Yes, this is technically a salad, but it doubles as a delicious dip served with tortilla chips.
Try ox-tongue massaman and lhon poo, a crab-and-coconut dip served with lotus stems and other raw vegetables.
In any case, the menu seems more nineteen-fifties country club or present-day gastropub than pioneer: avocado vinaigrette (half an avocado brimming with dressing); spinach salad, with bacon and pine nuts; a dreamy, thick artichoke dip, served with toast.
This soup is inspired by the taste of bagna cauda, a warm anchovy and garlic dip served with crudités in Piedmont and Provence. 1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Halve the aubergines lengthways and score the skin with a knife.
Appetizers ($3.95 to $7.95) range from the familiar, like stuffed grape leaves, fried calamari and chickpea dip served with a basket of thick, warm triangles of garlicky pita bread, to the vaguely Japanese-sounding shrimp saganaki and gigantes (described as "large beans in tomato sauce").
Every sandwich on this menu is a winner, but I'm partial to Freddy's French dip, served with horseradish cream on a toasted onion roll.
And the curry dip served with it is properly fiery.
But first, order the rosy blue-crab dip served with flash-fried tortilla chips ($7.50).
They didn't even require the mildly spiced tomato dip served with them.
Even the dip served with warm pita triangles at the meal's start is intriguingly original — a textured mix of soybeans, cumin, garlic, lime juice and olive oil.
Serving suggestions: if you are planning on using them for dipping, serve with cold tahini, tzatziki or taramosalata for a simple yet effective snack.
