I'll have the left side

"I'll have the left side."

Katie and I ventured to a newer restaurant in Kadıköy that her keen eyes noticed while exploring the neighborhood. It features Aegean specialties (ege gıda). Neither of us had had Greek food since Plaka in Madison, and the appearance of the cozy dining room through the windows offered promise. 

The restaurant is situated in the heart of Moda, near Moda Cadessı on Sarraf Alı Sk. The menu is featured on a large chalkboard and lists all of the different homemade mezzes (mezeler). We only recognized the words we could have guessed would be on a Greek/Turkish menu that happen to be close to English: hummus, baba gannuş, so we left our fate to the proprietor who recommended six of his favorites.

Dolma close-up

Even when plate after plate arrived, we couldn't guess which dish corresponded to which menu item, and a number of the plates that were somewhat familiar were done a bit foreign to what we were used to.


The hummus was drier than the typical spread-like consistency of American grocery store hummus. It was closer to hummus that I have made (read: failed at making) at home. However, the balance of dry-ness and flavor was great, and it was also served warm, which was uncommon for us. 


The baba gannuş was also an unexpected interpretation. Rather than a creamy spread, this plate was more like a slaw of eggplant, oil, garlic, pepper seasonings, and covered with sesame. 

Katie's favorite was the fava beans which were mashed into a paste, mixed with red onion, plenty of garlic, and olive oil. 

My favorite was girit ezme (Crete dip). It was a mix of crumbled beyaz peynir, garlic, bean, tons of spice flavor (coriander? cumin? paprika?) and tomato paste to give it an orange/red hue.

Other than the attempts at American food, we hadn't ventured much into international fare, but this restaurant is definitely worth the return.

Fava beans, girit ezme, baba gannuş, pita (not pictured).