Lamb Cheeks [Egyptian in NYC; Kabab Cafe]

This is the first in an array of dishes I had at Kabab Cafe, a small little restaurant in Astoria. It's run by a dynamic fellow who engages you in conversation as he lists the days specials. I like the place. It isn't like any dining experience I've had--no menus, no whiny teenage waiters or snobby foodies grimacing at your poor choice in edibles. Instead, you find yourself in a conversation circling around what you enjoy and what Ali (the chef) has to offer. And as the conversation progresses, food arrives as if to punctuate the end of each exchange. The upside? A fluid, natural dining experience. The downside: you can and probably will talk yourself into spending more than you want to.

I'm told tradition dictates that you serve the one cheek to the lady of the table and another to the guest of honor. Apparently, the cheek is the tenderest cut of most animals--fatty, but with enough muscle to make it something more than delicious mush.

Taste:

It's hard to tell what exactly went into this. Ali brought the mixture over in a skillet, cracking an egg over everything and mixing. He mixed it further on a plate covered in spices whose names I don't remember. And then he invited us to try it on the provided pita.

I salivate as I type this. To relate this at all with some form of ground beef is a disservice, but I have no other way of conveying the taste and the texture. Imagine then ground beef, but the most decadent ground beef you've ever had. And then imagine that distinct aroma of lamb. Then, instead of that crumbly texture innate in anything ground, unite that texture with a fatty film, perhaps eggy in nature.

I won't even try to describe the spices. That explosion of flavor is indescribable. I have nothing at all to relate it to. It also doesn't help that I am not at all familiar with middle eastern cuisine and am a shitty cook.

All I can really say is, "Heavily spiced, delectably smooth texture."

Reflections:

I think of all of the dishes I had at Kabab Cafe, this was one of the best, perhaps because it was the most familiar. The pairing with the pita was amazing. And I, being new to middle eastern cuisine, found the novel spicing to be a real treasure.