There are many perks in being involved with a different culture. Well, only if you're a foodie like me. If you merely knew the amount of time I spend eating bengali food, you would certainly think I'm nuts. Part of it is because I am hooked on cooking traditionally. In my mind I try to figure out the spices added in each dish to soon after recreate those dishes at home. Call me crazy but that's what a creative foodie does. Theres a bit of a thrill when trying a new Bengali dish. You know, almost that feeling when you sit on a roller coaster and are ready to take off, yea. that's the feeling. I don't want to say that Bengali food is my all time favorite type of food but, it's pretty close to it. Last weekend I met with uncle X who took my palates on a fun ride.
We drove from LIC to Parkchester, a neighborhood located in the east Bronx. Uncle X took me to one of his favorite restaurants, Neerob. A Bangladeshi restaurant located on Starling ave, Bronx NY(map). Although you generally imagine fish and rice when thinking of Bangladeshi food, that is not all they eat. Uncle X and I started with chicken samosas (fried pastry with meat or vegetable filling) and piaju (onion lentil fritters) as appetizers. We cracked jokes about my previous trip to Bangladesh, him not liking cheap phones and his favorite word of the day was "yes son" elongating the on'. This conversation lasted pretty long but overall was very enjoyable. Then I hear Uncle X calling out "bhabi" (waitress) for some cha (tea). Bengali tea is traditionally made with black tea leafs, milk and sugar. While in Bangladesh last February, I got to taste some of the best cha's in the world. I also visited the tea gardens and local tea shops which make there teas with goat milk,YUM! I was such an incredible experience, I can't wait to go back. Longstory short, we ended up not eating anything but appetizers. How did this happen you may ask? Well, let's put it this way; bengalis can talk -alot. This was a sit down I will never forget. Although we didn't eat much, I can say the items I did try were the best I had in America. You can absolutely taste the layers of flavor within each bite. The diverse spices will make your palates explode. Will I be going back for more? Heck yes!
I hope you all have a fantastic weekend. & if you're in the area, stop by!
OOhhhh I do love me some Neerob. I live about 10 mins away from Starling (Indian Avenue) , whenever I get the itch for some Indian food, Neerob is my go to, in fact, when I was pregnant I pretty much ate their food everyday for about a month. Its not as great as some of the Bengali food I had when I was in Delhi - expectedly, but their food is pretty darn good. My go to is always the goat biriyani with curry goat sauce:) im' drooling just thinking about it :)
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