Word: meze
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...Kong in 1999 to work as an executive chef on the booming restaurant scene, but it wasn't until the homesick Cairo native started cooking Egyptian feasts for appreciative dinner guests in his tiny apartment that he thought of opening his own restaurant. His friends raved about his flavorful meze (vegetable-based Egyptian appetizers) and succulent tagens (traditional slow-baked stews of meat, vegetables and herbs), but they doubted the menu would sell in a city dominated by Continental and Chinese restaurants. Undeterred, Emam teamed up with veteran Hong Kong restaurateur Jennifer Migliorelli to open an oasis of charm...
...Dinner at Habibi is not to be rushed. Emam suggested starting with a selection of hot and cold meze accompanied by a surprisingly smooth Egyptian cabernet. The hummus and babaganough were well-executed old favorites, but it was the zingy zabadi, a creamy yogurt mixed with mint and cucumber, that had me digging in with a spoon. He then convinced me to try the emam biyaldi, a strange-sounding dish of baked eggplant with raisins, ground beef, pine nuts and a hint of coconut, which turned out to be a sensational blend of flavor and texture. The panfried halloumi...
Adrover, 37, regards clothes as a vector for social change. Trouble is, sometimes the message gets lost in the fray. After he showed a delicious meze of Middle Eastern--and African-inspired silhouettes in September 2001, two days before the Twin Towers fell, he says he was accused by the tabloids of sympathizing with the enemy. "No one says anything about [designers such as] Michael Kors except 'Great skirt,'" Adrover says. "We have great skirts too. For us they say, 'Maybe there's a Taliban connection.'" To make matters worse, the Leiber Group, the luxury-apparel conglomerate that had acquired...
From the hot meze, the Karentika ($3.50), a chickpea custard in a pie crust, is uniformly bland. It comes smothered, however, under a wonderfully piquant harissa, a spicy condiment made by pounding chili peppers in a mortar with salt, olive oil, and spices. Harissa is one of the foundations of all North African cooking, and it’s excellent at Baraka Café. You’d be well-advised to order harissa alone as a meze ($3.50), and forgo the Karentika. The Zaatar Coca ($4.50)—a hand-stretched bread, grilled over a fire, then sprinkled...
...savvy diner would stop there, and proceed directly to dessert. After the meze, the entrees seem oversized and repetitive. The Melkha ($12.95), an eggplant stuffed with olives, spinach, and feta cheese, is aggressively salty. No one at our table would take more than a bite. Grilled meat is just that—grilled, plain, boring. The couscous ($8.95) is just acceptable, surprising since this is the staple of the Maghreb. Ideally, each grain of couscous should be distinct and fluffy, having been steamed and re-steamed over water (but never submerged) in a couscousière, a special implement designed...