Like any worthwhile topic (wine comes to mind), the sheer amount there is to learn about food in Sheepshead Bay is intimidating. It’s home to several distinct cultural hubs and what feels like a never-ending amount of restaurants, bakeries and shops to explore. This is exciting in theory (and in practice!) but when you’re a highly anxious, decision-averse human such as myself, it is also very paralyzing which is why, for the purposes of my food crawl there a few weeks ago, I decided to give myself a general parameter and stick to Central Asian-ish food. (That’s a pro tip from me, by the way - decision paralysis is caused by too many options. Reduce your options, reduce your anxiety. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk).
One of the reasons I’m so fascinated by Central Asian cuisines (Uzbek, Kazakh, etc.) is because they feel both foreign and familiar at the same time. And I’m not referring to my general familiarity with Chinese food but rather the fact that the food I grew up eating had elements of Central Asian culture in it. Generally speaking, Soviet food was simultaneously fairly bland and non-representative of Russian food due to scarcity/ingredient shortages but also an exciting melting pot of dishes from all the various nations under the Soviet umbrella. It never occurred to me that plov, the centerpiece of any Russian banquet dinner, is actually Uzbek; that the shashliki (meat skewers) my grandpa marinated in vinegar and wine and grilled every summer come from Georgia and that my aunt Klara’s bourekas, which I always assumed were Israeli, are actually Turkish in origin.
I will be back to Sheepshead Bay many, many more times and am hoping to compile a much more comprehensive list of recommendations but for now, these are the spots we checked out and everything we ordered. Also, I forgot to take photos (lol, I’m good at my job I swear) so shoutout to my talented friend Kylie of @cookingwithcocktailrings for providing all these gorgeous shots!!
THE STOPS
Lagman House
2612 E 14th St, Brooklyn, NY 11235
Lagman House was my favorite stop. This is the only restaurant in the entire city that serves Dungan food - a cuisine I’d actually never heard of before. According to my research (which included this fantastic NY Times article by Ligaya Mishan and good old Wikipedia) Dungans are a Chinese muslim minority mostly based in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia who are descended from seventh-century Arab and Persian Silk Road traders and Han Chinese.
What we got
Traditional Lagman (or La Mian): hand-pulled noodles with braised beef, onions, bell peppers. This was objectively good but I couldn’t get past the overwhelming bell pepper flavor (I’m a notorious bell pepper hater). This is a personal problem, though - you should absolutely try this dish! On a separate note, I feel like the name La Mian is somehow related to Lo Mein but I haven’t done the research on it. If you figure it out let me know!
Dungan-style samsa: fried pastry with beef. This was very good but not my favorite version I’ve ever had - I’m partial to the samsi at Brighton Tandir which are so extra flaky and perfect. Probably just comes down to different styles!
Beshbarmak: this was the unanimous favorite. According to my googling, “beshbarmak” means "five fingers" because nomads ate the dish with their hands. It consists of these handkerchief-style noodles cooked in a delicate, dill-y broth topped with scallions and the most tender braised beef.
Jin momo: this steamed bun reminded me so much of the tingmos I order at Phayul, my favorite Tibetan restaurant. I’m sure they’re related. There were flecks of some kind of green herb within the dough but we couldn’t figure out what it was! It had a pleasant, slightly sour taste - kind of like sumac. A perfect sauce-mopper.
Tandir Rokhat
2678 Coney Island Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11235
This is an Uzbek/Central asian bakery and restaurant. As soon as you walk in there’s a display case with all sorts of savory pastries like samsi and piroshki and behind the display is a giant wok-like cauldron sitting over the tandir (clay oven) where, at the time of our visit, the chef was making his signature plov.
What we got
Samsa (beef & lamb): great samsi!
Fried potato piroshki: classic. In what world is fried dough filled with potato ever going to be bad?
Plov: plov, also referred to as polo, is essentially the national dish of Uzbekistan and one of my personal favorites. It’s traditionally made with lamb but the version my mom made for us always used chicken because my mom has a strong aversion to lamb (the explanation for this involves a pet goat and childhood trauma - we will get into it another time). I loved this version though - full of chickpeas, barberries, This version had chickpeas, barberries, LOTS of carrots and very tender lamb.
Lamb manti: probably my favorite dish from here. There are lots of versions of manti but the Uzbek version is large, usually filled with a mixture of lamb/onion, and steamed. The juices from the lamb create a brothy situation inside the dumpling and it’s heavenly.
Burchak Pide
1614 Sheepshead Bay Rd, Brooklyn, NY 11235
This is a Turkish bakery/restaurant. As you can see, I am a big fan of the savory bakery/restaurant hybrid model.
What we got
Feta roll: this flaky pastry was so good we almost ordered a second one but thought better of it given we had a full day of nearly competitive-eating ahead of us. It was filled with tangy feta and encased in shatteringly crisp pastry dough. YUM.
Pulled lamb pide: obviously we had to try the namesake dish which is a Turkish pizza that kind of reminds me of a cross between American pizza and Georgian khachapuri. There are lots of toppings to choose from but our server emphatically recommended the pulled lamb so naturally, we obliged. She killed it with her rec.
We also had a liquid-y, tangy yogurt drink called Ayran and some Turkish tea because when in Rome, you know.
Apani Bakery
1520 Sheepshead Bay Rd, Brooklyn, NY 11235
Our first stop should have really been our last stop if we planned well because it’s more of a takeaway bakery/deli (we didn’t realize this). Apani is Georgian and while we came for the khachapuri, the dips were the standout!
What we got
Mushroom salad: I remember this dish from my childhood. Much like many other Eastern European salads/spreads this is really just chopped mushrooms with what I think is mayo as a dressing. In this house (my house) we believe mayo can and should be used in any/all situations. I love this dip.
Pkhali: spinach & walnut paste dip. Really good! Couldn’t quite put my finger on all the spices involved but definitely fenugreek.
Kuchmachi: chicken giblet salad. This was my favorite dip. Again, not positive exactly what was in there but the woman at the counter let us know it was definitely chicken heart & liver (among other parts). It was so well-spiced and hearty.
We did get a khachapuri to try but TBH I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re gonna take it home immediately and heat it up (it came out cold.) I think you’re better off going to a sit-down restaurant and having hot & fresh cheesy khachapuri.
Awesome awesome guide! I just experienced Uzbek cuisine for the first time a few weeks ago (in dc!). Will have to try these spots. My favorite so far is plov 🤤🤤
If you go back please take me with! I LOVE manti and def have not explored this region of cuisine enough