Turkish Festival Chowworthy?

[itryalot]

I noticed that it was on this Saturday and Sunday. Is it worth the trip if we are in town?
http://www.torontoturkishfestival.org...

[atomeyes]

judging from the website and photos and location, it won't be huge.
but...if you like Turkish food and their amazing coffee, why not?

we have a wedding in the neighbourhood, so we may check it out for a pre-wedding coffee

[Westwardho]

Love Turkish. Love Turkey. Since I'm stranded in town for the weekend, I'll check it out too. The best Turkish in town IMHO is in my neck of the woods out here in the west end. Anatolia on Dundas near Kipling

-----
Anatolia
5112 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M9A1C2, CA

[tuile]

Ohh man, I miss the food I had in Turkey. I've been trying to hunt down a good Turkish restaurant in Toronto for a while now... I'll have to put Anatolia on my list, but is there anything more central? I used to walk by Balkan Bistro (which has now relocated to Windsor, apparently?!) but it always looked so quiet.

[hungryforfood]

They have good turkish lahmacun and doner at Memo's at the corner of Dufferin/St.Clair

[CanadianYankee]

I second the recommendation of Anatolia. My partner is Bulgarian - and Bulgarian food overlaps a fair bit with Turkish - and we trek out to the west side a few times every year just to go there. Get yourself a mixed plate of mezes (don't miss out on Ayse's Walnut Spread!) and some raki, and it's heaven.

As for the Turkish festival, I remember having good Turkish coffee and so-so baklava there a couple of years ago.

[smr714]

Do you have any recommendations for where to get good bulgarian cheeses?

[CanadianYankee]

Sadly, no. There used to be a great Turkish grocery store on the Danforth, but it went out of business.

Sometimes you can have good luck at the IGA at Danforth & Pape - they'll certainly have the Bulgarian feta in the green and white tins, and sometimes you'll find kashkaval there as well.

[embee]

That Turkish store still exists - I think somewhere in Etobicoke. It's called something like Tahsin. I don't know whether they still sell retail, but I've seen their meat products in some halal oriented groceries.

[JamieK]

There's a place called Karlovo in East York, with another location in Etobicoke, that has Bulgarian cheese. I drive by the East York site regularly on my way to work and always mean to drop by to pick up sausages on the weekend and then forget, so I haven't actually been there yet.
http://www.karlovo.com/

-----
Karlovo
469 Cosburn Ave, Toronto, ON M4J, CA

[torontogourmet]

there is also a place called Marche Istanbul at the corner of Dufferin and Orfus rd.

[itryalot]

Tell me what to have if I go. What is the meat on rotisserie. Donair? What else?

[Apple]

I like the meat dumplings the size of a timble stuffed with a smidge of ground beef, smothered in yogurt. holy smokes, it's pretty tasty. Used to get it all the time at Anatolia. Haven't been in years...

How is the quality at Anatolia? Is it still okay?

[BamiaWruz]

Dumplings.. manti?

I want to go to this festival!!!!!!! I just realized the date :(

[Food Tourist]

I was not impressed by Anatolia. I'd say it's average at best. Both lahmacun and beyti were soggy and flavours were disappointing. If you can make the trek to Kitchener, there is amazing Turkish food at the corner of Bleams and Homer Watson.

[KitchenVoodoo]

Please tell more about the amazing Turkish food in Kitchener - ever since I ate at Sip Sak in NYC I can't wait for more wonderful Turkish food, and would gladly make the trk to Kitchener if that's what it takes, because there does not seem to be any credible Turkish food in Toronto - I've tried Anatolia and it was o.k., but not worth the trek to the west end.

[Food Tourist]

Here are my notes from Dec. 28, 2007 at Donair & Kebab House. They had been open for 11 months and owned by a man named Husein. Cold apps ($3.75-$5.25); hot apps ($4.50-$8.95) including sigara borek ($4.99), gozleme ($8.95), sauteed liver arnavut cigeri ($4.50) plus one cold mixed app platter ($12.95). Pide and lahmacun ($5-$7.50). I had the sucuklu kasarli ($7.50) which is pastry bread filled with Turkish sausage and I rated it 10/10. I remember liking their pide more than Pizza Pide on Pape Avenue (I'm also a fan of Pizza Pide food, but not how soggy it gets on take-out). My main course was beyti ($13.95) which is ground lamb, beef, cheese, garlic, parsley, onion, grilled and wrapped in thin pastry and ground pistachios, plated with pressed yogurt dip and salad. I also rated it 10/10. It was my first experience with beyti but so much better than Anatolia's $19 version. Another main I wanted to try was iskender ($14.50) which is donair on bread. I haven't been back yet but am still keen on visiting again. I didn't notice manti on their menu (but I noticed it on Anatolia's menu for sure). The main reason I tried Anatolia is because of its inclusion in Where to Eat in Canada -- whose opinion I haven't trusted in years -- and since it is close to my house I thought it would be a safe gamble.

[phoenikia]

Thanks for posting your notes, Food Tourist. I tried the manti at Anatolia, which I thought were tasty, but I've had limited exposure to manti. I've been wanting to try other versions and I've been visiting K/W fairly often lately, so I'll definitely give Donair & Kebab House a try on one of my next trips.

[phoenikia]

Food Tourist, does Donair and Kebab House on Bleams serve dishes like manti?

Here's a review from last year: http://www.therecord.com/entertainmen...

[hungry_pangolin]

Oh, thank you for the information. The festival would probably have escaped my notice.

The Turks seem to be wizards with liver and kidney. Soooo tasty! I'm definitely making time for it this weekend. (Love the music, too.)