A GREAT MEDITERRANEAN RESTAURANT
Later that evening my brother and our friend David (David's new book came out a few days ago) of ours discovered a great New York City restaurant. Shocker, huh? Just kidding -- it's not too difficult to find good food in New York, but this was something new for me. The place was called Beyoglu, and we chose it because it looked good from across the street. It was packed with patrons, while other nearby restaurants had only a few customers. It was still early -- 6:30 p.m. -- for dinner in NYC, so we got a table without waiting. When I sat down and saw the menu I thought, "Oh no - this place is Greek!" (I'm not a big fan of Greek food -- at least, I think I'm not). The pretty waitress was within earshot. She corrected me: "No, it's Turkish!" I don't know if there is a big difference between the two, but I saw a few interesting and appealing dishes. One, Mercimek Kofte, was made of finely ground lentil and cracked wheat, spiced with hot red peppers. I'm so happy that I kept an open mind, and didn't get up to leave. This restaurant turned out to be a real gem. Everyone's food was so good, including the shepherd's salad, chicken breast, Turkish coffee, orange sorbet, and the best baklava ever! Well, this might have been my first time actually having baklava, but this light fluffy phyllo dough-filled pastry with pistachios and honey won't be my last. Neither will my visit to Beyoglu. Beyoglu, 1431 3rd Ave. (cross street: 81st St.); tel.: 212-650-0850. Click here to see the menu. For more click HERE.