Taste It For Yourself

RESTAURANT:  Kashkaval Garden

DATE: Dec. 9th, 2014
LOCATION: 852 9th Avenue, New York, NY 10019 (9th Ave between 55th & 56th St.)

Fast forward past this fall's picks... as I was away on vacation, missing the November dinner.  In October, we went to Umami Burger, which has already been reviewed by Vivian here.  I can only concur with her rave... so *thumbs up* Umami!  While it's easy to become quite burger snobbish and overly critical in the competition of great NYC burgers, Umami wins points for taste and quality, earning a rank within the league of NYC burger-dom.  Ahh but I've digressed as this review is not about Umami...

For our end of the year dinner, our group went to Kashkaval Garden in the west side on 9th Ave.  The place is a bit narrow and snug, but our reservation got us a nice private wooden booth in the back of the restaurant.  I was a little skeptical initially about having Mediterranean tapas for a winter gathering, as I associate this with light eating and the summer time.  But Kashkaval Garden definitely did not disappoint.  We ordered a tapas plate of 5, served with warm pita bread.  Our tapas picks were:  Babaganoush, Spinach with Feta, Brussels Sprouts, Roasted Artichoke, Tzatziki.  We savored each of these tapas but the 2 most noteworthy ones for me were the Spinach with Feta and the Roasted Artichoke.  The spinach was surprisingly warm, topped with the feta, onions and garlic.  Warning - My review Kashkaval Garden may be a little lacking, because I just can't remember each distinctive palatable bite, but I can say you must taste it for yourself and see.

We also ordered the flatbread: Za'atar, gruyère, arugula, chili oil (*a middle eastern blend of dried herbs, sesame seeds, sumac and salt).  Again, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I was enjoying the food here. 

Lastly, we ordered 8 types of skewers: kofte, shrimp, chicken adana (spicy), grilled octopus, chicken, filet mignon, grilled sausage, and turkey meatballs.  Each skewer platter comes with a side, so we got 1 of each: mushroom bulghur and squash caponata.  Both sides were good but I probably was hogging the squash caponata more.  Once again, nothing on our plates disappointed.  I first sampled a piece of each skewer that we ordered.  After having a piece meal of the skewer platters, the tastes eventually started to all blend together.  The grilled octopus was a good change in texture from the massive meat pile.  I was expecting to love the kofte the best, but the skewers the surprisingly stood out to me the most were the chicken adana and the grilled sausage.  Normally I wouldn't pick sausage as a meat choice, since I prefer beef or other variations of pork.  But while each meat type was satisfying, the herbs and spices on the sausage and chicken adana gave them more well-defined tastes.  None of the other skewers were spicy, so the chicken adana was hands-down my favorite because the spiciness snuck up on even those of us with a higher tolerance for heat.  Even though the menu indicates it as spicy, it was still an element of surprise since I was doubtful that it would be spicy at all.  I anticipated it to be more of a mild "spice" paprika kind of kick than a hot and spicy taste.  But this is simply another dish you must taste for yourself and tell me if you liked it!

Bottom Line: You won't go wrong with any of the plate choices.  The chicken adana skewer is a must for spicy lovers.  You can probably pass on the babaganoush if you can already get this dip elsewhere, but try the spinach with feta or the roasted artichoke.  Flatbreads are fun too.  Make reservations as this place can be a little crowded.

Happy Noshing, Jeanne