Post by chris on Jul 10, 2004 22:37:06 GMT -5
Bursa brings zesty Turkish fare to West Portal
Amanda Berne, San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday, July 7, 2004
The phrase "Turkish delight" conjures up images of rose-scented candies, belly dancers and bazaars. With several Turkish restaurants now open in the Bay Area, the term soon might apply to food, as well.
Bursa Kebab, named for a city in Turkey south of Istanbul, opened last fall on the expanding row of international restaurants in the West Portal neighborhood of San Francisco. Bursa Kebab is becoming a gathering place for those familiar with Turkish food. On the weekends, the music is turned up several notches and a fully tattooed belly dancer undulates around diners. Old, young, men and women munch on kebabs as the dancer shakes her hips in front of each and every table.
The Turkish menu blends familiar flavors from the Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Arab cultures, reflecting how far the Ottoman empire stretched. Grilled skewered meats, salads and dips are spiced simply with lemon, yogurt and olive oil to allow the flavor of the main ingredient to shine through.
The appetizers, or meze, could easily become the meal, and the dips, salads and kofte offer some of the most interesting options on the menu.
The icli kofte ($4.99), patties of ground beef, walnuts and cracked wheat, are crusty on the exterior, yielding to moist insides. They have a slightly piquant tartness reminiscent of pomegranate molasses, a reduced pomegranate syrup.
Cigarette borek ($3.99), slender sticks of crisp and delicate phyllo stuffed with feta and parsley, can be bland, but benefit from dunking in the many very good dips.
The combination platter ($11.99) includes most of the spreads and salads. Hummus and baba ghanoush show up on many Middle Eastern menus, often with too much garlic or lemon or, on the other hand, too bland. Bursa's hummus (chickpea spread) is creamy with just the right amount of lemon, while the eggplant in the baba ghanoush is nicely smoked from roasting.
Another eggplant spread, the chunky eggplant ezme ($3.99), gets zing from the roasted red peppers and tomatoes. Spread this thickly on the warm homemade pide, a Turkish flatbread, and alternate with haydari ($3.99), a lightly whipped yogurt-and-feta spread that is boldly salty and tangy.
Spit-roasted beef
Main courses revolve around grilled meats, with Bursa Iskender kebab ($14. 99) the signature. The beef is roasted vertically on a spit so the fat and juices baste the meat as it slowly cooks. The method, called doner, or turning, allows the meat to be shaved off a little at a time, while each subsequent layer becomes as savory as the last.
The meat is layered on top of the pide, which soaks up the juices, and is topped with butter, yogurt and tomato sauce. Mixed together, the components blend smoothly into a wonderfully buttery, sweet-and-sour sauce.
Beyti kebab ($12.99), ground sirloin wrapped sushi-style in lavash (flatbread) cut into individual rolls, is nicely spiced with onions, garlic and peppers, but the garlic yogurt and tomato-y sauce overwhelmed the presentation and flavor of the meat.
However, I couldn't stop picking at my friend's shawarma platter ($12.99), a massive plateful of thinly sliced, char-grilled top sirloin. The dish tasted of pure meat -- no sauces, spices or other unnecessary flavorings got in the way. Try a bite with the thinly sliced raw onion for added heat and snap.
The few vegetarian options are uneven. The stuffed vegetable ($10.99), eggplant with onions, tomatoes, pine nuts and feta, tasted dull, as if the sauce were canned.
Moussaka ($11.99), made with potatoes, zucchini and the classic bechamel, fared no better. What sounded like an interesting change from a normally meat- laden casserole was under-seasoned. After sitting for five minutes, the thick layer of bechamel covering the slightly undercooked potatoes became gelatinous and impenetrable.
Dessert, please
Desserts, like dinner, were a mixed bag. Baklava ($2.99) is a dense and satisfying finish to the meal, as is the renavi ($3.99), a lightly textured wedge of semolina cake doused in syrup, but kadayif ($3.99), a shredded-wheat pastry with pistachios and syrup, tasted as if it had been sitting in the refrigerator for too long.
At lunch, the restaurant offers the kebabs in wraps version. The falafel wrap ($4.99) is a decent rendition of the crunchy, herbal chickpea patties, but I was disappointed with the chicken shish kebab ($5.99) wraps. The chicken was dry, and the tiny smattering of tahini sauce did little to help.
Service can be uneven, too. On several occasions the entrees were forced onto the table before we had finished the appetizers, and servers looked bored while filling water glasses and breadbaskets.
Still, with some attention to consistency in food and service, Bursa Kebab may one day indeed be a Turkish delight.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bursa Kebab
60 West Portal (at Vicente), San Francisco; (415) 564-4006.
Open daily 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Beer and wine. Reservations and credit cards accepted. Moderately easy street parking.
