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Some of you must have seen Asimov's rave review of this Bay Ridge restaurant in the New York Times on April 7. I went tonight with a friend. It's fabulous! We started off with excellent Baba Ganouge ($4.99), Cauliflower Salad ($4.50), and Sujok ($4.99). Also provided were a bunch of slices of pita, some very tasty crunchy zaatar bread, and a freebie of pickled vegetables (little cucumbers, turnips marinated in beet juice, and olives). Right off the bat, what my dining partner and I liked so much about the food is that it was unsubtle. The Sujok, described on the menu as "Armenian dried meat, sauteed w/garlic and olive oil," is actually slices of a beef sausage in red oil. The sausage tastes like meat plus the taste of the smell that greets you when entering an excellent Indian store with aromatic spices for sale. It is fantastically spicy but only moderately hot. The Cauliflower Salad was also a standout. It is described on the menu as "Cauliflower, pomegranate syrup, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, and mint." There is no way to do it any kind of justice in writing, but the combination of tastes on top of the cauliflower tops is amazing, and the cauliflower itself is nicely browned. The Baba Ganouge also had strong tastes - a robust taste of smoky eggplant, lots of lemon juice, and lots of garlic, plus tahini (I thought it had a bit of hummus in it, but the menu mentions tahini instead). The pickled vegetables were also nice. We also shared a main dish: A special of pieces of lamb with baby okra in a garlic sauce with rice and very small noodles. I think the price was $11.99, for a really large portion (it would have been humongous for one person - well, most of us, anyway). It was quite good and the baby okras were delightful - a little sweet, and not slimy at all, for those who care about such things. That said, we both agreed that the appetizers were even better than the main dish we had. I couldn't resist the idea of getting some desserts to take to my mother's for her to get some taste of the place. We ordered Knafeh ($8.00) and had two slices there, with me taking the rest of a large container home. My dining partner liked the Knafeh even more than I did, as was obvious from her facial expression. I liked it quite a bit myself, however. It was not extremely sweet, as some other renditions of the dessert that I've had before were. It was made with ricotta and an Arab cheese (I didn't get the name) which was something like low-moisture mozzarella, with shredded filo dough and a subtly-spiced syrup above and below the cheese layer. We walked up to the counter and noticed another interesting-looking dessert. I don't see it on the takeout menu, but our waitress described it as a "pumpkin gelee" which clearly included sugar, pistachios, and walnuts. My dining partner doesn't like squashes much, so she didn't love this dessert, but I liked it quite a lot, ate some of it, and brought the rest for my mother, who I predict will like it, too. I don't remember the price for that, but including 3 Arabic Teas ($2.00 apiece), the total bill was some $45 plus tip. Asimov was right. This place is amazing, and one of these days, I'd like to organize an eGullet dinner there.

I really wasn't paying any attention to your stove. It was only what was in the pot that was interesting to me!

Mongo, are you using "amateur" in the original sense of someone who loves something? Because in that sense, many amateurs were definitely professional-level performers on musical instruments, for example. Just look at the level of difficulty of music that Beethoven, for example, wrote for amateurs! Similarly, a dilettant was someone who took delight in something. And in those original senses of the words, I would always strive to be an amateur and a dilettant; however, words change meanings, and there's no question that, under normal circumstances, if someone claimed my musicianship was amateurish or dilettant, it would be a cutting (or, rather, laughable) insult.

I haven't seen a Bollywood film in many years and don't see Hollywood films that often, for that matter, but I'm enjoying this thread. It's nice to learn things on eGullet.

That was beautiful, Brooks! Terrific step-by-step pictures and instructions.

Agreed, except in that case, we'd lose his $25-and-other reviews.

You wouldn't. But an herb and an actor are not necessarily the same thing. I think for many, they would be, whether "Bay-zil" or otherwise. I've heard various people use that pronunciation for the name, too. My father's name for him, though, is "Rasil Bathbone."

I'm not sure who P.F. Chang is, but your point is very well taken. From what I remember, the word "Keralese" is used in Malaysia along with Malayali.

Thanks, that was funny. But goodness, you had room for a whole Katz's pastrami sandwich after your meal??!! That is hardly an advertisement for WD-50!

Assuming the the book editor is talking about the U.S., I tend to agree: If New York is a pertinent example, it seems to me that Indian food is continuing to increase in availability and popularity. In particular, the success of Amma as an upscale restaurant that provides superb food at great values but not cheaply is telling. That said, the fact that Amma is so unique in New York shows how much further things can go. Indian cuisine will really have "arrived" here when we can choose between Gujarati, Keralese, Bengali, Kashmiri, Chettinad, and several other regional styles, at various price levels.

Great picture, Brooks! I'm really enjoying reading this blog.

No-I give those to people I don't like As my grandmother said "You ask a silly question, you get a silly answer."

Second question about the artichokes. If they are so popular, why only throw in a couple of them? They are really bulky and they take up alot of room is the reason for not so many per pot. They are trimmed, but basically thrown in whole. Do you trim off the thorns?

Chag sameach, everyone!

You really dislike music in restaurants, I see. I really was not reminded of John Cage at all while reading that article, but I guess that's neither here nor there. I didn't know him personally, though I know people who did and wouldn't agree with your take on him, but that's also neither here nor there...

I see broccoli was mentioned. My father makes a dish of broccoli (instead of spinach, I think) puree with fresh ginger and several other things that's based on I believe a Madhur Jaffrey recipe, and I certainly find the substitution fine. He also substitutes broccoli for cauliflower sometimes in stir-fries (one in particular that I remember uses fennel seeds), for example. I don't see why asparagus couldn't be cooked well in an Indian style. Just brainstorming: How about a tarka of fried onions, fried chillies, and mustard seeds or fennel seeds? Perhaps one could experiment with using mustard oil for the tarka, too. I don't know.

Well, that was certainly a rave by Sifton!

I pronounce thusly: Herb = "erb" Cumin = "koomin" Culinary = "kyoolinery" But I'd also like to say that differences in accent among native speakers don't cause "wrong" pronunciations of English words. "Herb," "kyoomin," and "kullinery" aren't "wrong." Because frankly, based on majority usage, New York City accents are "wrong," and I think that idea is just stupid. Some of you might be interested in looking at the results of a U.S. Dialect Survey.

Jonathan and Moby, that's one of the most interesting articles I've read on eGullet. So much food for thought. I'll just focus on one sentence that particularly struck me: What do you think Adria means by that? I know of painters who'd like to die in their studios and musicians who'd like to die onstage. Everyone has to die somewhere. So why not in the kitchen?

Thanks for the report, Ellen. Where is the place?

That really sucks, Ya-Roo.

Thanks for the pictures. I wish I coulda been there, too!!! One question about the artichokes: Are they thrown in whole?

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My guess, now that you've told me something about the history of that spelling, is that it's a legacy of British rule in Malaya and North Borneo. Your point about the meaning of the spelling to people other than the restaurant owners is well taken. For my part, I wouldn't have thought twice about "Parsee" vs. "Parsi" but would find "Hindoostan" or some such a very odd spelling for a restaurant today. I would hope but not expect that a restaurant calling itself "Mughlai" would actually present Mughlai cuisine. And I'm always suspicious of a restaurant that advertises that it serves "Exotic Asian Cuisine" or some such.

The Urkel-O's segment is pretty funny, too: