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.
