SAMARKAND TRAVELS A SILK ROAD TO REGO PARK

Traveling outside the United States can be quite expensive with the high cost of transportation and lodging alone.  One thing that Queens can afford you is being able to spend a few hours taking in a country’s atmosphere and authentic cuisine.  That is the one thing that immigrants have certainly brought here.  As the years have gone, countries have split into smaller ones.  Thus the cuisines are even a bit infused.

Taste of Samarkand sits on the border of Middle Village and Rego Park with a cuisine from Samarkand, a city from the Asian bordered country of Uzbekistan.  Samarkand sits along the ancient Silk Road, where travelers and merchants traded their culinary goods from China to the Mediterranean Sea, thus we get some of the imported spices.    

David Abramov, a Bukharan Jew from Tajikistan, met up with Rasul Hoshimov, an Uzbek Muslim from Samarkand during a construction project.  It was just a few years ago that they decided to open Taste of Samarkand and keep a kitchen kosher.  They hired chefs Cholpon Turganbaeva and Mahmud Shokirov and redecorated with imported objects. 

Music fills the air via tv screens and many evenings of a singer/guitarist.   The female waitstaff are dressed in what appears to be a traditional and very colorful long tunic and long pants.  

BYOB is almost expected in this sometime “party” atmosphere.  There was a table of men nearby eating, drinking and in much discussion.  Dim sum came to mind as that Chinese tradition stemmed from businessmen getting together and eating appetizers.  In this case it was like a Russian banquet as the appetizers, soups, entrees, etc. just kept on coming out from the kitchen while shots of vodka was the main beverage.  That is not to say that pots of green tea did not get placed on their table. 

General Manager Lina Binkauskaite was most helpful in assisting me with the menu.  A pitcher of punch suited my thirst   It is prepared daily from various fruits.  

Now, to the food.  Uzbek is noted for their grain farming, thus the use of noodles and bread products.  Squash, eggplant and tomatoes are significant and black cumin seeds, imported from Uzbekistan, are a dominant spice as it has a much stronger and sweeter flavor than the white ilk.  

“Man cannot live by bread, alone.” Though true, you may want to taste all three.  Lepyoshka, a standard of Uzbek made from water, yeast and flour, is round and airy with a “semi-hole” in the middle. Shish kebob makes for a perfect accompaniment.  Lamb, lamb ribs, lamb chop, ground lamb, veal liver, ground chicken, chicken thighs, quail, vegetable, beef skirt steak, and wild salmon are some of the options.  I sampled a skewer of lamb ribs, beef skirt steak, and lamb chunks.  Thanks to the marinade and use of pieces of lamb fat with the chunks, it was quite savory. Beef skirt steak had a marinade and with just the cut alone, produced a very tender piece of bbq.  

A bowl-shaped matzah thin bread is made by patting and slapping dough around what is called a “kazan”, a Chinese wok looking frying pan.  It is then baked over the stove until it gets that matzah crisp texture.  I detected the flavor of cumin in this one. 

Fatir, a puffy bread, is baked with layers of a butter substitute as dairy is a no-no here.  This particular one, “made from scratch” is most outstanding. The texture is sort of a cross between phyllo dough and bread.  My perfect use for this was with two of the spreads: babaganush, that begins with smoked eggplant; and hummus made with mashed chickpeas and tahini.  This was topped with paprika and chick peas. 

Let’s get to some appetizers such as Samsa.  Layered dough wraps over finely chopped veal and lamb meat, onion and spices wrapped in the dough and cooked in the oven. Sauce on the side has a tomato base and not spicy, but has lots of garlic....I'll pass. Very inexpensive and filling, not to mention delicious!  Uzbek manti is comparable to a large broth-y steamed dumpling with the same ingredients as the Samsa.  

With many salads to choose from I opted for the Samarkand Salad 2, their winter salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, pickled cucumbers, potato chips, beef, dill, dressed with a drizzled mayonnaise. Potato chips shaped like noodles, rather than chips, provided the perfect "crunch" to the palate.

Stand up and applaud the chef who is in charge of the soups. I sampled what all Uzbekistanis beckon for; Lagman Soup.  Thick homespun stretched noodles are the highlight.  Chunks of tender, slow-cooked beef with onions, sweet peppers, carrots, in a savory beef stock.  I could taste both the cumin and dill.  The noodle idea comes from nearby Korea.  In fact there are a few Korean dishes served here.

Nakhot  Garmack, one of the main dishes is another must to try (You either keep coming back here or bring a group and share everything).  I never had or heard of eating veal tail.  They braise it for hours producing a broth worth dipping the provided crusty bread into. The second compote is chickpeas.  This dish is topped with thinly sliced red onions.   As for me, I’ll take veal tail over oxtail any day!  

