Friday

Melengeç : Mean Greens

They might as well have named this restaurant the “Solar Eclipse” or the “Dodo Bird,” because in the handful of meals we’ve had at this cozy Arnavutkoy restaurant, the restaurant’s namesake dish, melengeç, made from the green leaves of a tree from the Aegean shores, has not once made an appearance at the table.

Luckily, there was no shortage of competent substitutes. On a recent visit we sampled no less than four different and unusual greens, all remarkably different. In a country where even an innocent looking plate of rice usually conceals some form of meat, Melengeç’s wide variety of purely vegetarian offerings is a pleasant change of pace. Complimented by laid back service in a tastefully decorated old wooden home, Melengeç sets the stage for a fine evening on the Bosphorus. Continue…