Not the Thanksgiving bird
By Todd Lyon
From the New Haven Register
New West Haven restaurant captures all the essence and goodness of great Turkish food
 | | Troy’s owner Hamdi Ozer, right, with his cousin Tarkan Sugar (holding his daughter, Asena), and their wives, Saliha Sukru, standing on left, and Irada Ozer. Peter Hvizdak/Register photo |
My mother, Kay Lyon, and I were sitting across from one another in a large, otherwise-empty restaurant in West Haven, wondering if we’d made a mistake. Hayward was there, too, flipping through a glossy Turkish magazine called Klass; across the oversized dining room, with its orange-painted walls and tiny bar and curiously oppressive lighting fixtures, a TV silently broadcast what appeared to be a Turkish soap opera.
Our server spoke little English, but our menu was well-written and quite self-explanatory. So we settled in and ordered, in spite of our trepidation.
When our appetizers arrived, Kay and Hayward and I breathed a sigh of relief. No mistakes here at Troy Turkish Kitchen; the food was delicious. We’d opened the right door, and never looked back.
My mom and I, you understand, had the great good fortune of visiting Turkey a few years back. We loved the country, its people and its cuisine, and the minute we sampled the cookery of Troy Turkish Kitchen, we were transported back to that wonderful place and time.
The restaurant was recommended by a friend who was so impressed with the place that she’d called me on her cell, smack in the middle of lunch. I was confused when she told me that it was on Campbell Avenue in West Haven. Surely, she was referring to the Turkish Kebab House on Campbell Avenue?
No. As it turns out, Troy Turkish Kitchen, which opened in December, is completely unrelated to its neighbor down the street. Two Turkish restaurants on Campbell Avenue in West Haven? What are the odds?
Never mind: All you need to know is that Troy Turkish Kitchen is the creation of Hamdi Ozer, his wife Ireda, and cousin Tarkan Sugar. The cousins’ restaurant odyssey began when, as children, they started working in their grandfather’s restaurant in Turkey. "It was a 400-seat place on the Mediterranean coast," recalls Tarkan. "Our specialty was old-world Southern Turkish food, with lots of appetizers."
"My job was to peel onions," recalls Hamdi. "I hated it — my eyes always burned — so I learned to work the grill and the oven in order to get out of that situation."
Nearly 20 years ago, Tarkan came to the United States and started working at Sahara, a well-known Turkish eatery in Brooklyn. Hamdi followed, and eventually the family pooled its resources and opened Tarkan Cafe in Long Island. "We got good reviews from the Times and Newsday," recalls Tarkan with a smile.
Hamdi was the first to migrate to Connecticut, and for a time operated a lunch truck in downtown Hartford called Quick Bites. "It did well," he says, "but it was hard for me in the beginning because I didn’t know anyone."
Happily, last year, his extended family took over the building on Campbell Avenue. The building itself had a rather shaky reputation: Over the years it had been home to a string of short-lived eateries, most recently Gigi’s Pizza.
The cinderblock structure had been closed for more than a year when the cousins and their tribe took it over. They spent three months cleaning and sprucing up the place, and had a soft opening at the end of ’05. (They haven’t had a grand opening yet, but plan to in the near future.)
Today, Troy Turkish Kitchen has a 150-seat dining room with a glass display case and a coal-fired oven in back. That’s where the magic happens. The cousins turn out quality delicacies from their homeland, and over the last few weeks I’ve had the opportunity to sample an enormous number of menu items.
Turkish cuisine, as you may or may not know, strikes a balance between vegetarian offerings with ingredients like yogurt, eggplant, chickpeas, garlic, grape leaves, nuts, mints and parsley, and hugely flavorful kebabs, roasted on long swords, featuring cubed lamb, chicken and the like.
Some of my favorite dishes include Soguk Meze, which translates as "cool spread," a platter of vegetarian appetizers meant to share; the Levrek Izgara, an entree of whole baked sea bass; and virtually every kebab on the menu, including Hunkar Begendi ("Sultan’s Delight") with tomato-marinated lamb and smoked eggplant. Another delightful surprise was Troy’s selection of Turkish-Style Pizzas, particularly Lahmacun, with ground lamb and veggies on a crisp, thin crust, spiked with lemon juice and topped with fresh parsley.
Troy Turkish Kitchen is still very new, and the cousins tell me that the menu is continuously being fine-tuned. They have all sorts of lovely plans for the future, including a late-night bar menu that they expect will compliment hookahs and belly-dancing rather nicely.
In the meantime, I urge you to take a trip to Troy — and be assured that prices are so reasonable that even students can eat like kings — I mean, sultans.
Todd Lyon of New Haven is a freelance writer.
THE ESSENTIALS
•Place: Troy Turkish Kitchen, 770 Campbell Avenue, West Haven
•Phone: (203) 937-0707.
•Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 11 a.m. to midnight Fridays-Sundays.
•Note: Belly dancing to live or taped music is offered on Friday and Saturday nights starting at 9 p.m.
•Note No. 2: Troy has a dedicated take-out area, and will also deliver within the West Haven area.
•Reservations: Appreciated, especially for large parties.
•Food: Southern Turkish cookery is served in a large, rather raw, but not unpleasant, dining room with booths along one wall and a deli case and open kitchen in back. The dinner menu begins with an array of soups and salads — try the Red Lentil Soup, $3 for a generous bowl — and moves on to a dozen appetizers that are the pride of the house. Beginners should start with the delicious Soguk Meze, a platter of "cool" vegetarian spreads meant to be shared among friends ($7.95 small, $14.95 large). Turkish-style pizzas are thin-crusted delights, and a bargain at $4-$9.95. Entrees range in price from $10.95 $16.50, and include a large assortment of kebabs (lamb kebabs are especially good), Specialty Dishes, and seafood dishes (I loved the delicacy of the whole baked sea bass). Fresh fish is offered daily on a specials board. At lunch, eight different pita wraps are on the menu, all made with rice pilaf, spiced bulgur and fresh greens, priced from $4.95-$5.95. Note: Troy is sensitive to time restraints, and can serve lunch in a jiffy. For dessert, try the excellent Baklava ($4) or four other specialties.
•Vegetarianism: Meat-free dishes abound, and lots of vegan choices are also on the menu.
•Drink: Besides Turkish coffee, tea, fruit juices and yogurt drinks, there is a bar with select liquors, including raki (much like ouzo) and Turkish beer. A few wines are also available; recommended is the Turkish wine — Yakut Kavaklidere (red) or Cankaya Kavaklidere (white) for $6 per glass or $22 per bottle.
•Wheelchair access: Through the to-go entrance on the side of the building; bathrooms are also accessible.
•Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Discover.
•Kid-friendliness: Everything on the menu is half-price for kids; there’s also special dishes like chicken fingers and Turkish burgers happily made on request.
•Parking: In a dedicated lot on either side of the restaurant.
•Private parties: Troy loves parties, and can accommodate 8 to 250 people. |
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