New York Times Review
A Mingling of Tastes at a Turkish Cafe
By Stephanie Lyness
Published: July 25, 2004, Sunday
ON first meeting, Turkish food seems a lot like other Mediterranean cuisines we have known. As in Greek
food, there is a tradition of meze: salads, dips, stuffed grape leaves and such, meant to be eaten as an
ensemble of appetizers or as a light meal. There is also hummus, baba ghanouj and kebabs, familiar from
dinners at Middle Eastern restaurants.
But if we take a look at Turkish history, we see a culture defined by migration and empire. Where that is
so, cultures bump up against one another, borrowing, absorbing and sometimes giving birth to new cultures.
Such intermarriage has produced some of the world's most exquisite art and cuisine, as it has in India.
In any event, with such a history, I would expect Turkish cuisine to show commonalities with other cultures
and, at the same time, have its own specialized, complex and sophisticated character.
Istanbul Café is a small Turkish restaurant in downtown New Haven. The dining room is decorated with rugs,
hanging tapestries and ceramics. Cushioned banquets at the corner tables near the front windows are covered
in lovely cloth and festooned with small, colorful pillows. (This particular seating unfortunately is not as
comfortable as it looks, but the effect is terrific).
The meze are delicious here and more satisfying than some of the entrees; I often made a meal of them. The
"Turkish hummus" (nohut ezme), baba ghanouj (patlican salad) and cacik, a yogurt cucumber salad made with
rich, thick, mild (not sour) yogurt and cucumber, are familiar tastes. The eggplant is particularly mild;
the chickpea purée tastes of cumin. Chargrilled octopus salad is seasoned with paprika, tomato, peppers,
onion and lemon; the octopus one night was a little tough and dry.
Some of the meze I have never encountered elsewhere: antep ezme is a thick, spicy ''salad'' (we would see
it as a dip), crunchy with bits of walnut and sweet peppers, bound with olive oil and tomato paste. Ispanak
ezme is a yogurt and spinach salad seasoned with something that tastes to me like dried fenugreek, a favorite
bitter and exotic tasting herb I have encountered only in Indian cooking. Thin patties of fried zucchini are
tender and creamy. Boreks are cigar-shaped phyllo pastries stuffed with cheese and herbs and served warm. The
oval flatbreads served with the meze are freshly made and warm.
The entrees are primarily kebabs and stews. You can't go wrong with the kebabs: they are tender and well-seasoned,
whether you get chicken, lamb, or sausage and mildly spiced as these things go. My favorite, doner kebab -- served
Fridays and Saturdays only -- is a big pile of thin sliced lamb; it is very savory with an addictive spicing. Another
style of yogurt kebab (yogurtlu kebab and iskender kebab), I don't like as well, although I think they are well made.
The sliced meat is piled on top of fresh flatbread with tomato and yogurt sauces so that the bread soaks up the sauces
and becomes pudding-like underneath the meat.
A guvec (lamb and vegetable stew with thin tomato sauce and vegetables) and moussaka disappointed me. I found both to
be mild tasting, utilitarian and forgettable. The vegetables in the stew are very soft, which is undoubtedly traditional.
But even allowing for the foreignness of the food, I want these dishes to taste more special, more refined.
Desserts are well done. I particularly like the baklava. It is more pastry than honey and nuts so that it tastes light
and crisp, with a sprinkling of ground pistachios. The rice pudding tastes like those I've eaten in Greek restaurants.
I don't like them: there is an odd taste -- perhaps some type of vanilla -- that I'm sure is authentic. Kunefe is a
patty of baked, shredded phyllo dough filled with a mild cheese and served warm; it was a surprising combination of
tastes that I liked very much.
I come to this restaurant for the meze and the lamb and because it makes me want to know more about Turkish cuisine.
For belly dancing, come to eat on Fridays at 8:30 p.m.
Istanbul Café
245 Crown Street, New Haven
(203) 787-3881
Very Good
ATMOSPHERE: Casual, but quietly elegant in décor.
NOISE LEVEL: Moderate.
SERVICE: Friendly, efficient, helpful.
RECOMMENDED DISHES: All of the meze and salads (try the combination platter: soguk meze); any of the kebabs (although I'm less keen on the yogurtlu
kebab and the iskender kebab); baklava; kunefe.
PRICE RANGE: Appetizers and salads: $4 to $11 ($15 and $20 for combination platters). Main courses: $14 to $19. Desserts: $4.50 to $6.
CREDIT CARDS: All major cards accepted.
HOURS: Lunch: Monday through Friday, noon to 3 p.m. Dinner: Sunday through Thursday, 3 to 10:30 p.m., until 11:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
RESERVATIONS: Not necessary in the summer. Recommended on weekends during the academic year.
WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBILITY: Good.
Reviewed by The Times July 25, 2004.
Ratings -- Extraordinary, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Satisfactory, Fair, Poor. Ratings reflect the reviewer's reaction to food, ambience and service, with price taken into consideration. Menu listings and prices are subject to change.
Published: 07 - 25 - 2004 , Late Edition - Final , Section 14CN , Column 1 , Page 9