Dinner with the neighbors

[brooklynite]

My wife and I went to eat at a Yemeni restaurant on our local Arab shopping street. The place was packed; Arabs and non-Arabs sitting together talking and eating. No hostility and no suspicion of the “others”. It’s nice living in a civilized community.

[Niagara]

1. K&R

Glad to hear that you both had a lovely dinner.

[GulfCoast66]

2. Totally off topic.

We have lots of food offerings in Central Florida. But have never been to a Yemeni restaurant. Anything like an Ethiopian one? Because that was good in a very different way.

[brooklynite]

5. No. Heavy on chicken and lamb; limited vegetable options

Dinner invariably begins with marag, a soup made with lamb or chicken that saturates the atmosphere with saline vapors. The liquid is murky but it sparkles with citrusy zest when it hits the tongue. Yemen’s cuisine is full of such unique flavors, so don’t simply order classics like baba ghanoush or hummus (or, as M. Pigalle would have it, the mixed grill). As an appetizer, the foul, a dish of mashed fava beans, onions, and tomatoes which arrives, bubbling, in a black clay pot, is exceptional. Scoop it up using a piece of flatbread and bask in the warm earthiness of the beans.

For the main course, choose between the fish of the day, simply grilled and slathered with a spicy tomato paste, or a variety of lamb dishes. Among these, the slow-cooked lamb haneeth is best; supple strands of meat pull away from the bone and have a sweet, musky taste. Also worth a try, although a little more rubbery in texture, is the massloug lamb, sautéed and boiled for three hours and accompanied by a pile of rice topped with okra and potatoes.

For some reason, the best finale at Yemen Café, the fatah with honey, is on the “Appetizer” section of the menu. The misplacement should not deter you, however, for this huge dessert of pulverized bread, splotched with creamy butter, is delicious. Eat as much of it as possible, washed down with a cup of sweet tea, and rejoice: bagged and transported home, it makes an excellent breakfast.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/11/21/yemen-cafe

[GulfCoast66]

10. That is different from Ethiopian.

Try as I might, I am just no good at the flat bread dipping/grabbing/scooping. Eat European style with my fork in my left hand; I prefer it. Chop sticks; used them since I was 10. But any time I try scooping up food with flat bread it results in a mess!

But the food sounds great.

I might have to do something I hate, and use a fork!

[lillypaddle]

13. OMG I'm so hungry now

Sounds delish!

[GusBob]

3. I'm just a dumb hick fell off the turnip truck

And I live on the outskirts of boondockistan

But I get The New Yorker magazine, and each week they have the restaurant review "Table for Two" about all the trendy little restaurants in that big city. All the cuisines and the cultures behind them fascinate me to no end.

It must be exciting to experience that

[bluecollar2]

9. Dumb hicks

Don't exist on DU...
Just sayin...

[GulfCoast66]

11. Best post of the night

[bluecollar2]

12. Lol

👍

[MontanaMama]

15. True story.

That’s why I hang out here.

[Chellee]

4. What did you have?

Those of us that live in places that don't have exciting restaurant choices would like to live vicariously through you.

[brooklynite]

7. Foul (spiced mashed fava beans) and Chicken Glaba (Minced chicken mixed with root vegetables)

Everything comes with free lamb broth, salad, and fresh Yemeni pita

[Chellee]

8. Sounds great!

I've made foul. It's so delicious!

Now I'm off to search recipe websites to figure out how Yemeni pita differs from other types. I love watching it puff up in the oven.

[volstork]

14. Sounds delicious!

...but it needs a better name!

[Ohiogal]

6. I would love an experience like that!

[First Speaker]

16. You know, to paraphrase Jack Nicholson in *Easy Rider*...

...this could be one hell of a good country. If only we were all "civilized"...

[Meowmee]

17. Anyone

Who can eat at a restuarant at all and who is without numerous health restrictions is very lucky.