Baraka Cafe - Kitchen Problems?

A couple weeks back, we headed to Baraka Cafe one muggy summer evening with S and T. We've always been big fans of Baraka and wanted to show our friends what a gem this place is! For those of you unfamiliar with Baraka Cafe, it is a North African restaurant(the owner, Alia, is Tunisian) restaurant in Central Square. It is very popular and there's almost always a wait.

Unfortunately, we didn't have the best of experiences that day. The food wasn't up to its usual standards. This was reinforced by the owner yelling to the chef in the kitchen (hehe not sure what was going on in there?!!).

We ordered some small plates and main courses to share. We got the zaatar coca (our staple). It is pita bread topped with an assortment of spices. The flavors are very unique unlike what you get elsewhere. The small plates on the whole were good enough but we were very disappointed with the main courses. We've had much better from Baraka.



The lamb was dry and tough. The eggplant was undercooked. At least the couscous was good! The weather that day was also very hot and there wasn't air conditioning in the restaurant. I'd typically describe Baraka as cozy but that day it was stuffy. We couldn't wait to get out of there even before dessert!

Eggplant main on left; Lamb Shank on the right


Oh yes, the lemonade at Baraka is always good too. It's a rose lemonade with bits of rose in it. You probably won't like it if you don't like "perfumed" scent in your food hehe. I on the other hand have no problems with it. I love rose flavored foods.



Chomp Meter:
Ehhh. I'd have rated this place at least a 4 previously, but this visit has caused me to think otherwise. Have any of you been to Baraka Cafe recently and had a better experience? Let me know!

Baraka Cafe
80 1/2 Pearl St.
Cambridge, MA 02139
Phone: 617.868.3951
Hours:

Lunch - Tues to Sat
11:30 am to 3 pm

Dinner - Tues to Sun
5:30 pm to 10 pm

Cash Only

Green Street - It's on Green Street ...

We were all out of ideas for dinner on Saturday night. Hungry Mother, full, Persephone, closed, Rendezvous, full. Should have made plans earlier huh? We were in the mood for trying something new and of good quality. We finally settled on Green Street in Central Square partly because we were able to get reservations easily for 7pm.

Green Street has pretty good reviews on Yelp and is known for its modern take on comfort food. It's kind of an unexpected place because it looks more like a sketchy bar from the outside. Much nicer inside thankfully.

We started with the chicken livers and oysters. The chicken livers were pretty yummy though I don't see myself going back specially for this. We also shared some beef tongue tacos. They were ok.

Chicken livers for you offal lovers out there ...


The oysters ...


For mains we had the Clams which came with chick peas, ham and rabe. The dish was too salty and rather disappointing. I wanted to eat light and got the gazpacho as my main which was quite refreshing. I especially enjoyed the fresh mangoes which were a nice touch. Got a side of the fried green tomatoes as well but they were nothing to blog about (modern day version of "write home").

Green Street Grill
280 Green Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
(Central Square)
Phone: 617 876 1655



Chomp Meter:
I wanted to like Green Street more because of the rave reviews I've read but none of the dishes we got were particularly fantastic. Perhaps we didn't get the right dishes but I doubt I'd go back unless someone else proposes it as a place to meet.

Leave a comment and let me know what dishes you ordered if you've had a better experience!

<3 Rendezvous!

Rendezvous's been on my list of restaurants to try for a while. I keep hearing about it in the press, blogs, another blog, and from friends. To start off, here's some random Rendevous facts:

- Rendezvous is housed in the former Burger King in Central Square
- Owner Steve Johnson was former co-owner of the Blue Room
- Chef Deepak Kaul was from BU
- They have a cute blog-style website and don't we all love blogs? :)

The meal we had at Rendezvous was one of the best we'd had in a while! It was tough deciding what to get since everything sounded delicious. We eventually settled on the Kumamoto Oysters and Grilled Chicken Livers with apricot, mizuna, and pancetta vinigrette. Mizuna is a japanese mustard green often found in Mesclun salads.

The oysters were fresh and sweet albeit a little small since they were kumamotos. Very delicious and a great way to start off. I like my oysters a little spicey and the horse radish gave them a kick! Yum!



The chicken livers were creamy and went amazingly well with the fresh apricot slices and pancetta. I don't often see chicken liver on the menu and was strangely drawn to it. I think it was the apricot pairing that sealed the deal for us.



For the main course, I got the Swiss Chard Dolmas while the friends got the Grilled Tuna Nicoise, Grilled Leg of Lamb, and the Grilled Pork Tenderloins with figs. I must say that the highlight of the evening was the Grilled Pork Tenderloins. When first presented, we were surprised the the pork didn't seem completely cooked and a little rare. Isn't pork supposed to be cooked for the most part? Pushing thoughts of food poisoning aside however, we ventured to take a bite of the pork and were pleasantly surprised to find that the meat was perfectly tender, juicy and absolutely delicious!!!




The tuna nicoise was another hit. It was perfectly seared and meticulously seasoned with a salt and pepper crust. The saltiness of the crust was balanced by the milder taste of the rare tuna.



I also loved my swiss chard dolmas. Swiss Chard was substituted for grape leaves and bulger for rice. The plump raisins scattered through out the bulgar added a touch of sweetness to the dish, while the roasted pine nuts provided a variety of textures. I did not even feel like I was missing out on the meat since this was a purely vegetarian dish!



The lamb was soo good too! It was mediterranean-influenced and served with roasted eggplant. Wow looks like we hit a home run with Rendezvous that night. I really liked how assorted vegetables and grains were used to accent the main ingredient of the various dishes.



With the amazing meal we had, we had to end off with dessert. Cherry-nectarin clafoutis with lemon verbena ice cream. Clafoutis as we learned from the waiter is fruit soaked in alcohol (wine I think?) and baked.

Warm chocolate cake w/hazelnut pralines & cinnamon cream. Ahhhh the heavenly goodness of chocolate.



See Rendezvous and other foodie finds on a map on Chompster.com

Rendezvous
502 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-576-1900



Chomp Meter:
I can't wait to go back! I enjoyed every bite and felt that it was money well spent at $50 per person (including a bottle of wine). We have to try the remaining 2 desserts on the menu. Oooh and the ceviche, cucumber yogurt soup, and duck! I have to tell everyone how much I like Rendezvous! Two thumbs and one paw up!