Every two days, Isak Sionov takes it upon himself to make the plov — a sauteed rice dish — at Cheburechnaya, a restaurant in Rego Park, Queens, that’s beloved by many for its Bukharian Jewish dishes, including kebabs, plov and cheburek.
Having taken over the family business from his mother, Nadya Masturov, he still follows her recipe for plov. It’s a three-hour affair involving collagen-rich parts of lamb, tart barberries and a whole baked garlic that you squeeze out and mix into the rice. Customers often call to check if he’s making it that day.
On a recent Sunday, it was on almost every table.
Photo by Caroline Shin for Gothamist
While the plov is a hit, the story of Cheburechnaya actually starts 24 years ago with its namesake cheburek, half-moons of dough that mom and son stuffed with ground lamb and beef and deep fried in their apartment nearby.
In the Soviet Union, Masturov had owned a successful catering company where Sionov had helped out. The dissolution of the Soviet Union forced them, along with many other Bukharian Jews, to leave for Israel, and in 2000, they arrived in Rego Park.
The family sold the cheburek to more and more grocery stores but couldn’t keep up with demand because they were confined to their small home kitchen.
Photo by Caroline Shin for Gothamist
When a tiny commercial space became available, the family jumped at the chance to expand their business and they opened their restaurant in 2002. People kept asking for more dishes from back home: salads, soups, kebabs.
Mom and son went to work, expanding the menu and eventually the space — from seven tables (with lines out the door) to 28 (still with lines out the door on weekends).
Through the years, Masturov reigned over the restaurant, laying claim to one chair in particular.
“People always came to say ‘hello’ to her there,” said Sionov, gesturing toward a wooden chair at the four-top dining table closest to the cash register.
Photo by Caroline Shin for Gothamist
He was referring to the local community of Bukharian Jews, an ethnic and religious minority from the land that’s now Uzbekistan, with parts of Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The area has been ruled by different entities, from the Emirate of Bukhara to the Soviet Union.
Cheburechnaya’s success has been helped by the fact that it was one of the first businesses to spotlight cheburek and grow a following among locals seeking a taste of home.
Rego Park is one of the main Russian American and post-Soviet enclaves in New York. It became a major destination for immigrants from the Soviet Union, including Bukharian Jews, in the 1970s, and is now home to the largest Bukharian Jewish community in the U.S.
Photo by Caroline Shin for Gothamist
The food at Cheburechnaya is kosher — blessed by a rabbi, no dairy, meats salted and soaked for an hour.
At Cheburechnaya, staff and customers commonly have heritage from Moldova, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Ukraine or Russia. They are often united by the Russian language, which you’ll hear at most tables.
“I knew I was going to the U.S., so I learned to speak English, but when I came to Queens, everybody’s speaking Russian,” said Sionov, laughing while seated at the table where his mom had held court. “Even now, I need help with my English.”
Cheburechnaya’s food features a large menu of Bukharian Jewish and Central Asian staples such as mantu (steamed dumplings) and lagman (a meaty tomato noodle soup).
Photo by Caroline Shin for Gothamist
The shish kebabs are grilled over charcoal. Bestsellers include lamb ribs, lamb chops and veal liver cubes — ratcheting up to 1,000 skewers on a weekday — according to Sionov.
He explained that back in the Soviet Union, kebabs were typically accompanied by crispy matchstick French fries, so that’s why he serves them here.
Cheburechnaya’s compot (fruit juice) is seasonal and currently includes watermelon and apples. To serve the diverse community, he also offers an Israeli salad and borscht, which features heavily in Ukrainian and Russian cuisine.
Over the years, Sionov has innovated the cheburek, adding new vegetarian versions with spinach, mushroom or cabbage.
One thing he hasn’t changed is the plov. His mom, who’s now 87, stays at home a few minutes away in Rego Park with a home health aide. While she can no longer be at Cheburechnaya in person, she’s there in spirit.
“All the time, my mom asks me, ‘How is the business going? How is everybody?,’” Sionov said. “Every day, she gives blessings to the restaurant, the food, the people.”
Cheburechnaya is located at 92-09 63rd Drive in Rego Park, Queens.