First off, let me apologize for being a bit behind, this has been quite the chaotic week! In my catchup mode for yesterday's post, I thought I would tell you all about Wednesday's lunch at a Mediterranean / Turkish restaurant in the heart of midtown, PERA. The resto takes its name from an Istanbul neighborhood that characterizes the unique melting pot characteristics that make Istanbul the bridge between East and West and its menu certainly is an excellent example of this cultural fusion.
Walking into the space, you step into a very welcoming, simple, modern wood room full of people chattering away, very few empty seats in the entire place, always a great sign!
The lunch menu was split into mezes, pidettes, salads, "from the braiser," and sandwiches. For my meal with my friend yesterday we decided to split a variety of dishes, always the best way to get a good sense of the menu!
As we perused the menu, our waiter brought over some fantastic homemade rolls topped with black and white sesame seeds and a small bowl of sheep's milk ricotta with rosemary and olive oil to dip our bread in. We decided on their special salad of fresh peas, pea shoots, sheep's milk feta, mint, and honey mustard dressing followed by an order of their homemade hummus, we certainly couldn't dine in a Mediterranean restaurant without trying their hummus, always a good way to judge the quality of the food in a restaurant featuring that cuisine. We also ordered two of their pidettes (small little Greek-ish pizzas either on bread or on pitas). The first pidette we ordered was their Greek salad pidette, basically a Greek salad with a crunchy toasted pita underneath, yummy and simple. The other pidette we ordered was on one grilled piece of country bread and was topped with spinach and pinenuts. Not the most successful of our ordering choices, the spinach tasted somewhat stewed and lacked somewhat of an oommph. I think this would have been successful if the spinach leaves had been roasted so they crisped up and then top with a sprinkling of pinenuts and a few shavings of parmesan. Lastly, my dining companion ordered their fried artichokes which looked delish but as I did not partake in eating them, I couldn't judge them. We finished the meal with Turkish Coffees and baklava.
A delish foray into Mediterranean cuisine in a tough area of town for a unique and authentic dining experience. Not necessarily an intimate dinner date spot, but a great locale to catch up with friends over lunch.
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