Last Sunday, I ventured to Rego Park were I was invited to try a kosher Uzbeki and Middle Eastern restaurant: U Yuri Fergana. It means “Yuri from Fergana”, Fergana being the city from Uzbekistan from where Yuri Moshev and his wife Myra are from. Myra is the chef: she has been cooking since she is 15 back there and serves some of her grandmother’s recipes for the pleasure of their patrons. You would ask me probably what makes this place so unique, the city having many Uzbeki restaurants? Well, Yuri and Myra own their own livestock that they raise organically. At least they know where the meat comes from. The place is also unique, with an opulence that stands out when you enter in the place and that you would have never guessed from outside: chandeliers and paintings give a certain charm.

As far as the food is concerned, they do have vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, but the meat is king there. They have soups and salads as well as hummus and babaganouj. Their salad Fergana made with fresh vegetables is good, but the salad with sautéed eggplant is a must have: it was very good, the eggplant being well cooked (have you tried an undercooked eggplant? Horrible!), mixed with some sweet peppers. The best part was when dipping the delicious bread in the sauce that had a nice sweetness.

I then tried their dumplings that came with fries. I admit that I ditched the fries that were a little soggy and focused on these little crunchy pockets filled with a mix of ground lamb and beef. Very flavorful and addictive.

Next was the plat de resistance (main entree of the meal): the Shish Kebabs. They have a nice selection of meats and oval like liver, heart and kidney, but also regular cuts. You just order by the skewer, allowing you to try few. There was: veal liver, chicken, lamb and beef. The meat was pretty good (they served it with a hot sauce that was perfect with it and was not too hot), each kind being moist and well cooked. However, I wished it had some char and guess that they cook it on a gas grill rather than on charcoal.

For dessert, they only had a homemade cookie filled with hazelnut that was good and that I had with green tea.

Overall the food at U Yuri Fergana was good: they propose an interesting menu that will excite meat lovers like me. This is a good place to know if you are in Rego Park.

Enjoy (I did)!

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U Yuri Fergana - 94-09 63rd Dr, Rego Park, NY 11374

U Yuri Fergana in Rego Park

I Just Want To Eat!