ladysprite (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ladysprite) wrote2012-02-25 05:28 pm
ladysprite) wrote2012-02-25 05:28 pm
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Restaurant Project: I
So, in spite of our slow progress, the Restaurant Project proceeds apace. We had finally worked our way up to I - and, given that it was less than a mile from our house, and that it sounded different from anything we had tried before, and we had a $10 coupon, and that we were looking for somewhere interesting to go for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
umbran's birthday, we decided to go to Istanbul'lu.
Given that it's right in Teele Square, which is smack between our house and the nearest T station, I have walked past this restaurant more times than I can count. And I have never bothered to stop in there until now, mostly because it is a tiny little hole in the wall that looks to be smaller than my dining room. And, while that is not an inaccurate assessment, I now deeply regret never having eaten here before, because the food is truly, epically amazing.
As I said, the restaurant is tiny. Like, maybe 8-10 tables tiny. But it was warm, and friendly, and just felt welcoming in a way I can't quite describe. Neitherumbran nor I had ever eaten Turkish food before, so, while the menu was intellectually interesting, we honestly had no idea of what to expect or what to order, and wound up picking a handful of items that sounded interesting - while we couldn't anticipate the flavors or seasonings, at least the descriptions were vivid.
While we were waiting for our food, the waitress brought out fresh bread with roasted red pepper dip - I would go back to the restaurant again only for that. The bread was rich and warm and buttery, and the dip was smooth and tangy and lemony and delicious; I had to bite my tongue to keep from asking for the recipe.
We started out with a couple of appetizers - Patates Kofte and Mercimek Kofta. The patates kofte reminded me of an alternately spiced knish - spicy and tangy and savory, filled with potatoes and meat that had an amazingly smooth texture, wasn't fatty at all, and went amazingly well with the yogurt sauce they served on top. The mercimek kofta was a kind of lentil patty, that wound up being much spicier and more peppery - it reminded me a bit of the spice profile at Addis Red Sea, with a faster and stronger burn. But the texture was good, and the ever-present yogurt sauce balanced the spice enough that I still enjoyed it.
For dinner, I ordered the Beyti Kebab, andumbran ordered the Tas Kebab. And, like everything else, they were both mouth-wateringly delicious. The beyti kebab was made of spiced ground lamb wrapped in lavash, topped with a tomato sauce that was almost a little sweet, with a coarse texture, as well as the yogurt sauce, and it was served with a salad of minced tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, feta, and vinegar. The kebab itself was juicy and savory and just spicy enough, and both of the sauces blended better than I could have imagined, and the salad was the perfect complement. It was an interesting blend of sweet and tangy; there was something in it that almost tasted like watermelon, but it wasn't enough to seem jarring in contrast to the rest of the meal.
The tas kebab was, in fact, a lamb stew with roasted peppers and tomatoes, served over buttered rice, and it was amazing in its simplicity. It was less spicy than most of the other dishes, but in a way that let the flavors of each ingredient shine. The meat was tender, the vegetables kept their structure and their flavor, and everything came together surprisingly well.
Since this was a birthday dinner we had cake waiting at home, and hadn't intended to order dessert, but when the waitress informed us that they had baklava, we decided to change our minds - baklava is one of my favorite things. And, once again, I'm incredibly glad that we did. The baklava was served warm, which was a new experience for me, and it was quite possibly the most perfect piece of such dessert that I've ever had. There wasn't too much rosewater (a common problem, in my experience), the nuts and the honey were integrated well and not too grainy, and the richness and the flakiness and the sweetness all were... well, perfect.
So. New favorite restaurant, again. If everything else we find winds up continuing in this vein, we will be lucky people indeed.
And now, recommendations for J?
umbran's birthday, we decided to go to Istanbul'lu.Given that it's right in Teele Square, which is smack between our house and the nearest T station, I have walked past this restaurant more times than I can count. And I have never bothered to stop in there until now, mostly because it is a tiny little hole in the wall that looks to be smaller than my dining room. And, while that is not an inaccurate assessment, I now deeply regret never having eaten here before, because the food is truly, epically amazing.
