Tried an Uzbek restaurant tonight. It's called Begim, on 17 Ave and 44 Street SE. The website is terrible, but all the reviews I found on various sites said it was great. And it is! It's a tiny place, in a converted old house, decorated with Uzbek garments and is owned and operated by an Uzbek family.
The food was amazing! I went with a group of 6, so we tried a lot of dishes and everyone enjoyed theirs. Uzbek cuisine is central Asian, with influences from many surrounding areas - Chinese, Indian, Persian, and Middle Eastern. They all have very aromatic spices, as Uzbekistan used to be on the silk road. I had the Osh, which is a rice pilaf dish, with lamb, carrots, onions, other vegetables, and garlic. I loved it and the portion was big enough that I have left-overs for lunch tomorrow. They are developing a new dessert menu and let us try one of their "test desserts" for free. It was very tasty, but the waitress said that it wasn't one of the top samples so probably won't make the final menu.
The waitress was very helpful explaining things and answering any questions we had. After dinner, one of the group asked her about some of the outfits that were on the walls, and it turned into a conversation on Uzbek dress and looking at her family photos. (You won't get this part unless you ask, so no worries if you just want to enjoy your meal and not have a social studies lesson.)
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