A Broad Reference

Circassian chicken. Shredded breast meat is spread over the bottom of the dish and covered with a large scoop of walnut, tahini, garlic, and olive oil puree. It takes a few scoops of the smooth, rich stuff, which resembles hummus in flavor and texture, to meld downwards to the juicy chicken.

Bulgur lettuce wraps are bound together with tomato puree, finely chopped wheat (bulgur) becomes a sweet, soft base for little jolts of flavor -- Turkish peppers, onions, dill, mint. The salad is meant to be scooped onto crisp baby romaine leaves.

Eggplant Salad (Patlican Salatasi)
Smoked eggplant w/ peppers, tomatoes and lemon juice
Roasted eggplant salad, peeled strips of grilled eggplant, melting and smoky, are tossed with crunchy, sharp onions, tart tomatoes, and Anaheim chiles, all brought together with garlic and olive oil.
Sweet celery root is served in a bowl of its bright, lemony braising liquid.

Zucchini cakes crusted in breadcrumbs, the oval fritters formed of finely shredded zucchini, silky and steaming, studded with nuggets of fresh goat cheese.

spanikopita-like layered boreks are filled with spinach or ground meat, and a rolled borek, a cross between an egg roll and a meat pie. The cigar-shaped rolled borek was stuffed with a spicy mixture of ground lamb, beef, and onions.

Smokey chunks of lamb coated in a thick layer of sumac and spice., alternating with charred red and green peppers, onions, and golden summer squash, comes off the grill just right, pink and tender. Smoke enhances the seasonal vegetables- the grill blackens their edges to a chewy caramelized state, but doesn't suck out all their juices. Kofte kebab, is flattened salted ground beef and lamb, skewered on sword like blades, to prevent "rolling" or slippage while cooking. Skewered prawns were smoky, and could have been cooked a minute or two less.

Roasted Figs drizzled with honey and served with creme fraiche (sp?)