rev:text
| - A well-kept establishment on an almost hidden street (at least during the night), Al-Baghdadi Pastry serves up delightful Arab cuisine at pretty decent prices. Although I was relatively lost on what to order, the friendly staff were very patient and helpful in terms of describing the food and pastries at my disposal.
I ordered a kofta manakesh wrap with cheese, tomato, and lettuce, as well as a mint tea and a square of knafeh divided into four squares. The wrap was the perfect combination of gooey, cheesy goodness, the fresh and bursting flavors of the vegetables, meaty texture and juiciness of the lamb, and the soft, almost pillowy, bread that was an absolute delight into which I sunk my teeth. The knafeh, which was described to me as melted cheese with what appeared to be orange-colored pastry shreds on top with simple syrup to garnish, seemed like an oddity to me at first, but upon tasting it, there was no going back. The saltiness of the cheese combined with the sweetness of the syrup and pastry on top complemented each other in a sublime way so that the cheese and sugar weren't overbearing on their own. The only thing that I wish were better was the mint tea, as I found it a bit dull for my liking, but that's probably because I'm used to drinking Moroccan-style mint tea, which contains A LOT of sugar. Perhaps this is just a particular regional spin with which I'm not that familiar.
I would definitely come back to try more of the pastries, as they also had a wide variety of cookies and baklava on display. Also, there's shisha on the upper floor, so it's a good place to bring your friends for recreation and great food all in one!
|