Special Ramadan dishes in NW Queens?

[Joe MacBu]

Well, Ramadan is coming to a close, but I have yet to make it out to a Ramadan dinner this year. What restaurants are serving truly special dishes during this observance? Perhaps for Eid ul-Fitr?

I'm thinking of hitting up some places on Steinway if anyone has suggestions for that nabe. Also open to sugeestions for restaurants of other Muslim cultures (Middle East, Malaysia/Indonesia, etc.).

[Ethan N]

There are two places on 36th Avenue between 29th and 30th serving a Ramadan buffet (sorry, not sure what you'd call it). I prefer Aladdin, but Bangla Garden has a nice spread too. Don't really know what's what, but I've tried a couple of dahl-ish dishes, a really yummy deep fried breaded hot pepper, goat biryani, beef patties, interestingly spiced chicken. You've got to get there before 6:30 at the latest though...

[MarcInSunnysideGardens]

Has anyone else tried Bangla Garden?
http://www.banglagarden.com/index.html
I've driven by a couple times and finally stopped in. 1:30 on MLK Monday and there was a steady flow of people enjoying the $6.99 buffet, which looked fairly diverse... Any comments?

[Ethan N]

Just thought I'd bump up this thread. Bangla Garden was recently closed and renamed, but it looks exactly the same. It is empty compared to Aladdin at the end of the day. Anyone tried these places--or anywhere nearby--this year?

[Joe MacBu]

I've tried both places (only once) and found them to be good.

Bangla Garden was set up more for buffet style, which is a great value at $7. I was there several months ago, but don't recall many Bengali dishes. Everything tasted fresh.

At Aladdin, I had a very good goat curry. They didn't have most of what I tried to order, so I didn't get to try a more typical Bengali dish. My Bangladeshi landlord states that Aladdin makes the best Bengali food around (coming from a man whose wife's cooking always smells wonderful).