July 3, 2010: Rumi II

Rumi was a real It restaurant in its first 12 months of operation and though it's no longer surrounded by quite the same hype, it's still a bustling business (and in a larger space). We considered ourselves lucky to get a Saturday night reservation just a few days in advance while an interstate friend of ours was in town. Also trying their luck were many tarriers on the night, crowding the entrance and hoping for a spot at the reservation-free communal table.

The biggest disappointment of the night came early - no cocktails. I reminded myself that I'd admired them in a long-distant blog post at tummy rumbles and that I shouldn't expect the menu to be the same. Now, browsing the blogosphere, I notice that the pomegranate vodka cocktails have probably been served as recently as March this year and I'm disappointed all over again. Phooey. I love pomegranate.

I couldn't stay mad long with a waiter as friendly as ours, and the food too is the kind to bring a grin to my face. The sigara boregi ($12) are still delicious, albeit a little less golden and crispy than on our first meeting.

The fried potatoes ($9.50) were lovely in every way - creamy-tender but not disintegrating, with lemon and spices that were lively yet not at all harsh.

We were a little less enthusiastic about the sweet and sour Jerusalem artichokes ($13.50), probably because they were served cool.

The fried cauliflower ($11) is brilliant; it's little wonder it's survived some menu changes. I love that something so sweet and fried is still apparently dinner, not dessert.

To break up the fried-ness of it all we order the rice pilaf ($9) but ultimately didn't finish it. It was a little bland and we'd not ordered anything saucy enough to soak through it.

Michael remedied the moisture situation with a follow-up order of labne ($7).

Our dining companion ordered Ma'mool ($7) for dessert. These date-filled shortbreads went down remarkably easily and enjoyably, given how full we felt at this stage.

Rumi was the perfect choice for this night together - informal but a little bit special, with the shared plates adding to the fun and allowing flexibility for our mixed vegetarian/omnivore eating. There are plenty other bloggers amongst Rumi's fans too - check out posts at Dave Plus Food, Eat Almost Anything, Addict, List Addict, doublecooked, wanting kneading, Eating With Jack and Crap Kraft Dinner.