We finished the A's last night with a delightful dinner at
The Lights of Baku in Gravesend, Brooklyn - thus far the
southernmost meal of the project. This would have been a long trip anyway, but a moderate snowstorm didn't help matters.
Most on this board understand the thrill of arriving after a long trip to a foreign land where almost no one speaks your language, customs and clothing are different, and ordering from a menu is a game of chance. The Lights of Baku is such a place. Our group of 7 was the only table in the restaurant that was not being used for guests of the
90th birthday celebration for a woman who seemed to be well-loved in the community.
The restaurant does not have a wine selection, but corkage was free so
GrjApp and
bdnyc brought a Pinot Noir and a Gewurtz, respectively, from the previous night's 'WineDo 6.1' while I (after failing to find an Azeri wine anywhere in the city) picked up a "semi-sweet red" in an interesting clay bottle from nearby Georgia (Republic of). The birthday party
guests also took advantage of the free corkage with several large bottles of both Tropicana orange juice and Ketel One - an excellent pairing I'm told.
Patrons ordering food in English is a challenge the wait staff doesn't encounter on a regular basis, so we made several appetizer picks based on limited communication and hoped for the best. A highlight was the kyufta bozbash, a meatball soup with potatoes, a bounty of herbs and spices, and maybe a bit of egg. The
dolma was also quite popular, even if not exactly photogenic. For the main course, the table shared a large plate of
assorted kebabs while the birthday girl was serenaded from the stage. The real party was just beginning as we left. I was certainly tempted to stick around and join in the fun, but alas this once I had a rental car and needed to be responsible.
Now as we start the B's it's on to some warmer countries for the next few winter meals. Stay tuned.