Egyptian In Astoria

We were looking to eat at a Greek restaurant but ended up in “Little Cairo” in Astoria, Queens. My, how that neighborhood has changed – for the better, actually. Steinway Street now has Middle Eastern shops selling halal food, Middle Eastern sweets and groceries. And yes, it even has a mosque.

We had a really great dinner at Kabab Cafe, an Egyptian restaurant owned by a very friendly and engaging chef named Ali El Sayed. It’s a tiny affair with only 5 tables and a kitchen literally a few feet from the diners. There’s no menu. Ali just greets every diner and asks what they want to eat – fish, meat, salad? Fortunately, we read a little about Kabab Cafe in the New York Times review (which was glowing). So for appetizers, Marita ordered a combination platter of hummus, foul, fried escarole and the absolute best falafel we’ve ever had. I had lamb cheeks in pickled lemon sauce. For drinks, we had mint tea for Marita and hibiscus tea for me. For the main course, I stuck with lamb since the lamb cheeks were amazing, and got ground lamb baked in a fruit and pomegranate sauce, served with yogurt, rice and vegetables. Marita had kofta meatballs in lamb and beef. Both were excellent. Best Egyptian we’ve ever had.

Ali even gave us a free dessert of kunafa, a pastry made of cheese and flour, sugar, water, and lemon (see picture). We were lucky that the kunafa was freshly baked and cooling down in the very next table. Half the fun of eating at Kabab Cafe is talking with Ali, who is a real foodie. He said he could cook cow’s lips, lamb’s brains or some other exotic dish for us. When Marita mentioned that she worked at the UN, that got his attention and he said he went every year to the food festivals at Delegates Dining. It’s Portuguese week at Delegates next week and Ali will be there. We might just meet him again.

Kabab Cafe is one place where we would happily break our rule of not going to the same restaurant twice. It’s that good. Maybe we’ll ask Ali to cook cow’s lips for us? Maybe lamb’s testicles or sweetbreads? Anthony Bourdain actually filmed a segment there (see below); I think he had the same table Marita and I had. So if you want to get a table, it’s best to reserve; otherwise, Ali says walking in on weekdays at 6:00PM would work.