Amanda Berne, San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday, July 7, 2004
The phrase "Turkish delight" conjures up images of rose-scented candies, belly dancers and bazaars. With several Turkish restaurants now open in the Bay Area, the term soon might apply to food, as well.
Bursa Kebab, named for a city in Turkey south of Istanbul, opened last fall on the expanding row of international restaurants in the West Portal neighborhood of San Francisco. Bursa Kebab is becoming a gathering place for those familiar with Turkish food. On the weekends, the music is turned up several notches and a fully tattooed belly dancer undulates around diners. Old, young, men and women munch on kebabs as the dancer shakes her hips in front of each and every table.
The Turkish menu blends familiar flavors from the Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Arab cultures, reflecting how far the Ottoman empire stretched. Grilled skewered meats, salads and dips are spiced simply with lemon, yogurt and olive oil to allow the flavor of the main ingredient to shine through.
The appetizers, or meze, could easily become the meal, and the dips, salads and kofte offer some of the most interesting options on the menu.
The icli kofte ($4.99), patties of ground beef, walnuts and cracked wheat, are crusty on the exterior, yielding to moist insides. They have a slightly piquant tartness reminiscent of pomegranate molasses, a reduced pomegranate syrup.
Cigarette borek ($3.99), slender sticks of crisp and delicate phyllo stuffed with feta and parsley, can be bland, but benefit from dunking in the many very good dips.
The combination platter ($11.99) includes most of the spreads and salads. Hummus and baba ghanoush show up on many Middle Eastern menus, often with too much garlic or lemon or, on the other hand, too bland. Bursa's hummus (chickpea spread) is creamy with just the right amount of lemon, while the eggplant in the baba ghanoush is nicely smoked from roasting.
Another eggplant spread, the chunky eggplant ezme ($3.99), gets zing from the roasted red peppers and tomatoes. Spread this thickly on the warm homemade pide, a Turkish flatbread, and alternate with haydari ($3.99), a lightly whipped yogurt-and-feta spread that is boldly salty and tangy.
Spit-roasted beef
Main courses revolve around grilled meats, with Bursa Iskender kebab ($14. 99) the signature. The beef is roasted vertically on a spit so the fat and juices baste the meat as it slowly cooks. The method, called doner, or turning, allows the meat to be shaved off a little at a time, while each subsequent layer becomes as savory as the last.
The meat is layered on top of the pide, which soaks up the juices, and is topped with butter, yogurt and tomato sauce. Mixed together, the components blend smoothly into a wonderfully buttery, sweet-and-sour sauce.
Beyti kebab ($12.99), ground sirloin wrapped sushi-style in lavash (flatbread) cut into individual rolls, is nicely spiced with onions, garlic and peppers, but the garlic yogurt and tomato-y sauce overwhelmed the presentation and flavor of the meat.
However, I couldn't stop picking at my friend's shawarma platter ($12.99), a massive plateful of thinly sliced, char-grilled top sirloin. The dish tasted of pure meat -- no sauces, spices or other unnecessary flavorings got in the way. Try a bite with the thinly sliced raw onion for added heat and snap.
The few vegetarian options are uneven. The stuffed vegetable ($10.99), eggplant with onions, tomatoes, pine nuts and feta, tasted dull, as if the sauce were canned.
Moussaka ($11.99), made with potatoes, zucchini and the classic bechamel, fared no better. What sounded like an interesting change from a normally meat- laden casserole was under-seasoned. After sitting for five minutes, the thick layer of bechamel covering the slightly undercooked potatoes became gelatinous and impenetrable.
Dessert, please
Desserts, like dinner, were a mixed bag. Baklava ($2.99) is a dense and satisfying finish to the meal, as is the renavi ($3.99), a lightly textured wedge of semolina cake doused in syrup, but kadayif ($3.99), a shredded-wheat pastry with pistachios and syrup, tasted as if it had been sitting in the refrigerator for too long.
At lunch, the restaurant offers the kebabs in wraps version. The falafel wrap ($4.99) is a decent rendition of the crunchy, herbal chickpea patties, but I was disappointed with the chicken shish kebab ($5.99) wraps. The chicken was dry, and the tiny smattering of tahini sauce did little to help.
Service can be uneven, too. On several occasions the entrees were forced onto the table before we had finished the appetizers, and servers looked bored while filling water glasses and breadbaskets.
Still, with some attention to consistency in food and service, Bursa Kebab may one day indeed be a Turkish delight.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bursa Kebab
60 West Portal (at Vicente), San Francisco; (415) 564-4006.
Open daily 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Beer and wine. Reservations and credit cards accepted. Moderately easy street parking.