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Al-Mehran
Cuisine of Pakistan
87-46
Parsons Boulevard
718-523-5533
Cuisine:
South Asian
Hours:
11 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day
You
wouldn’t believe it if you saw it.
There’s
a small Pakistani-run restaurant on Parsons Boulevard near Hillside
Avenue that looks like any other casual neighborhood joint in the
neighborhood.
It
doesn’t look like anything special, but the food is some of the best
South Asian cooking you’ll find anywhere, high or low, ornate or
utilitarian.
The
first thing you notice about Al-Mehran Cuisine of Pakistan is how
it’s more like someone’s house than a business.
Yes,
there’s the glass counter filled with trays full of food, a big
refrigerator filled with sodas and no carpeting.
But a television is constantly on the corner, pitchers of water
are always on the tables and men and women sit in the 10-seat space
all day long, spending more time reading newspapers and talking than
eating.
During
a recent visit, a few men were watching a cricket game on a British
sports network.
Another time, it was the local news.
More often than not, people are just lounging around inside.
The
clientele is mostly South Asian, but Al-Mehran gets steady business
from nearby Hillcrest High School and its diverse student body.
But
again, what’s so special about Al-Mehran is what it serves from the
kitchen.
The
food will open your eyes—and your sinuses—to flavors you’ve
never known before.
Spice
is the order of the day every day at Al-Mehran; unlike restaurants in
which spicy items are noted as such on the menu, there’s no such
delineation here.
It’s all the same.
One
recent visit almost brought one diner to tears.
A shot of sinus-clearing air shot right up his nasal canal,
too.
Sounds
painful, but the food was delicious.
The
order — six small pieces of tandoori chicken with nan — was a
medley of complex flavors.
The chicken was firm and fresh, with a pungent seasoning on
top, and the nan, an oven baked bread, was soft with the unmistakable
taste of sweetened butter.
There’s
no breakfast served at Al-Mehran, a strange arrangement considering
how great a place it is for just sitting down and enjoying a newspaper
or friend in conversation.
But the rest of the menu is extensive and affordable.
To
serve the Al-Mehran’s Hindu clientele, made up not only of Indians
but of West Indians and the nearby clan of Chinmoy disciples, too,
there’s a special vegetarian menu.
The
dishes, all just $3, are heavy on vegetables that are high in protein
and make good meat substitutes, like lentils, chick peas and black
peas.
Lentil is another popular component.
The
non-vegetarian menu, though, is more popular and bigger.
The 14 dishes, all $5, are made with chicken, goat, beef and
lamb.
There’s
one fish item on Al-Mehran’s menu, in its tandoor section.
At $10 and the most expensive item available at the restaurant,
it’s also one of the most exotic and tasty.
Other
items on Al-Mehran’s menu that qualify for the “exotic” title
include “paya,” cow feet
cooked with “our secret recipe,” according to the
restaurant, and brain masala, which needs no explanation other than
the fact that there may be some really dumb lambs walking around out
there.
To
top things off—no pun intended—Al-Mehran offers a changing
selection of sweets every day.
They cost about $1 per piece.
Despite
one or two choices that require a real adventurer to try, Al-Mehran is
a solid restaurant with top-shelf food and a great neighborhood
atmosphere.
It
would be hard to go wrong there.
—
Shams
Tarek
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