One week ago today, I went to the #1 restaurant on New York Magazine’s 2006 Cheap Eats list. Tanoreen, a Middle-Eastern restaurant in Bay Ridge, is raved about everywhere I look on the internet and, being just a short trip from Sunset Park, was at the top of my list of places to get a good Saturday lunch.
Much like today, last Saturday was a little chilly, but the sky was bright blue and brought back good memories of October weekends back in New Hampshire. I would often go apple picking with my family, a necessary excursion when in New Hampshire during fall. It was like taking a day trip, but the orchard was only a thirty-minute drive away. We’d all get in the car, drive up the windy, wooded roads up to the beautiful Macoun and McIntosh apple trees at Gould Hill Orchards in Contoocook, New Hampshire. The entire occasion of picking apples is stimulating: the weather is pleasing, the car ride is relaxing, the apples are crisp, and, most thrilling, is the ability to pick up bruised apples from the ground and chucking them at a metal fence.
I was reminded of my apple picking experiences while driving in Jared’s car to Bay Ridge. Instead of trees there are storefronts, but everything else was the same. We were taking a trip for food, and nothing says fall like falafel. The small restaurant was filled with a few other groups, and while we were there a very large group filled the rest of the available tables.
We decided to order an order of hummus and an order of grape leaves as appetizers. While we were waiting for the food, I was reminded by my lunch-mates to take pictures of the appetizers. However, when the food came, we all forgot about the pictures and obliterated the hummus and grapes leaves. The hummus was smooth and light, and served with a basket of pita triangles and toasted bread with herbs and sesame seeds for $5. There were also about ten grape leaves, which were delicate, flavorful, and $5.50. Both the hummus and the grape leaves were the best I’ve ever had. Also, they served us a dish of pickles, pickled beats, and olives with the appetizers.
For lunch the four of us got sandwiches. Meg got falafel for $4, Pat got the chicken for $5.00, Jared got the shish kabob for $5.50, and I got the kabob for $5.50. All of the sandwiches were made with thin pita wrapped around the fresh ingredients of our respective dishes. Fresh is the perfect word for the food at Tanoreen. Everything was crispy, light, simple, and fantastic. This time, I remembered to take pictures.
During our meal, the owner went around to the different tables to ask how the meals were. Whenever this occurs, which it rarely does, and I really enjoy the meal, I try to convey my love of the food as quickly and demonstratively as possible. I forget what I said, but it was probably something like, “awesome,” or “really great.” Two things she’s probably heard many times before about her restaurant.
Although I refrained from chucking the olive pits against the wall with glee, everything else about the day was reminiscent of my boyhood trips to the apple orchard. The weather was perfect, the food was great, the ride was fun, and the change of scenery was nice. Just a short drive or subway trip away from Sunset Park, Tanoreen is the perfect place to escape to for a great meal. Lucky for me, it’s not seasonal.
