Yemen Cafe

Located in Brooklyn on Atlantic ave, is one of my most favourite places to eat called  Yemen Cafe !

Courtesy by Halal

First I must confess I have never eaten Yemeni food before I came to America, and even though Saudi Arabia is located on the border of  the republic of Yemen, yet I have never tried out Yemeni food before in my life, except for the famous black tea with spices, little did I know I was about to discover more about it, on the other side of the globe.

I also would have never picked to eat there for myself, if it wasn’t for all the attention it got from most Arabs living in the area. Of course once we arrived in the states we ultimately asked everyone, where is the best place to eat good Middle Eastern food ?  and when I say “Middle Eastern”  I actually mean just your good old basic Grills, Humus, Falafel and Tabouleh salad. But the answer I kept getting, was to go and try out Yemen Cafe, and I was hesitant at frist because I didn’t feel like trying out new kinds of foods, I just wanted Arabic food plain and simple ! Including I am not a very big meat-eater, even though back in my country people are all big meat-eaters ! Traditionally we serve a whole sheep with head and everything included over rice that has been cooked in the broth of the lamb. I usually eat the rice and I never dare touch the poor animal. However when I tried out the lamb in Yemen Cafe, I couldn’t help it, I became addicted to it ! It literally turned me into a meat-eater !! I first liked the restaurant when I realized they bake their own bread. Trust me on this, if you ever go to an Arabic restaurant and they don’t bake their own pita bread, then don’t eat there ! because the bread has to be fresh, that’s my observation when choosing a good place. So Yemen cafe pass the test since the bread is freshly made, and you can have it with different dips, but I recommend that you try out the Foul beans with the bread.

Finally the most popular dish they have there which you must not miss out on,  is defiantly the lamb called “Haneez” it’s basically  lamb that has been slow roasted on the bone, I can describe it as similar to the Italian “Ossobucco” but with less of the tomatoes cooked in it. the meat is so tender and juicy it falls straight of the bone and its served with rice and vegetables plus you get a soup, salad and tea for just 18 dollars ! that’s a pretty good deal I believe !  I must also add it’s not a very fancy or posh place to dine, you sometimes need to fight your way to get a fork, but  its worth it because the food is great.

So if you are in Brooklyn sometime, please don’t forget to try out Yemen Cafe.