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| - What a delightful surprise! I just tried this restaurant, having never heard of it before, because they left a stack of brochures today in the lobby of my building. I was hungry, and in the mood for some kind of grilled meat because of something I smelled in the elevator on the way down to take my dog out - and there were these brochures just sitting there, so I decided to take a chance, and ordered takeout, sight unseen, and without even checking Yelp.
I ordered enough food for two people for more than two meals - 4 appetizers, one main course, and dessert, plus a drink. I figured I'd just try it all right out of the gate - and did I mention I was really hungry? :-)
Excellent tabouli (more parsley than bulgur wheat, as many places make it), wonderfully lemony stuffed grape leaves, and babaganush to die for. It's smoky, with nice, small, even chunks of eggplant, not pureed beyond all recognition like most places do it.
I also ordered the spinach cigarette borek, which I've never had before. I had expected it to be crispy since it was fried, but turned out to be more chewy instead, possibly because of sitting on top of some tomatoes and lettuce and in a box in transit before landing on my table. The pieces were much thinner than I was expecting, too, and so had a lot more phyllo than filling, but it was still very good.
I wanted the adana kebab for my main course, but they were out of it, so I got the izgara kofte, which is called kofte kebab elsewhere, but this was served as 5 patties of beautifully seasoned meat rather than a sausage-like kebab style item. It was a little dry and tough, making it rather chewy, which was disappointing, but it was still absolutely delicious. It was served on top of buttery rice that is also yum, and a side salad chock full of tomatoes with a vinaigrette that is not like that in most Mediterranean restaurants, but still very good.
The pita is obviously freshly homemade, very light and fluffy/puffy and a bit smoky, also very unlike what is found in most places, and still soft and toasty warm by the time it got here. With everything I ordered, I got 4 of them, and they are all absolutely huge, so that ought to keep me for quite a while. I couldn't even eat a whole one - but then again, I had a ton of food and didn't want to fill up on the pita.
I also ordered ayran, which is a yogurt drink that is a little bitter and otherwise pretty bland. I think I'll save my money next time, at least at home, since I think all I'd have to do is pop some Greek yogurt into some water and mix it up. I was expecting some more flavor and seasoning, although maybe I'm thinking of another cuisine.
Baklava is, for me, a must-have at a Mediterranean restaurant. This was good but a little odd: not as sweet as most of them are (which was actually a bit of a relief), and almost a bit chocolatey in flavor, not as intensely pistachio-like as most, and a lot dryer, without the honey usually found in baklava, and denser overall, including the phyllo. It was still good, but didn't have me clamoring for more, and I will try other deserts next time instead. Of course, since there were four small pieces, which translated to roughly two regular size ones, it was still quite a bargain for a desert that is usually stupidly expensive. Chintzy this serving most definitely was not.
Overall, a pretty predictable menu virtually identical to what one finds at almost every other Mediterranean/Middle Eastern restaurant, with all of the expected staples, much like the stereotypical tacos and burritos at Mexican restaurants, but with a lot more well-blended flavor than at many.
I'm sure the Turks don't eat these same things every day any more than anyone in any other Middle Eastern country does, or than Mexicans usually eat most of what we get in most Mexican restaurants, but it was all still very good.
I would love to see them branch out and offer more of what Turks really do eat, though, like Naya in Squirrel Hill hews more to *real* Syrian cuisine and away from the stereotypical and predictable same old same old Middle Eastern fare. This chef clearly has the control over the seasonings that would make me believe that he/she could also easily turn out a more authentic menu and be successful with it. They do at least have some fish items on the menu, which I haven't seen in any other Mediterranean restaurant that I recall, which I will likely try next
They also have a deal that gives you a 10% credit towards future purchases if you order online. I called instead, though, because it was already 9:15pm, and I didn't know if they would actually get my order in time. They said it would take 50 minutes - but the guy showed up in a little over half an hour instead.
I see from the photos that there are stairs to get into the restaurant itself, which doesn't bode well for wheelchair accessibility, but I also don't know if they've got a rear entrance that might be accessible.
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