Friday
Reviews (Eats)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.
The shores of the Aegean Sea, where the owner/operators of Melengeç hail from, the place must be overrun with seaweed: dayglo spiny ones, fluffy dry ones, twiggy dark green greens. So apparently sophisticated is the Aegean taste for its weeds that Melengeç has two separate meze trays, both monopolized by little plates of greenstuff. The selection process can be a bit overwhelming, so we relied on the advice of our waiter, who steered us toward the house favorites.
Some were bitter, others sour, one had a garlicky kick, and one kept slipping off of the fork. We were pleasantly surprised by the contrasts in flavor and texture presented by a few plates of greens all stewed in olive oil and then chilled. Among the many greens, the deniz börülcesi (“sea samphire” as it is known in English) was most appealing.
But the star of the meze tray is surely the kabak çiçegi dolma, stuffed squash blossom, served with a dollop of strained yogurt. Stuffed with fragrant rice and dressed with a drizzle of Aegean olive oil, a plate of these emptied quickly, forcing us to call for more.
Along with the second round of dolma, we ordered one of the house specials, patlican balik (literally “eggplant fish”), presumably resembling fried fish to whoever wrote the menu. The light, airy slices of eggplant fried in batter reminded us of tempura and, pleasantly, tasted the part.
As eccentric as the starters were, there is, sadly, nothing remarkable about the main courses. Tire köfte, or Aegean-style meatballs, were welcomed by those who can’t leave the table without a bit of meat, but certainly don’t compare to other köfte found around town (see: Köfteci Hüseyin: The Cadillac of Meatballs). Keşkek, a hulled wheat and lamb porridge, is an effective belly-filler, but we found it bland in comparison to Melengeç’s other specialties. In many ways, making a meal out of the restaurant’s hot and cold meze might be the best way to appreciate its menu.
Despite its shortcomings, we find ourselves drawn back to Melengeç, perhaps in an effort to finally understand what makes this quirky restaurant tick. Of course, we are also secretly hoping that on one of these visits we might also get a chance to taste that elusive and mysterious Melengeç.
Address: 1 Cadde No: 73, Arnavutkoy
Telephone: 212-287-4961
(Note: This post has been corrected. The original post incorrectly reffered to melengeç as a seaweed.)
Post Tags: Aegean cuisine, Alcohol served, Arnavutkoy, Bosphorus, Meze, Places with a view, Vegeterian
Aug 2, 2009
Reply
lıke you, İ have eaten several tımes at Melengeç but never found melengeç on the menu. I am not sure your rıght ın sayıng ıts a seaweed though. İ had always understood ıt to be another word for menengıç and although anyone who has drunk menengıç coffee mıght well assume ıt was made from a partıcuarly nasty form of seaweed, ıts actually a tree (terebınth tree. pıstacıa terebınthus for the botnıcally mınded).
The Tıre specıalıty ıs a dısh of the new shoots, gathered ın sprıng and boıled then dressed wıth oıl. the menengıç coffee ıs made from the drıed berrıes and ıs more assocıated wıth south east Turkey ı thınk.
great sıte ,by the way- I eat at Mekan last nıght after readıng your revıew, they had run out of topık,whıch ıs what ı wanted to try , but had an excellent meal anyway.