After a scheduling conflict left Britney unavailable, Haley and I went to Café Istanbul (a Turkish Restaurant) since Britney had already been – therefore she wouldn’t miss out on anything new/exciting (aww aren’t we nice!). We arrived at the location in the Shops at Legacy at 7:30 on Friday night. Realizing this is peak performance time and the level of service can go either way on a busy night, we walked in without a reservation and put our names on the waiting list. The hostess told us the wait would be 15 minutes. A group of 3 men walked in behind us without a reservation as well as several other parties of varying size. We waited our obligatory 15 minutes and to our dismay, the hostess began seating groups of people that arrived after us that did not have a reservation! At first, we thought it was due to table size; however they definitely sat parties of 2 and 3 before us while looking us square in the eyes. Now, we are reasonable, good hearted people and elected not to make a fuss. After several toothy fake smiles and lingering eye contact with the hostess, the owner of the restaurant assured us it would only be five minutes longer. He was true to his word and sat us within the next five minutes.
Once seated, we were immediately greeted by a person we lovingly nicknamed “the bread girl”. This girl was on top of her game all night and would prove to be integral to our overall dining experience. The bread they give you is awesome. When fresh from the oven, it looks like a huge inflated balloon. It has sesame seeds on top and the bottom is crispy like a cracker. The flavor is a cross between pita and saltines.
We ordered hummus and meatballs for appetizers, and the bread was delicious with the hummus. The hummus itself was tasty; made of “a creamy blend of mashed garbanzo beans, tahini, yogurt, olive oil, and mashed garlic”. However, the portion was very small for the $7 price tag. It was barely enough for the two of us, and certainly not enough for sharing with a larger table. The meatball appetizer, called Icli Kofte, was made of “ground lamb, walnuts, onions, and parsley, covered with cracked wheat and deep fried”. This appetizer was not as successful as the first. The texture of the meatball was dry and a bit mealy and I am pretty sure the nuts in the center were pistachios instead of walnuts (although I actually prefer pistachios and don’t count the nut switch as a flaw). The worst moment of the entire meal occurred halfway through eating my meatball. Upon reaching the center, I took a bite off my fork and froze (no pun intended). The center of my meatball was literally frozen. This was the most disgusting moment I have ever endured while eating a meal - and I have tried some pretty out there cuisine. I presume the meatballs are frozen and then fried to order, but I think there might be a better way to cook these meatballs and I think this is worth exploring for their chefs.
Not ones to hold a grudge, we moved on to the main course. Haley and I decided to get two appetizers and split a meal, assuming portions would be somewhat larger in accordance to the menu pricing. For our entree, we ordered the Hunkar Begendi, or Chef’s Special 3 which consisted of “your choice of charbroiled lamb, beef, chicken or ground beef, served on a bed of roasted traditional eggplant puree made with milk and mozzarella cheese, flavored with Turkish spices”. We chose lamb and were excited to try an authentic Turkish dish. The entrée came out and was actually pretty small. There were 8 pieces of lamb sitting on a white eggplant puree with a ring of red sauce all around the edges. The lamb was truly delicious and exceeded our expectations. The eggplant and mozzarella puree was interesting, very different but still tasty. The red sauce was oddly reminiscent of BBQ sauce. The lamb and eggplant puree were good on their own, but when we combined all the components of the dish into one bite, we were not as enthusiastic about the flavor profile. I will admit that this could very well be the result of an unfamiliar palette – I am sure there are others more familiar with Turkish culture who would find this dish to be perfectly traditional and delicious.
The awesome bread girl came to our table probably four times to drop off freshly baked bread which worked out well since we were obsessed with it and the entrée portion turned out to be smaller than anticipated. Overall, the experience we had was less than ideal and after my frozen meatball incident, I do not plan to return. I am, however, positive that not everyone’s experiences at Café Istanbul are consistently negative. Otherwise, the restaurant would not be so crowded. Try it for yourself and let us know your thoughts, or stay tuned to the Foodie Adventures Blog for alternate Middle Eastern cuisine ideas.
http://www.cafe-istanbul.net/home.htm
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