Baraka Café | Once Found, Never Forgotten

Restaurant Review
Baraka Café, 80 ½ Pearl Street, Cambridge, MA, (617) 868-3951

I enjoy dining out. In indirect proportion, of course, to how often I can afford to dine out. Cooking is not exactly what I do best, so despite all the amazing recipes I have read here on Gather, they are unlikely ever to be roasted, baked or sautéed in my kitchen. However, as luck would have it, I recently discovered that I live right down the street from one of Cambridge's culinary gems: the Baraka Café.

Just outside Central Square, the Baraka Café serves a blend of Tunisian, North African and Mediterranean cuisine in a space of modest proportions; so modest, in fact, that the casual passer-by probably wouldn't even notice the place. The fact that the Café occupies a small space on the edge of a residential area and has no sign advertising its existence certainly doesn't help. I only finally noticed it because I walk by it every day. However, once found, never forgotten.

The large plate-glass display windows offer a view into the small, dimly lit dining room. There are (maybe?) 10 tables and the décor gives a definite North African/Middle Eastern feel, but completely avoids the kitsch that many restaurants specializing in cuisine from relatively "exotic" regions of the world tack up on the walls with reckless abandon.

My dining partner and I walked into Baraka Café and were greeted by the waitress (we later found out she is the owner) who told us to sit wherever we like. We chose the table for two by the window, from which we could see the entire dining room. After talking a moment with patrons at another table in French, the owner came over to our table and asked me in her accented English if I live in the neighborhood. When I answered in the affirmative, her face lit up and said that she thought she recognized me, as she had seen me walking by the restaurant a number of times. After I moment's pause, I remembered seeing her just a day or two before getting out of her car and walking across the street to Baraka Café. From then on she was all smiles, chatting about the neighborhood and giving her very disapproving opinion of Harvard Square's corporate sellout. "Central Square is the real Cambridge!" she said, to which I very politely and honestly agreed.

Okay, so the food. Very logically, Baraka Café does not serve alcohol or allow customers to bring their own. Fear not, however, because they serve the most amazing lemonade I have ever tasted. With rose petals and "North African spices," it is completely unique and refreshing as lemonade should be. We started out with a plate of Mediterranean cheeses which came with delicious figs and crunchy bread. Our other starter was a warm chickpea custard topped with a slightly spicy red sauce. The meal was off to a terrific start.

For the main course I had couscous with sautéed vegetables served in a wooden bowl with a wooden spoon. To be honest, the spoon was awkwardly shaped and a bit too large to eat off of, but the food was fantastic and left me with no regrets. In deference to the French influence in North Africa, the desserts offered were decidedly French. Crème brulee and chocolate torte topped the menu, but we decided to split the daily special, a white cake layered with strawberries and an orange-infused whipped cream. Topped and surrounded by a perfect strawberry sauce, it was a great ending to the meal. Or was it…?

Being a neighbor and all, I received a little special treatment before the check came. We were offered (and gladly accepted) a hot mint tea with a flavor so strong it was almost hard to classify as tea. I don't like tea as a rule, but this was good stuff. When the check did finally come, we were shocked at how low it was and felt the need to check it over just to make sure our kind neighbor hadn't forgotten to include everything. Sure enough, it was all there.