Pretty much everything on the menu of this stylish Turkish eatery can be ordered to go at the takeout annex next door. It’s best to avoid poor travelers like fried eggplant and sigara börek and go for hardier starters like pungent tarama, heavy-on-the-parsley tabbouleh, stuffed grape leaves, and imam bayildi, baked eggplant stuffed with tomato, onion, garlic, and parsley—so silky you can scoop it up with pita.
You can make a meal of mezze or go for bigger plates such as Iskender kebab($10.95), shaved slices of marinated lamb and veal smothered with tomato sauce and yogurt that reheats surprisingly well, or chicken begendili ($11.95), slices of chicken on puréed roasted eggplant. Turkish pizzas, called pides, are also a possibility—try the Kayseri, with spicy Turkish-style pastrami ($7.95).
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Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
