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Istanbul Kebab House
Memories of Istanbul
Reviewed by Food Hunter on July 7, 2012
My husband and I went to the Istanbul Kebab House, a treat for me since I lived in Istanbul with a Turkish family in 1987. We started with Crispy Phyllo Cheese Rolls (Sigara Böre?i), literally meaning, cigarette pastry because the phyllo dough is rolled around a goat cheese in the shape of a cigarette and then deep fried. It’s a salty, tangy treat I remember fondly. Sigara Böre?i was not as good as my Turkish memory. There was more dough and it was served on a bed of lettuce and tomato which moistened the fried edges. We hurried to remove the pastry from the greens. The cheese was melted and hot in the middle, though. If you haven’t had warm goat cheese melted in salty fried dough you should. If you order it at Istanbul Kebab House, ask for the lettuce on the side. The waiter suggested the Turkish Meze Platter, a combo appetizer platter and next time I would try that. The Lavash Bread was warm, fresh flat bread, perfect for mopping up the delicious sauces. My host family always said, “That will makes you ‘go poof’ (get fat). Don’t eat the sauce with the bread.” I say it’s worth it. Vegetable Stuffed Eggplant (Imam Bay?ld?, literally meaning the imam fainted) was soft and spicy, and layered with roasted vegetables inside sweet eggplant. It was a masterpiece. I enjoyed the Handmade Mini Turkish Ravioli (Mant?) although it was different from my memory. The pasta was chewier with more meat and the sauce wasn’t as spicy. I doused it in the yogurt dill sauce that came with our eggplant. My husband did not like this dish and said it tasted like Spaghetti O’s. (I love Spaghetti O’s!) A highlight of the evening was the fact that the owner came over to say hello. He was smiley and I felt, just for a moment, that I was in Turkey. I will definitely return to Istanbul Kebab House to taste classic Turkish flavors and have a hospitable Turkish conversation.
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