Archive for 'Turkish'

Round 2 Fooled Me at Cafe Fulya

Photo Courtesy of Cafe Fulya

I visited Turkish cafe, Cafe Fulya, several years ago and really enjoyed the laid back coffee shop vibe as well as the cold vegetable appetizers, Turkish toast with pepperoni, and manti (turkish dumplings). It is tucked in the corner of 2nd and Monroe, so I sort of forgot about for a while. Manti is no longer on the menu, which was the first disappointment for me.

Read more »

Turkish Toast, Cold Apps, and Manti at Cafe Fulya

I love that Philly has several excellent options for Turkish food (See S&H Kebab Houseand Hamifgash). I have another to add to my list now.  Cafe Fulya is small and very casual with groovy furniture, large open windows, and a few tables and a couch inside and a table out in front. Being a cafe, a lot of the menu items are baked goods and cold appetizers. They also serve breakfast all day, including a traditional Turkish breakfast with too many components to list. I am not really an eating breakfast for lunch kind of girl, so I filled up on the other stuff.

Read more »

Israeli-Turkish Grub at Hamifgash (it’s ok if you can’t pronounce it)

The pictures on the walls of Hamifgash caught my eye as I walked by recently, with promises of both Israeli and Turkish food and some intense giant pictures of shwarma. Unfortunately for me, it was Shabbot and the kosher restaurant was closed. I vowed to return on a less holy day.  On my return trip, the waitress, who must have also been an owner, told me she was Israeli, while her husband is Turkish- explaining how the combo restaurant came about a few years ago.  The menu leans more towards the Israeli influence, though  the main courses of grilled meats are typical to Middle Eastern cuisine in general. A few Turkish appetizers are squeezed in there, but I wish there were more. I was hugely disappointed when I found out they no longer sell lahmacun (Turkish meat pizza). The waitress explained there was just no real customer interest. That is a real shame- so I urge all Philly lunchers to get down to Hamifgash and request for lahmacun- dough, meat, spices, what is not to like about that? Great lunching potential that we are missing out on.

But on to the food they do serve…

Read more »

60% at S&H Kebab House: Today's offer on Groupon is a $25 gift certificate for $10 to S&H Kebab House, you could get a lot of manti with that.

Cute Manti at S&H Kebab House

IMG_2270

While strolling down South St, a sign advertising Turkish lunch specials caught my eye. A quick glance at the menu made me thankful I stopped. Choices for lunch include a variety of kebabs, but there were four non-kebab items that really tempted me; stuffed cabbage, moussaka, zucchini pancakes, and most tempting of all: manti. Manti are little Turkish lamb dumplings that are topped with a minted yogurt sauce. Something about that combination is so tantalizing that this is often my go to dish at a Turkish restaurant, though I can’t say I have ever had it for lunch before. As soon as my eyes zoomed in on manti on the menu, I was sold.

Read more »