyn. The waitresses (especially the redhead) are quick and courteous. They will help you selecting dishes, explaining what some of the exotic choices are. Do me a favor, please, just skip typical Russian menu staples that every cafe feels compulsory to add (pickled herring) or oddities from other cultures (French fries, avocado salad). Seriously, just forget it. Start with salads, where portions are meant for sharing among 2-4 people. You will enjoy simplicity of Achichuk (thin slices of tomato + onion) or Markovcha (spicy shredded carrot mixed with spices, invention of Russian Koreans). Definitely try Nargis salad (fresh shredded veggies with oil/vinegar) and fried roasted eggplants (though I think the recipe for this one was borrowed from neighboring Turkish restaurants). Infused vinegar is on every table and everyone is using it, so should you. Unless your doctor told you not to, then he's probably right. Gaze jealously as other patrons drown their dishes with acidic liquid. Soups. Well, I heard that soups are delicious and a big step up from their counterparts found in many Russian cafes on Brighton, but I haven't tried them yet myself. I wanted to save room for shashlyk, which is what most people come to Nargis for anyway: all sorts of kebabs grilled to perfection on coals. Try lamb ribs kebab - there is plenty of meat on a delicious little bone. Or go for lulya kebab (a mix of ground lamb, onion, spices). All kebabs come with homemade, somewhat spicy (more like tangy) red sauce and onions. Onions are very popular in that region, so just pour some vinegar (yep! again) over those thin raw rings and enjoy. Even better if you still have some leftover veggies from the salads you ordered earlier. Onion is not your thing? Try homemade fried potatoes with mushrooms - cheap and tasty. You should leave fries for your Big Mac or something. Don't forget to add a few more hot items to your order: excellent Uzbek meat dumplings (manty) that come steamed, dim sum style or samsa - a crispy flaky pastry the size of Tashkent generously filled with chopped meat and onion (ask for pumpkin version if you are one of them vegetarian folk). The redhead said she favors Khonim (some kind of roll with potatoes), so I need to go back and try that. And once I do, I'll pass my findings on to you. In the meantime, here's a few house rules to remember. Your bill will include 10% gratuity/tip/service charge. Don't ask me why, but it's very typical practice for a "Russian" restaurant. However, since your total will come to some unbelievable low figure, like 7 rubls and 38 cents, go ahead and splurge - give extra 2-3 bucks to the people working so hard to please your carnivore desires. Let them eat cake; which is something you may try too if you're still feeling adventurous. There are several dessert options on the menu. But I digress. Bring your own beer from a nearby grocery or 7-11 and waitstaff will fix you with some glassware. Yes, you can bring vodka, too - it's another typical practice in such places. And don't forget to order a kettle of hot tea. I usually get a mix of black and green. No Uzbeki/middle-Asian meal is complete without one because it helps you properly digest all that food you've just devoured, you beast. Oh, and don't mind TV screens with horrendous neverending conveyor of Russian pop music clips. Hey, we didn't have MTV in our '80s, okay, mister? Thank you very many! read more

