Mixing flavors at Istanbul Grill
When I was three or four, my mom once asked me what relationship was the most important in life. I said friendship. She wasn’t happy. She wanted to hear that the mother-and-child love was the most important, to which I explained that mother and child should treat each other like friends, with respect and trust and so on, thereby making the relationship a friendship. For all these years, my mom has been my best friend, but I’ve had other amazing friendships too. Some last, some don’t. Some fade, some strengthen. Some are built over the world wide web, some are formed through sleepless nights struggling over assignments. You know what the best thing about non-family friends is? You get to choose them. You get to hang out with people who are different from you, but mix so well with you, like salt and lemon. Or how about this, like yogurt and meat?
Iskender kebab - lamb and beef on fried pide bread with yogurt
What are you smoking, Mai, yogurt and meat? Yep. Yogurt and thin slices of döner (beef and lamb), blanketing a bed of dice butter-roasted pide bread (the Turkish name of pita bread). It is carnivore festival. If you ever feel like you are ready to chow down a cow in two minutes, Middle Eastern restaurants are the place to roll. They beat Texas BBQ houses by miles in the blunder of sheer meat. BBQ houses at least try to give you a salad (with dressing, but still), a few starchy objects like toasts and buns, a side or two of cole slaw, green bean, corn, or whatever skimmishly healthy. The Persians smirk at such disguise. If you want meat, you get meat, either in a giant ball or in a giant mount. The doner overwhelms any trace of pide bread there might have been. Then the refreshingly sour yogurt overwhelms the doner, turning the fibrous meaty texture into a shivering juicy touch. The combination is like a racist joke among friends, you know it isn’t right, but you laugh anyway because it’s wickedly funny.
Meze-tabagi (mixed appetizer)
Anyhow, to temper the protein surplus, our group order a veggie appetizer plate to share. The meze tabagi (mixed meze) has seven constituents, clockwise from the lemon wedge: Tabuli (a mix of diced green onion, tomatoes and herbs), Ezme (minced tomatoes, red pepper, walnuts and herbs), dolma (spiced rice wrapped in grape leaves), Patlican Salata (smashed eggplant salad with onion and bell pepper), Pirasa (leeks, carrots, rice and onion), Taze Fasulye (green beans), and Humus (mashed chickpeas and sesame paste). All seven mixes except the humus are seasoned with olive oil and lemon juice. All are amazingly tasty on pide bread, especially the eggplant.
All we have up to this point is, literally, a sour meal. Lemon juice in the appetizer, yogurt in the entree. Then we order baklava for dessert. You know how a cookie tastes after you suck on a lemon wedge, right? Extra sweet. Like eating a brick of brown sugar. So my friend damps the sucrose flood by some bitter black coffee. A strong, nice mix.
Baklava and coffee
Address: Istanbul Grill (in the Village area around Rice University)
5613 Morningside Drive
Houston, TX 77005
(713) 526-2800
(Double parking is allowed/necessary, so don’t be surprised when a waiter asks to move your car to let another customer drive out of the lot.)
Other Persian restaurants I’ve visited:
1. Cafe Renaissance downtown Palo Alto
2. Alborz restaurant on Center Street, Berkeley
3. Azerbaijan Cuisine on Fulton Street, Berkeley
I discovered your blog site on google and check a few of your early posts. Continue to keep up the very good operate. I just additional up your RSS feed to my MSN News Reader. Seeking forward to reading more from you later on!…
1Some truly good articles on this website, thanks for contribution. “A liar should have a good memory.” by Quintilian.
2You should take part in a contest for one of the best blogs on the web. I will recommend this site!
3Woh I like your content, saved to fav! .
4It is actually a nice and useful piece of info. I am satisfied that you just shared this useful information with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.
5I’m not that much of a online reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website to come back in the future. All the best
6I rattling delighted to find this web site on bing, just what I was looking for : D too saved to fav.
7naturally like your web site but you have to check the spelling on quite a few of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling issues and I find it very troublesome to tell the truth nevertheless I will certainly come back again.
8I cherished up to you’ll receive performed proper here. The caricature is tasteful, your authored subject matter stylish. nevertheless, you command get got an edginess over that you would like be turning in the following. in poor health surely come more in the past again since precisely the same just about a lot frequently within case you defend this hike.
9Everything is very open and very clear explanation of issues. was truly information. Your website is very useful. Thanks for sharing.
10you are truly a excellent webmaster. The website loading velocity is incredible. It sort of feels that you’re doing any unique trick. Moreover, The contents are masterwork. you’ve performed a magnificent task in this topic!
11Great blog you have here but I was curious if you knew of any user discussion forums that cover the same topics discussed here? I’d really like to be a part of community where I can get feedback from other experienced people that share the same interest. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Thanks!
