Review: At Almandi, learning the distinct pleasures of Yemeni cooking

Fresh bread, haneeth lamb, and fata for dessert, plus a special thrill for liver lovers

Most Buffalo diners don’t know how good they have it. Manhattanites are jealous of our menu prices, and few cities this size boast such a diverse lineup of world cuisines.

If you try to do your ABCs with nations whose delicacies are offered here, you’ll come up short only for X, Q, Z, and O. There is only one country on Earth, that starts with O Oman. Unfortunately, Omani restaurants are in short supply.

Y is for Yemeni. Of all the world’s cuisines available in this city built by immigrants, it’s a relative newcomer. That’s because Buffalo’s Yemeni community, centered in Lackawanna to serve Bethlehem Steel and other steelmakers since the 1920s, only recently got into the restaurant business.

A cup of maraq, “broth” in Arabic, arrives with sahawiq, Yemeni salsa as a welcoming opener.

So here’s your beginner’s guide to Yemeni meal culture, as experienced in Buffalo. Almandi opened on Broadway as a glorified shack, but now a new, comfortable dining room welcomes guests. For a century, Broadway was the main artery through Polish and German neighborhoods so unassimilated Buffalo supported daily newspapers in both languages.

Now Arabic and Bengali cultures, taking root in Buffalo, offer their own satisfactions. At Almandi, customers can order takeout from the steam tables next to the cash register. While they wait, they sip “red tea,” made of black tea, cardamom, and sugar, free to all as a gesture of hospitality in the nearby self-serve urn.