I hadn’t an inkling of what Azerbaijani food was until I ate at The Village Café in Midwood and now I am obsessed. I think this might be one of the best meals I have had in recent times and I have Rich at Ethno Junkie to thank for it.
The menu here offers Russian, Georgian and Armenian dishes too but the Chef’s originally from Azerbaijan and those are the dishes that really blew my mind.
We started off with a Veal Tongue Salad and something called Salad Delight, which had a mix of eggplant and walnuts. Both of these were outstanding and quite different from anything had tried before.
We then moved on to a dish called Guru Hingal, which has to be ordered 24 hours in advance. It is made with thin, folded strips of boiled dough (which has to ferment for several hours). This dough is topped with sautéed ground lamb and cilantro. I loved this dish – it seemed so recognizable and yet it was so different – super comforting.
The dish of the day however was the Chicken Lulya. This consists of freshly ground chicken kebabs which are wrapped in very thin bread and eaten. It was outstanding and I wish we had platters more of that dish because I could not stop eating it.
The Village Café literally blew my mind. Its one of those meals you keep thinking about and I, for one, cannot wait to go back.
