Epic day at the UN International Bazaar, with dozens of countries represented. I found @DaveCook and @Saregama, and rumor had it that @Ike and @howdini were in attendance as well, but I was VERY FOCUSED on the food. I hope I can match everything up - it was a bit overwhelming!
Assorted fish preparations from the Maldives - roti, blintz (probably not its real name) and ball.
All in all, a fantastic opportunity to sample food from some of the countries I’m unlikely to ever get to. Glad I brought sunscreen, also, as it was very bright and hot!
The (deconstructed) Moroccan chicken tagine I got was delicious, as also the meat boregi and the midye dolmasi / rice-stuffed mussel from the Turkish stall.
The honey cake from somewhere (@DaveCook ?) was also ridiculously good, and the lady with the chocolate chip cookie ONLY stall (and free samples) should be given a medal.
Pakistan gave me a travesty of a tasteless, watery Rooh Afza (which they dumped a pile of sugar into when I told the gentleman to taste it ) – but he pulled me over later for a proper glass after someone had located additional bottles of the syrup . But mostly I was bitter at how understocked they were on biryani – they were refilling the first batch at noon, and by the time I came back out at 12:30 the second batch was all gone, with no more to come.
We bought two of the last honey cakes from the Tajik stand. You’d noted a bag from the Tashkent market there, too. Later I learned that this was only incidental — the folks at that stand like Tashkent, too — and that the honey cake was homemade.
Yes, this is an annual event. I do try to post word of such events — although this was an especially interesting one — each week on my Eating In Translation website and social media.
Another excellent meal at Werkstatt in Brooklyn. A good place to bring picky in-laws. Didnt even need to order Salmon. The only complaint was “this is not how we make Matzo Ball soup”. Which meant this was probably excellent. Other than that we enjoyed the usual Calamari & Kilbasa, Chicken liver Mousse, the famous Pretzel, Beef Goulash with Spatzle, a side of Spatzle with cheese cause the other one was without, and of course Wiener Schnitzel (the owners car plates says Schntzl so you know its a must order). All expertly made as usual. The only new dish for us was a serviceable Bucatini with Short Rib and Mushroom Ragu. Could have used a little heat. Crepes and apple strudel for the finish.
Here is a good eat from the Brooklyn-specific thread I created recently. Other meal reports reported and cumulated there, Loved FAUSTO just around the corner on Flatbush near Grand Army Plaza, the former Franny’s space and even better IMO. [BROOKLYN] BITES - Good, Bad, Meh? - #13 by vinouspleasure
Meats:
Boneless Short Ribs
Rib Eye
Skirt Steak
Seasoned Short Ribs
Marinated Short Ribs
Pork Jowl
Pork Belly
Plus: Kimchi tofu stew
The service may be the best I have encountered for k-bbq — there was someone standing next to us at all times tending the food, slicing and cutting and snipping and serving, which means every item was perfectly cooked, nothing charred or overdone from being left on the bbq to long.
Banchan was good, but lacking compared to anywhere else in the neighborhood — their focus is clearly meat, but I love banchan so I was disappointed by this.
The shrimp pancake was excellent. We thought the squid & beef pancake would be the same, but it was the little jeons, not a single pancake.
Complimentary vanilla soft serve with yuzu marmalade to finish — very refreshing. Now I have to go back to Cote for comparison, or at least that’s what I’m telling myself.
The flavors of this meal were very true, though nothing we ate made me love it enough to want to return pronto.
My favorites were the crab & prawn pulao and the Kashmiri lamb. All the breads (chapatis, parathas, pao) were well-made (though the chapatis were the texture and thickness of tortillas rather than chapatis). The sauce for the Gurda Kapoora was homey and went well with the pao / bread, but the kidneys and testicles were chopped up so tiny as to be indistinguishable. The Champaran meat was distinctive and well-made, but quite salty, and needed a hefty dose of rice (which was not served with it) to offset the intensity.
The mini kulfi sticks were a nice finish. I thought I’d like the pistachio best, but the rose was very delicate and tasted almost like plain malai (my favorite) so I enjoyed it best. (There was also guava, which was intensely guava flavored if you like that.)
) – but he pulled me over later for a proper glass after someone had located additional bottles of the syrup 
. But mostly I was bitter at how understocked they were on biryani – they were refilling the first batch at noon, and by the time I came back out at 12:30 the second batch was all gone, with no more to come.