12I like what you guys are up too. Such clever work and reporting! Keep up the superb works guys I’ve incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it will improve the value of my site 🙂
13Thank you for sharing excellent informations. Your site is so cool. I am impressed by the details that you have on this website. It reveals how nicely you understand this subject. Bookmarked this website page, will come back for extra articles. You, my friend, ROCK! I found just the information I already searched all over the place and just could not come across. What a great site.
14Thanks for this post, I am a big big fan of this web site would like to go along updated.
15I savour, lead to I discovered just what I used to be having a look for. You’ve ended my four day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice day. Bye
16Your place is valueble for me. Thanks!…
17Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It in fact was a amusement account it. Look advanced to more added agreeable from you! However, how could we communicate?
18What i don’t realize is actually how you’re not actually a lot more smartly-preferred than you may be right now. You’re so intelligent. You already know thus considerably in the case of this topic, produced me personally believe it from so many numerous angles. Its like men and women aren’t interested except it is something to accomplish with Lady gaga! Your own stuffs nice. Always maintain it up!
19Way cool, some valid points! I appreciate you making this article available, the rest of the site is also high quality. Have a fun.
20Great work! This is the type of information that should be shared around the web. Shame on Google for not positioning this post higher! Come on over and visit my site . Thanks =)
21I got what you intend,saved to fav, very decent website .
22As I web-site possessor I believe the content matter here is rattling great , appreciate it for your hard work. You should keep it up forever! Good Luck.
23Hi there! Someone in my Facebook group shared this site with us so I came to look it over. I’m definitely loving the information. I’m bookmarking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Wonderful blog and fantastic design and style.
24You made some respectable points there. I appeared on the internet for the difficulty and found most individuals will go together with with your website.
25You have brought up a very fantastic points, appreciate it for the post.
26I like what you guys are up too. Such smart work and reporting! Keep up the excellent works guys I’ve incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it’ll improve the value of my website 🙂
27Wonderful beat ! I wish to apprentice at the same time as you amend your web site, how could i subscribe for a blog web site? The account helped me a appropriate deal. I had been a little bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered vivid clear concept
28Some really excellent posts on this internet site, appreciate it for contribution. “When he has ceased to hear the many, he may discern the One – the inner sound which kills the outer.” by H Hahn Blavatsky.
29I like this blog so much, saved to bookmarks.
30Greetings from Colorado! I’m bored at work so I decided to check out your website on my iphone during lunch break. I love the knowledge you present here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home. I’m surprised at how fast your blog loaded on my mobile .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, excellent blog!
31Thankyou for helping out, excellent info .
32you have a great blog here! would you like to make some invite posts on my blog?
33Some truly quality articles on this internet site, saved to my bookmarks.
34I enjoy you because of every one of your labor on this website. My daughter really loves managing investigations and it’s really obvious why. A lot of people notice all about the compelling means you convey important tips and hints by means of this website and in addition inspire participation from the others on that concern so our favorite daughter has been studying a whole lot. Have fun with the rest of the year. You’re performing a wonderful job.
35I conceive other website owners should take this web site as an example , very clean and superb user friendly layout.
36I think this web site has got some really wonderful information for everyone. “The penalty of success is to be bored by the attentions of people who formerly snubbed you.” by Mary Wilson Little.
37Rattling excellent info can be found on web blog. “Often the test of courage is not to die but to live.” by Conte Vittorio Alfieri.
38I’m really impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it is rare to see a great blog like this one these days..
39Great wordpress blog here.. It’s hard to find quality writing like yours these days. I really appreciate people like you! take care
40This really answered my downside, thank you!
41I have been surfing online more than 3 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It is pretty worth enough for me. In my view, if all site owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the web will be a lot more useful than ever before.
42You have mentioned very interesting points! ps nice web site.
43Would you be considering exchanging hyperlinks?
44My wife and i felt more than happy when Raymond could round up his analysis by way of the ideas he discovered using your weblog. It is now and again perplexing to just happen to be freely giving tricks which the others could have been trying to sell. We really consider we have you to thank because of that. The main explanations you have made, the straightforward website menu, the relationships your site make it easier to engender – it is everything incredible, and it is aiding our son and the family reckon that that situation is fun, which is tremendously essential. Thanks for all!
45Its excellent as your other posts : D, thanks for posting. “I catnap now and then, but I think while I nap, so it’s not a waste of time.” by Martha Stewart.
46This is very interesting, You are a very skilled blogger. I’ve joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your wonderful post. Also, I have shared your web site in my social networks!
47I really like your writing style, good information, thanks for putting up :D. “Faith is a continuation of reason.” by William Adams.
48I really like reading through and I conceive this website got some genuinely utilitarian stuff on it! .
49Great post. I was checking continuously this weblog and I am inspired! Very useful info specially the final section 🙂 I maintain such information a lot. I was looking for this certain info for a long time. Thank you and best of luck.
50