As I said, the restaurant is tiny. Like, maybe 8-10 tables tiny. But it was warm, and friendly, and just felt welcoming in a way I can't quite describe. Neither
umbran nor I had ever eaten Turkish food before, so, while the menu was intellectually interesting, we honestly had no idea of what to expect or what to order, and wound up picking a handful of items that sounded interesting - while we couldn't anticipate the flavors or seasonings, at least the descriptions were vivid.While we were waiting for our food, the waitress brought out fresh bread with roasted red pepper dip - I would go back to the restaurant again only for that. The bread was rich and warm and buttery, and the dip was smooth and tangy and lemony and delicious; I had to bite my tongue to keep from asking for the recipe.
We started out with a couple of appetizers - Patates Kofte and Mercimek Kofta. The patates kofte reminded me of an alternately spiced knish - spicy and tangy and savory, filled with potatoes and meat that had an amazingly smooth texture, wasn't fatty at all, and went amazingly well with the yogurt sauce they served on top. The mercimek kofta was a kind of lentil patty, that wound up being much spicier and more peppery - it reminded me a bit of the spice profile at Addis Red Sea, with a faster and stronger burn. But the texture was good, and the ever-present yogurt sauce balanced the spice enough that I still enjoyed it.
For dinner, I ordered the Beyti Kebab, and
umbran ordered the Tas Kebab. And, like everything else, they were both mouth-wateringly delicious. The beyti kebab was made of spiced ground lamb wrapped in lavash, topped with a tomato sauce that was almost a little sweet, with a coarse texture, as well as the yogurt sauce, and it was served with a salad of minced tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, feta, and vinegar. The kebab itself was juicy and savory and just spicy enough, and both of the sauces blended better than I could have imagined, and the salad was the perfect complement. It was an interesting blend of sweet and tangy; there was something in it that almost tasted like watermelon, but it wasn't enough to seem jarring in contrast to the rest of the meal.The tas kebab was, in fact, a lamb stew with roasted peppers and tomatoes, served over buttered rice, and it was amazing in its simplicity. It was less spicy than most of the other dishes, but in a way that let the flavors of each ingredient shine. The meat was tender, the vegetables kept their structure and their flavor, and everything came together surprisingly well.
Since this was a birthday dinner we had cake waiting at home, and hadn't intended to order dessert, but when the waitress informed us that they had baklava, we decided to change our minds - baklava is one of my favorite things. And, once again, I'm incredibly glad that we did. The baklava was served warm, which was a new experience for me, and it was quite possibly the most perfect piece of such dessert that I've ever had. There wasn't too much rosewater (a common problem, in my experience), the nuts and the honey were integrated well and not too grainy, and the richness and the flakiness and the sweetness all were... well, perfect.
So. New favorite restaurant, again. If everything else we find winds up continuing in this vein, we will be lucky people indeed.
And now, recommendations for J?
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As for J -- yeah, Journeyman in Union Square. We went a few months ago, and I decided that I need to go several times a year, simply because there are so many constantly-changing delights.
The place is highly experimental, but they know what they are doing. Prix Fixe: you choose the 3, 5 or 7 course menu, which roughly determines the amount of food you get. (The 5-course was plenty substantial for me and Kate.) The menu changes constantly, and is a bit high-concept: they list the three principal ingredients of each dish, and you find out the interpretation when it arrives. (They have an archive of some representative menus on their website. It is telling that neither the one a few weeks before or a few weeks after looks much like what we had: it changes that often.)
I was pretty well blown away. The menu made me a bit nervous, but the dishes proved to be adventurous and well-conceived. Nothing was less than very good, and some parts were fabulous. (The Charcuterie plate was particularly fun, a sampling menu all unto itself.)
Note that it *is* pricey, same basic ballpark as Campania, so that's a consideration. But it has entered my list of Favorite Restaurants. (And really is a good comparison with Campania. That one is Traditional and Comfort Food, done brilliantly; this is Experimental and Cool Food, done brilliantly. Similar level of quality, but wildly different style.)
Oh, and it's stupidly hard to find. Suffice it to say, your GPS will tell you that it's down a suspicious-looking alley. It is.
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