N-iiice (in Borat-voice) food A-ffordable and accommodating when needed to be R-eservations work most times and waiting for a table is usually not too long G-ets a bit hectic (I'll explain later) I-ncompetent service (sometimes but not often) S-olid place to enjoy with friends and family if you're a fan of food. Need I say more? Yes, I will say more. My family indulges here just about once every couple of weeks on average; and that's been the case over the last couple of years. The most important aspect to go over is the food. The food at Nargis is great. That's undeniable. Everything from the avocado salad, to the kebobs, fish, and other variety of dishes has high quality. The drinks they serve are top-notch as well. Indubitably delicacies. Another plus is that the food is prepared amazingly fast. There's never been a time where we waited too long for a dish. The appetizers show up when they need to, and the main course arrives when it needs to as well. It's almost like someone is watching us eat and setting timers (*gasp* if this is true). The prices are quite fair as well, for the great quality of the food you're getting. Now onto other, not-so-positive aspects. On more than one occasion, we were served dirty utensils. No, not just a slightly visible smidgen, but rather whole chunks of food barely washed off of the utensils. That's not ideal at all, but I'll forgive it because we find ways to replace the dirty utensils for clean ones. Nevertheless, a good chunk of my rating was affected by that issue. Another time, we were served tea that was not nearly strong enough compared to the black tea we usually get (it had barely any color and taste to it). I'm not sure that this was some weird restaurant tactic to get us to leave quicker, but I'll forgive this petty problem. Speaking of leaving quicker: sometimes, it feels like the servers want people to leave quicker so as to replace them since the line waiting outside is getting big and they want more seating. That's not the problem of the customers but rather the management/workers themselves. When I get the sense that the servers are trying to get my party to leave, we decide to stay longer just to spite them. A suggestion would be not to make things like that obvious. Another thing is that it can get a bit hectic. Plates fall, dishes spill, and it gets crowded. Some workers like to yap it up with the customers for no apparent reason when the customers are too busy eating and/or yapping amongst themselves, and that makes it even more disorganized, and sometimes annoying. The ambiance and good lighting makes up for this somewhat. So, in conclusion, this place has its occasional problems (I hope they work on correcting them based on my review), but is very well worth it. There's also a bar, televised entertainment, and not just one but two bathrooms (unless I'm mistaken). read more

I have dined in this place multiple times . Unfortunately , steadily , the quality of food has gone down . The last time I ate there we ordered beef short rib kebab . The skewer was nothing but fat . I ordered oxtail stew to go . When I got home and opened the container it had 3 pieces of meat, a thin gravy and a few chick peas . I paid $18 for that dish . I was embarrassed when my husband opened it . They also charge 10% gratuity automatically , added to the bill , but nobody mentions it, so chances are , you'll not see it and tip on top of it . The quality and size of dishes are not what they used to be . Very disappointing . read more

Do not order from Nargis using any mobile apps. Their pricing is 50% more or 2x doubof what's it is on the menu. When I called them, instead of giving price parity they said to deal with online app. To ownership: You do have control of 3rd party apps. These apps don't just randomly set pricing for your menu. You do! read more

Nargis Cafe - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

See all

Once( few weeks back) I went from my school ( with very casual clothing) for early dinner to this place, sorry to say that, but the staff didn't RESPECT me at all! As if I was a homeless ! I got so disappointed! Because I used to go there with my family for dinner once in a while and staff where respectful to us/me( only because we were dressed????!!!!!!) So my point is if you don't dress well, you won't get any respect!!!!!!! read more

My first experience dining at a Russian/Uzbek (?) restaurant. My friends and I came to Nargis around 6:30 PM on a Friday. It wasn't packed and there was seating in the second dining room, but we didn't sit down until 7 o'clock despite being told that the wait time was 10 minutes. The hostess was NOT NICE. She was being so short with us and condescending! When we were finally seated, we could barely get through the tables. We sat next to this one big bitch who refused to stand up so we could get by. Nargis is not a large establishment. There's about a foot and a half between each table. If you've never had Russian food then you might be in for a spin. The entrees were listed in English but had no real description of what you really ordering. The waitress was of little help. It seemed like she was just rushing me rather than trying to actually help me figure out what the hell some of these dishes were. I settled on a chicken skewer, a beef skewer, with mushrooms and potatoes on the side, and a samsa. Don't let the staff here deter you from eating. Their food was phenomenal! The samsa was similar to a samosa, but large with a crispier dough. It was delicious and I definitely recommend it to anyone coming for their first time! The skewers were HUGE too. The meat was flavorful and cooked perfectly. And finally the mushrooms and potato side that I ordered was pretty good too. Everything was delicious! I could have easily given Nargis a 4 or 5 star review if their staff had just been friendlier and more helpful. Bottom line- come for the food, just don't expect great service. read more

