The Turk (Mt. Kisco NY)

We went here with some friends this past weekend. It’s nice inside and feels warm and welcoming. Not sure if this is a family run place but it seems like it could be.

We shared the sigara borek (one of my favorites-- they have this at Melike in Ossining too), the zucchini pancakes smothered in a delicious yogurt sauce, and a beet hummus that we all wished had more beets in it. Each of us had a different lamb dish. Our friends liked the lamb gyro meat (well seasoned and tender, they said) while my husband’s lamb hummus (kebob meat on top of hummus) was the winner between the two of us. The kofte I had were well seasoned but the meat was a bit gristly. Each entree came with a rice medley and a vinegary mixed salad featuring a variety of fresh vegetables. The price point for most entrees is in the mid $20s but we all took leftovers home-- they aren’t skimping on portion size.

Dessert was knofeh (kanafeh, knafeh, konofe, don’t know how to spell this) which is another personal favorite of mine-- this was a bit sweeter than the rendition at Melike but that didn’t stop us from inhaling the whole plate of it, baked up fresh for us.

We were left to linger for a while, chatting with our friends, and, in European style, I don’t think they’d have given us the check if we hadn’t asked.

We’ll be back for sure.

Has anyone else been here?

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I had another great meal here last night. We had a $30 for $15 groupon to use. We made a reservation (and I do recommend reservations, at least on weekends, as they were packed from around 7 until the time we left at around 8 or so) for 6:30 and were shown to our table right away.

I forgot they only have a beer and wine license so do keep that in mind. They have a basic beer and wine list, nothing particularly interesting. We shared three appetizers-- the sigara borek, which I love, a green salad with an addicting dressing, and the lebni dip with walnuts and herbs. They keep the warm pita bread coming and coming as long as you like.

For entrees I went with the lamb hummus my husband had gotten last time, which was again excellent. The lamb was tender and cooked perfectly medium rare. My husband got a stew called Sultan’s Delight which was really special. If i"m remembering correctly it’s a tomato and eggplant base with braised lamb shoulder. The eggplant is so tender that it basically melts into a gooey sauce. This was really special and unique and we’d definitely order it again.

My beloved konofe rounded out the meal with a Turkish coffee in a fancy little cup.

We had one glitch. They got so crowded and crazy that they accidentally gave our large amount of leftovers to someone else. It was basically half of each of our meals. The waiter insisted on having the kitchen re-make half portions of our meals to send home with us, which was really kind, but at that point we were tired and had been there a while and I wish they had just comped us one of the meals instead. But I did appreciate that they tried to make it right, so points to them on that one.

It’s family run and very warm and convivial. This is the kind of place I like to support in Westchester so I definitely recommend it!

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This is a pretty common dish on Turkish menus, at least in Manhattan. I agree with you that it’s delicious! Another one I order frequently from a couple of Turkish places near my office is Ali Nazik - do you happen to remember whether that’s on their menu as well? It’s a base of roasted eggplant mixed with yogurt (served hot) with meat on top, usually spicy ground lamb. Definitely something to try if you like eggplant.

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