PRICE:
Frommer's Highly Recommended

On a run-down side street off Central Square, Baraka Café is a tiny, aromatic destination for adventurous diners. Flavorful, highly spiced (though not necessarily hot) food served in an elaborately decorated dining room makes it a favorite with local foodies. They talk about it as though it's a secret, but one look at the line that forms on weekend evenings will tell you it's not. The drawbacks -- no alcohol, cash only, tiny dining room, deliberate service -- are insignificant when the food is this good. Start with house-made breads and appetizers such as spicy merguez sausage and bedenjal mechoui (Algerian baba ghanouj, more or less). Main courses include fantastic couscous, fork-tender lamb chops, and eggplant stuffed with a tasty concoction of olives, spinach, scallions, and two cheeses. Be sure to ask about daily specials, which show off the kitchen's considerable abilities better than the limited regular menu. The signature beverage is lemonade with rose petals -- it tastes like soap to me, but its legions of fans strenuously disagree.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Boston 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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