Before moving back, all I'd hear about from my sis and BIL was that I had to go to Nargis Cafe, this really great Uzbeki place. They raved about it. For the most part, I know they won't steer me wrong. So we went. And I loved it! We ordered a shiton of food. I don't remember all of it but do remember there was lamb plov, pumpkin samosa (like a samoa), several kebabs, trout, home fries with mushrooms and onions, spiced french fries with garlic and herbs, sautéed vegetables, nan, fried eggplant salad, another eggplant dish and possibly something else. Despite the abundance of meat dishes, there are so many good vegetarian dishes that are beyond lettuce and salads. The standouts were the trout, eggplant dishes, herb fries, sautéed veggies and lamb plov. The rest was good, except the pumpkin samosa. I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin and this didn't really do anything to get on my good side. The ambiance is great. Check out the fire pit in the kitchen. Wait staff was on the ball and even kept a good sense of humor when dealing with my dad. As if amazing food wasn't enough, we dropped just over $100 on food (including a whole trout) here for six people, walked out beyond stuffed and still had leftovers. read more

Really really good. The French martini is made with raspberry liqueur, so if you like raspberry get that. We also had plov-my favorite dish, achichuk, pumpkin Manti and a napoleon. Will be going back again, totally worth a trip from outside the neighborhood. read more

Nargis Cafe - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

See all

Tucked away in an area that I oft-refer to as a Siberia of Brooklyn: Bathbeach/Gravesend, I stepped off the B4 bus on a misty evening for my best friend's 24th birthday dinner. Since I had to wake up early for a volunteer thing the following morning, I thought I'd stop by, blow some air kisses, chit chat, have a few compulsory bites and politely make an early exit. Well, I didn't. Nargis is shit-in-your-pants-good. The exterior of this cafe is deceptively garish: the purple awning and interesting calligraphic font of their signs calls attention to itself. But as I walked inside, it was this wonderful cozy restaurant that had a royal family living room ambience. I was led to the backroom where said best friend had reserved a long table for the guests. At the front of the cafe there was actually a small and wonderful blend of Chinese patrons among their more Russian counterparts. Remember that Uzbekistan is in Central Asia... something that manifests itself in the food. Anyway, the food. THE FOOD. She ordered banquet. Which means I tried, essentially everything on the menu (except for the meat). Which means I did that thing where I ignored my poor tummy and kept shutting it up by eating. All the salads are good; more importantly, all the ingredients are fresh. This place gets a healthy amount of service that they keep their veggies fresh. The Avocado Salad and the Salad Nargis were good, but no real surprises there -- a good thing though for staples. The Scallions, Cucumber, Radish And Herb Salad with sour yogurt dressing was a favorite. For the Cold Appetizers, I had some picked herring and kim-chee, you know something you'd normally find in Asian supermarkets and restaurants. It gets better, my favorite edible not-so-enigma of the night was the Khonim: steamed pasta roll with potato and onions topped with tomato sauce. They arrived in large bamboo baskets, reminiscent of what you would see facing before you while eating dim sum. The Khnim itself was amazing; I had two, and they were a cross between the Russian love for potatoes and Chinese love for steamed pasta-dim sum. I can't remember the rest of the food because by this time I blacked out. But there were kebobs in large sword-like skewers that looked appetizing to the carnivores/omnivores among us, and a whole bunch of side dishes. I thought I was going to leave before 830... I stayed until right before 1. And despite Not Being Able to Breathe Because I Was the Opposite of Starving, I had dessert and tea. There was this crunchy honey drizzled pastry little clusterfuck looking thing that, upon being dipped in tea, felt like a party in my mouth. Amazing. Best of all I got to have a little alone time with Best Friend when the hours died down to reflect upon how we grew up together. That, my friends, is priceless. It's even worth the cruel and unusual punishment of the problems that arise upon Eating Too Damn Much In One Sitting.* The manager was great as well, as he came by once or twice (it takes minimalism and class to not appear as a shoulder-hoverer) to see how things were going. I'm taking my parents here soon. Yay. I did not, in fact, shit in my pants. read more