Monday, November 21, 2005

Zeytin, 11/18/05

Friday night kicked off our first full weekend in the city since probably April. It had been a long time. JB & I planned a weekend to catch up with friends, see family, visit museums and eat food.

Friday night after work we zipped over to the MOMA to see the Pollocks. Since our visit to the Pollock-Krasner house in October, JB has had a mild obsession. And Friday nights at the MOMA are free so it was a no-brainer. Luckily it was not as crowded as anticipated (as an aside, the Van Gogh exhibit which we saw at the Met the next day, was not free and was ridiculously crowded.) After our art fix, we headed to the Upper West Side for dinner with our friends Ed & Vanessa.

Vanessa, who lives in the neighborhood, suggested Zeytin, a Turkish restaurant on 85th & Columbus. JB & I love Turkish so we were quick to agree.

Having done my research, I knew to order the lamb dumplings as an appetizer. They were tiny dumplings in a tahini like sauce and they were delicious. We had red caviar spread that everyone loved except me (I don't eat caviar). And finally, mashed eggplant and grilled octopus, both of which were just OK.

Since our first dinner at Turkish Kitchen in the Kips Bay area, we have always LOVED Hunkar Begendi. It is a lamb dish served on a bed of pureed eggplant. It is the eggplant that makes the dish. Its almost like mashed potatoes except it is eggplant. JB & I both had to order it and of course cleaned our plates. Ed followed with a lamb special which had some supposedly amazing rice and Vanessa a quail in grape leaves. I didn't try either of their dishes but everyone seemed to enjoy it their meals.

We finished our dinner with some Turkish desserts, a milky creme brulee-type dish and a baklava. The baklava was a standout.

Service was a low point, so we decided just to focus on the food which was a good move.

Overall, it was a fun evening, with good friends and good food. And I'm looking forward to our next Turkish meal.

Until we eat again, KLB

1 comment:

Mona said...

That restaurant is sort of in my neighborhood. Will have to try it out sometime! I've never eaten Turkish before.