Best Turkish in Queens/Brooklyn?

[Wet Towel]

Nominees? Beyti? Places in Sunnyside? Any advice would be appreciated.

[Fleur]

Arthur Schwartz, renowned food critic, aka The Food Maven names TACI’S BEYTI He is calling it #1 only because it is the first one he writes about for his list of bests.

"Taci’s Beyti is Turkish. Taci, pronounced Ta-chee, is the first name of the owner, Taci Bek. Beyti is a kind of kebab, named after the man who created it, Beyti Guller, who, with his father, had a small, but very famous grill restaurant outside Istanbul. These days, Taci’s adult son, Ersin, presides over the restaurant more than his father, but one or the other or both are usually around to supervise the very well-oiled young service staff, as good looking and attentive a bunch of young men and women as you’ll find anywhere (tip them well).

Taci’s is at 1955 Coney Island Avenue near Avenue P. "snip" I like Taci’s food best of those I’ve tried, and I’ve tried most of them. In addition to serving carefully prepared fresh food, the prices are unbeatable. We rarely spend more than $25 a person for a feast, although the restaurant is BYOB and bringing your own wine is always a savings."

[Striver]

Right down the block from Taci's is Gulluoglu, the Brooklyn branch of an Istanbul bakery. They have several varieties of baklava and other Turkish sweets, and their take on borek ("su boregi") is delicious; I particularly like the cheese version. Great place to have desert and coffee after Taci's (and take some boregi home).

http://www.gulluoglubaklava.com/index...

[Fleur]

Thanks so much for the Bakery rec. We plan on trying Taci’s Beyti very soon, and we love ZBaklava, so, the perfect match.

I love Arthur Schwartz's blog, and his restaurants recs are always spot on.

He knows of what he speaks. For many, many years he was the food writer for Newsday, and had his own daily radio show.

His book on NY Food, maily a history with recipes is extraordinary. IIRC, it won the James Beard cook book award.

[buttertart]

I work with several Turkish people who are delightfully picky and opinionated about food and they insisted on getting the baklava for Bayram (end of Ramadan) corporate gifts. It is wonderful.

[ajs42548]

I like Sahara on Coney Island Ave. I can't say anything about others because I've never tried them. BTW, my name is also Arthur Schwartz. My wife often makes reservations in my name for obvious reasons.

[buttertart]

Sahara is also one of my TR (from Istanbul) coworkers' favorites (travels by subway from Queens to get there several times a month). Haven't been there myself yet, planning to soon.

[carfreeinla]

I just returned from a delicious meal at Turqua Grill in Bay Ridge. I don't consider myself an expert in the cuisine however.

[gpcohen]

Our favorite is Liman Restaurant on Sheepshead Bay, 2710 Emmons Avenue. Great fish in particular, but solid other Turkish. I second Gulluoglu for pastry.

[Striver]

Well, today we went on one of our annual outings from the Bronx to Coney Island, our ancestral beach. Had a fine time at the shore (and had our Nathan's hotdog and fries - I don't know whether it's the atmosphere or what, but the fries always taste better on Surf and Stilwell than they do anywhere else). On our way home, we detoured to Coney Island Ave between Quentin and Ave R for a Turkish late lunch.

We dined at Taci's Beyti, and while we haven't been in Istanbul in many a year, the food was excellent. We shared small plates of sigari (phyllo wrapped cheese) that were perfectly fried - light and crisp and totally greaseless; pickled mushrooms with cornichons; and their version of grape leaves, that seemed more lentil-like in their filling than rice, and had a nice smokey flavor. Then we split a mixed grill (3 kinds of kebab, a roasted tomato, an onion salad, and a grilled long pepper) and a pide (kind of a Turkish take on pizza; the version we tried had kasseri cheese and turkish sausage wrapped in a light, tasty crust, and grilled in the oven). Everything was excellent, and prices were extremely reasonable (all of the above for $44, which served 4 of us without problem). We noticed other dishes on other patrons' tables - it all looked great. We're not around this neighborhood often, but Taci's Beyti is on our go-back list.

Then - per my suggestion above - we wandered down the block to Gulluoglu for coffee and dessert. We had a few variations on baklava (they have 12 or so varieties), including an unusal and tasty one with sour cherries; turkish coffee and regular coffee; and a pudding (they have 6 or so different puddings, another Turkish specialty). Again, everything was very good, and we sat on comfortable chairs, enjoying our coffee and pastry.

And yes, I took home some su boregi with cheese, which is (happily) just as delicious as I remembered!

[Fleur]

We finally took The Food Maven, Arthur Schwart'z advice, and drove over to TACI’S BEYTI . What neighborhood is that exactly?

We found a warm, unpretentious family restaurant, spotlessly clean, with crisp white tablecoths and a friendly, helpful and professional staff.

The room felt very comfortable, and was abuzz with people of all ages, .speaking Turkish, Russian, English and more. Actual elderly people, with their families! Rarely seens in the Heights, Cobble Hilkl, Park Slope, etc .

The food was all delicious. The enormous basket of freshly baked Turkish bread was wonderful. We started with an assortment of appetizers and a large Shepherd's Salad, which was huge and enough for the four of us. The Rolled Cheese Cigars, and the Spinach pies were delicious as were the Turkish equivalent of Lahamjen.

The Shish Kebabs were outstanding. The lamb was moist, nicely spiced and cooked to perfection. It was served with roasted Tomato and Pepper, as well as raw Onion, which would have been nicer grilled.. Ditto for the Chicken and Turkish Sausage.

We had some Baklava and other sweet things for dessert.

We did go down the street for the pastries, as suggested by OP. Very impressive. Of course we took some home , but be forewarned, this must be consumed immediately. It does not keep well at all, getting soggy and mushy.

The Tab for a full three course meal for four people was about $70..

The only Turkish we had tried before was on Montague. Almost twice the price, much smaller portions, and the food isn't half as good.

And, in addition, the food is very healthful and figure friendly, prepared from obviously high quality ingredients, and not overly salted.

Well worth the trip.I highly recommend it to all.

[hhhippo]

Just another vote for Taci's Beyti. Sahara and Liman are O.K. as well, but I think Taci's Beyti is a step above both. Smoky eggplant spread is a great starter. Love the adana kebab. Also the lahmacun (all the pide are really good; a few of them are a little too cheese-covered for my taste). Dark horse menu item: the french fries. The'yre not that crispy, but they're fresh cut slices, and I just love something about them.

Also recommend Gulluoglu down the block. Try the pistachio-based baklava along with traditional walnut varieties.