Baklava was my dessert choice.  I didn’t even ask if there were options.  Excellent.  When you order a pot of tea a small tray of a sort of “trail mix” accompanies it on one side.  It was a mix of  candied pineapple, sugared chickpeas, raisins, and nuts that were coated with honey and sesame seeds. The other side had small cubes of sugar.  

Taste of Samarkand is located at 62-16 Woodhaven Blvd. Hours are: Sun-Thu: 11am - 11pm, Fri: 11am-5pm, Sat: 8pm - 12am.  718-672-2121. 

On another day I had food delivered.  This time I tried the Chebureki and their pilaf dish.  

 

UZ BECKEN FOR UZBEKI CUISINE

I tend to expect restaurants in the Rockaways to have the same basic cuisines that would fit people who spend much time at the beach.  A few years back I discovered Thai Rock. Searching for another more unusual cuisine I came upon Uma’s located at 92-07 Rockaway Beach Blvd.  Rather than a rack for bicycles, this one is for surf boards.  The cuisine is a different “Asian” as it centers on the country of Uzbekistan.  

Conrad Karl and his wife Umida (known as Uma) are the owners.  Uma is the executive chef who holds the recipes for some of most savory dishes.  Conrad grew up in Philly, while Uma in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.  Thus, the cuisine.

The décor does not suggest fine dining but rather one of this urban beach area.  In fact, you will find a surfboard in one corner belonging to Karl’s 10-year-old daughter Maya, who had taken a win in her surfing division.  There is a portrait of Duke Kahanamoku, an Hawaiian who begat the sport of surfing. Entering at about 5 p.m. on a weekday there were people enjoying refreshments at the bar. I was satisfied with an imported non-alcoholic ginger beer. The bar photo was taken after they left.

Uzbek is noted for their grain farming, thus the use of noodles and bread products.  Squash, eggplant and tomatoes are significant and black cumin seeds, imported from Uzbekistan, are a dominant spice as it has a much stronger and sweeter flavor than the white ilk. 

My tasting began with Samsa, a baked pastry much like as if you were enjoying the crusty dough of a pot pie.  Stuffed with ground beef, onions and Uzbek spices, it is served with a tiny pitcher of a spicy tomato sauce.  

You won’t find “greens” in Uma’s salad.  Chunks of fried eggplant are highlighted with roasted peppers, fresh tomatoes, garlic, cilantro and dill. Already creating the great mouth flavors, it is topped with a julienned mild domestic feta cheese. It is all too perfect for a meal opener.   

Rather than having Borscht, I opted for the Lagman Soup, a meal in itself.  Thick homespun stretched noodles are the highlight.  Chunks of tender, slow-cooked beef with onions, sweet peppers, carrots, in a savory beef stock.  I could taste both the cumin and dill.  There is very little salt and served with a tiny amount of chili paste as well as a jar containing garlic floating in vinegar.    

Manti are large steamed dumplings.  I opted for a vegetarian version of which this one uses butternut squash, onions and cumin.  The thin skinned dumplings themselves are tasty enough but topping them with an onion sauce and serving with a dill garlic yogurt sauce, just oozes “savory”, a combination of spicy and sweet.  

Plov is the national dish of Uzbekistan.  Uma uses those wonderfully tender chunks of lamb along with julienned carrots, chick peas, rice and red Uzbek raisins.  Adding the spices enhanced the already great flavors, thus I did not add the hot sauce that came along with it.  

That's a shot of Uma.

Since the chunks of beef were so delicious, I wanted to sample the Shish Kabob.  The choices are: seasonal vegetables, chicken, lamb, lula (ground beef), filet mignon, and salmon.  This seems to be the only menu options regarding protein except for chalkboard specials.  I went for the seasoned lamb which did not have any gamey flavor at all.  FYI there are a number of vegetarian options on both the bill of fare and chalkboard. 

“Choyhona” (Teahouse) is a cornerstone of the Uzbek society.  Green tea is noted to be the tea of hospitality.   I did enjoy it but next time I will try the iced version with mint and lemon. 

Somehow I had a speck of room for dessert when I read, “Halva Ice Cream” on the chalkboard. For those who have not had halva, it is considered to be a “confection” rather than candy as it is made from ground sesame seeds and sweetened. I love those bars of Joyva halvah but not partial to any other.  I was not prepared for the taste and texture of this.  Uma makes her own ice creams.  It tasted exactly like a halvah bar except creamy and nothing to chew.  It is topped with some black sesame seeds.  I have suggested that it be topped with chocolate shavings.