Turkish in Bristol, PA

[Rich Pawlak]

We dragged our teen nephew out to the Turkish Restaurant-A Family

Place last night. Fabulous. Not good. Fabulous.

We first drove over Rte 1 and onto Rte 13 South in PA from Trenton,

and went to the the first Turkish restaurant you encounter (yes there

are TWO on Rte 13), this one just south of the Bucks County Courier-

Times building and the Tullytown train station on the east side of

Rte 13 south. This diminutive place had a cowded parking lot ( agood

sign), but when we entered, we were hit with two blasts: dense smoke

and frightfully loud, live Turkish music. We ran back to the car and

proceeded further south to the Turkish-Family restaurant. Also a

full parking lot, and still a few tables open. No smoking is allowed

here, thankfully, and no live music on this night, but pleasant

enough Turkish dance music in the background. Tables full of loud,

Russian families and couples on this night, all lustily enjoying

their food and drink.

"I dont understand this menu" the 16 yr old nephew whined. "What am

I supposed to order?" we walked through the menu as best we could,

but the English translations aren't much help, nor is the waiter we

had, but he was earnest and tried very hard to explain dishes to us

(remember I was not dining with even remotely adventurous diners,

though the nephew has potential). We ordered thusly:

Hummus, as good as Ive ever had, served up with dense slabs of

rustic,Turkish bread and some lavash (thin, light pita);

Shepherd's Salad, a toss of diced tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion and

green peppers, with fruity, gorgeous olive oil. Heaven when using

the bread to dunk into it all.

Cizcik, the yougurt-garlic-cucumber sauce, just a good condiment for

everything, classic.

Beef Kabob, which came out, not on skewers or even loose over rice,

but as a stew with potatoes, carrots, onions, peas and a light

gravy. I should make stew this good in my life; it was as if the

whole stew was charred over flame, magnificent flavors. "Some kebob

are not kebob on stick, you know," said our waiter. Well, thanks for

that.

But I wasnt about to let this humble plate go back to the

kitchen. I was more enthusiastic about this dish than the dining

partner, but hey, you know the story. It was that good .

My choice was Adan Kebob Spicy, which was seasoned ground meat formed

around its skewers and grilled, served over lavash bread and with

rice and bulgar pilafs, and some lettuce and veggies for stuffing

into the lavash. Spicy and very very good. You play mix and match

and play with all of the food on your table and you are feasting, my

friend, a little of this and that, and it all makes sense and it all

works.

Nephew ordered from the "Pitas" side of the menu and ordered

an "Everything", which brought out thicker pita , toppped with

seasoned ground beef, Turkish pastrami and Turkish sausage ("beef

cold cuts, you know, like in deli", our waiter told us, confusingly),

and Kaseri cheese, baked like a pizza. It was dramtic presentation,

like a giant oval pizza cut into almost symetrical slices, really a

nice dish, very generous and fun to eat, a superb combination of

flavors. Even nephew liked it.

Desserts were down to just a few things , owing to the later hour,

and the large parties before us, no doubt, but we shared a large,

foil baking pan of Turkish rice pudding, with a thin cream cust on

top, very sweet but also very refreshing after all of the garlic and

spices in our savory dishes. Lots of Turkish coffee being seved at

the other tables, but we dared not, as we wanted to sleep for the

next few days .

Our bill came to $54 for 3 people , an amazingly delicious bargain,

considering we took home half of the "pizza" and most of the cucumber

yogurt. I cannot wait to get back to this place, the menu should be

full of future fun.

I counted AT LEAST 45 seats here, more than enough for a DDC dinner

on a Monday or Tuesday night, I'll bet. $25 or less should also buy

us an amazing variety of food, all prepared with obvious pride and

care. This place is a real gem.

[C Squared]

Are you saying there are 2 Turkish restaurants, in addition to the Turkish Deli on Rte. 13 in Bristol?

[helenas]

Could anybody help me with a phone and/or address of this place?

We would like to try it...

Thank you, Helena

[Holly Moore]

Definitely do give The Turkish Restaurant a try.

Here's a link with phone and address: The Turkish Restaurant

[Nick]

If only we had a place like that in Maine.

[Holly Moore]

If only we could get a decent lobster roll or whole belly fried clams in Philadelphia.

[nazliboz]

This is for Nick

There is a turkish restaurant in Maine , in wells right on route one.

It is called turkish dellights and just opened this year.

They have great food, they also do german food.

[davidbdesilva]

Was in the area so we decided to stop in for dinner. Wife ordered lamb in a light tomato sauce with yougurt, salty (lamb) but very good. I got the mixed kebab grill which had a ton of food and included chicken, lamb (minced kebab and round patty) and veal along with cous cous, rice, lettuce, tomato and onion, very good. The family staff are very friendly and there were lots of Turkish people eating there (I take that as a good sign for sure). Defintely a place to try for a different and delicious type of cuisine.

[Rich Pawlak]

"Was in the area"???

David, that's OUR area! You shouldve called! We're a soft touch when it comes to the Turkish Restaurant in Bristol!

Glad you liked it! It's become one of my faves.

[sabg]

drove about 60 mi on fri night to go turkish. well worth it. we had the table next to the glass so my son who was exhausted from camp could watch the chef. he saw how tired my son looked and had a great hot plate of fried potato for him before we even had water. tomatoe/cuc salad, cheese and spinach spring rolls, cheese pita, mixed meats, lamb soup, and sliced meat over cubed with a red sauce and yougrt. the meat over bread was WONDERFUL. we had the rice pudding and a pistachio dessert i dont know the name of. we also oredered an appetizer with bulgar and tomatoe that we didnt care for. the waitress came asked if anything was wrong and we said we just didnt care for it and she offered to take it off the bill. thats how the whole evening went. perfect.

i had the print out in car from the website and i gave it to the folks there and they were very pleased.