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THE BEST: Turkish


pups224

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Our favorite Turkish restaurant, Hemsin, in Queens closed. We thought that it was much better than Turkish Kitchen.

Peri ela, near us is pretty awful as are most of the places i've tried on the UES.

There is also no thread on 'Best Turkish'. Although we are in Manhattan, the DH is willing to travel far and wide for his favorite food. Does anyone have any recommendations in the five boroughs or nearby in NJ?

So now he yells, how about Armenian restaurants!

Thanks!

Edited by pups224 (log)
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I haven't been in a while, but Uskudar on the UES was pretty good. Their patlican was always excellent. A La Turka was just OK recently, justifying neither the prices nor the crowds.

Turkish Kitchen in Murray Hill used to be good, but that's another one I haven't been to in a while.

Hmmm... might be time to revisit some of these places.

Cheers! :cool:

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Turkish Kitchen is still good. It's especially very good deal for lunch and Sunday brunch.

Had a dinner at Taksim (2nd Avenue /54/55) recently and the food was very good and much affordable compared to Turkish Kitchen.

I heard new more upscale Turkish restaurant, Savarona, opened recently, offering more refined version of Turkish cuisine. I'd like to hear feedback from anyone been there.

Edited by gatilgan (log)
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My parents learned of Taci's Beyti from one of the Turkish maintenance workers in my dad's office building. It's right near my sister's apartment in Brooklyn, so my parents and sister have gone a lot (she works for my dad on Fridays, and they go for dinner and drive her back home on their way back out to LI), and I've gone about 10 times when I was still living at home. There is no atmosphere, if you care about such things, but the food is cheap and quite good. From Manhattan, it's about a 1/2 hour or so on the B (weekdays only, of course) or the Q to the Kings Highway station.

If you go, make sure to get the pan-fried calf's liver. You'll understand why. (For 4 of us, my parents would usually get 2 orders of it.)

Edited by feedmec00kies (log)

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My parents learned of Taci's Beyti from one of the Turkish maintenance workers in my dad's office building. It's right near my sister's apartment in Brooklyn, so my parents and sister have gone a lot (she works for my dad on Fridays, and they go for dinner and drive her back home on their way back out to LI), and I've gone about 10 times when I was still living at home. There is no atmosphere, if you care about such things, but the food is cheap and quite good. From Manhattan, it's about a 1/2 hour or so on the B (weekdays only, of course) or the Q to the Kings Highway station.

If you go, make sure to get the pan-fried calf's liver. You'll understand why. (For 4 of us, my parents would usually get 2 orders of it.)

I think Hemsin, at it's prime, was better than Taci's (in Bklyn, on Coney Island Ave off Ave P). However, Taci's is close enough that it may well be the best alternative now that Hemsin is gone. Sahara, a couple of blocks down Coney Is. Ave (off Ave T), is a much more festive, bustling place but is no longer worth much food-wise. I'd advise some exploration of this area, since there are quite a few small, new Turkish places around and even a couple of larger ones that I havent been and look interesting (on Emmons Ave by Loehman's and around Kings Hiway and Coney Is. Ave).

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My parents learned of Taci's Beyti from one of the Turkish maintenance workers in my dad's office building. It's right near my sister's apartment in Brooklyn, so my parents and sister have gone a lot (she works for my dad on Fridays, and they go for dinner and drive her back home on their way back out to LI), and I've gone about 10 times when I was still living at home. There is no atmosphere, if you care about such things, but the food is cheap and quite good. From Manhattan, it's about a 1/2 hour or so on the B (weekdays only, of course) or the Q to the Kings Highway station.

If you go, make sure to get the pan-fried calf's liver. You'll understand why. (For 4 of us, my parents would usually get 2 orders of it.)

Agree with Taci's Beyti in Brooklyn. Very good food.

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We really liked Savarona, but I say that against a backdrop of having very little to compare it to. Savarona is fairly new, and none of the critics have weighed in yet. It's a lovely space, and while I would not call it expensive, you are nevertheless paying up a bit for ambiance. That's worth it to me, but perhaps not to everyone.

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There is a very large Turkish population in Clifton and parts of Paterson. I've been to a few places, but don't remember their names (we were brought by Turkish friends). I'd post in the NJ forum for very good recommendations...

"It's better to burn out than to fade away"-Neil Young

"I think I hear a dingo eating your baby"-Bart Simpson

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  • 1 year later...
Thank you all. Off to Brooklyn. I am surprised that there were not more quality restaurants!

I live close to Ali Baba and I think their mezze platter is the best thing there.

However, for Turkish overall I find Beyoglu to have slightly better mezzes and their entrees IMHO are a level above Ali Baba. However Ali Baba isn't bad by any means.

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