Salam Café

Nathan is one of the best people to go out to eat with. He will make with you the same eyes closed, half smile expression of "Oh, THIS is good," when eating something notable. We went to Salam Café, a Northern African-Middle Eastern restaurant in the West Village. All the tables are made of lovely mosaic, and the ambiance is laid-back and cozy - lots of curtains, mirrors, colorful lights and wall hangings.

Our waiter kindly left me the menu after ordering so I could take the perfect picture of the copper relief bearing "Salam," or "peace" in Syrian, he told us. Oh, peace it was. We started with the slightly tangy homos (hummos) and toasty pita. Nathan declared it was the best he'd ever had. For dinner, he had the Moroccan cous cous with shrimp, and I had the vegetable Ouzi, a phyllo "pastry" filled with rice and raisins, zucchini, eggplant, carrots and spinach. When I asked the waiter how to pronounce the name of the dish, he said, "It's easy. "Oozey." Ouzi is easy and delightful - the flavors were incredibly subtle, all melded together, and I wish I would have asked which spices were working the magic. Cinnamon, tumeric, cumin, ginger, pepper, paprika, anis seed, parsley, coriander, saffron and mint are the basis for Moroccan cooking [Wikipedia].

Out came the dessert special - a vanilla mousse-like almond and pistachio layer cake, with a plop of cinnamon ice cream and two little dark truffles. Ahhhhhhhhhh.

Afterword, we walked down the cold and windy 6th Avenue to the V Bar, one of my favorite places in the city. It's a small wine, beer and coffee bar that is the ultimate comfortable, casual hangout. Muted globes of light hang from the ceiling, the side wall is lined with books about theater and philosophy, and couples and friends gather around a long, high table with with tall bar stools. I normally go on a Sunday evening, when it's not empty, but not too full either. This Friday it was packed and it was a challenge for Nathan and I to have our typical philosophical and theoretical discussions - but we still managed to have a good talk about what "home" is. For the sake of the food effect, home is simply good food and good friends. Nathan stuck with his fave Belgium, Lindeman's Framboise, while I tried two reds - a peppery Cannonau and a more sweet Rioja. Mmm, good night, New York.


Salam Café
104 W. 13th St. (between Sixth and Seventh Aves)
West Village, New York
New York
212-741-0277

V Bar
225 Sullivan St. (between W 3rd and Bleeker)
West Village, New York
New York
212-253-5740
http://vbar.net