Post by Amani on Oct 25, 2006 11:42:04 GMT -5
Turkish hospitality warms a foggy West Portal spot
Bill Addison, San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Bursa Kebab extends what every neighborhood restaurant worth its salt should offer: a contagiously warm welcome.
The restaurant's walls are painted an electrifying lime, providing instant color therapy against the blustery West Portal fog. Rothko-like prints hang in a meticulous row, leading the eye down the dining room's narrow rectangle in a prismatic procession. A backlit bar casts curvy silhouettes around rows of wine bottles.
Great beginning
A genial server sat us at a table among couples immersed in ardent tete-a-tetes. Water, bread and glasses of wine chosen from an inexpensive, user-friendly list arrived with speed.
It was exactly the kind of friendly yet no-nonsense start many of us hope to have at a local, moderately priced restaurant on a weekday night. Things may get a bit saucier on the weekends when gyrating belly dancers occasionally appear on the scene, but I prefer the more docile, after-work version of Bursa.
In the three years since it opened, Bursa's kitchen has found a solidly consistent groove. The Turkish menu -- a mostly familiar montage of Middle Eastern greatest hits -- may not dazzle with surprises, but it can exceed expectations in quiet ways.
The combination platter of appetizers ($13.50) thrusts diners into the meal with a zigzag of flavors and textures: glossy hummus; smoky baba ghanoush; roasted eggplant cooked with tomatoes, onions and red peppers; lemony dolmas; sesame-coated falafel; and haydari -- yogurt embellished with feta, garlic, olive oil and dill.
A bland rendition of tabbouleh was the platter's only letdown. Still, I loved the sense of abundance.
For those not as bent on grazing, these starters are available separately ($3.95-$4.95 each). But vegetarians might consider ordering the combination platter as an entree over uneventful mixed vegetable kebabs ($11.95) or mushy, muddled baked eggplant ($12.95) stuffed with tomatoes and pine nuts and topped with feta.
Kebabs stand out
Kebabs comprise the bulk of the main-course offerings, and this is where Bursa distinguishes itself. Bursa's chicken shish kebab ($13.95) is juicy with garlicky pep, and the hunks of lamb shish kebab have a slight blush to their interior and a satisfying char to the exterior.
Kofte kebab ($13.95) tastes essentially like hamburger with a swarthy kick; lamb mixed in with the beef imbues the long strips of grilled ground meat with gamy charisma.
The menu takes some eccentric twists here and there. I didn't quite expect beef stroganoff ($14.95) to be included with moussaka ($12.95) and shawarma ($14.95). And, indeed, it was a perplexing concoction: Pickles mingled among the beef and mushrooms in a white-wine cream sauce.
Likewise, the dessert menu includes out-of-place options like a very precise circle of dense, flavorless New York cheesecake ($6.50). Stick to desserts like kunefe ($5) -- lightly sweetened fresh cheese covered with shredded phyllo and simple syrup -- that reflect the restaurant's Turkish soul.
Though sweet-natured and sincere, the servers piled our entrees on our table well before we were done with our appetizers -- a frustrating practice that was noted when The Chronicle first reviewed the restaurant two years ago. It was the one glitch that detracted from an otherwise neighborly experience in a restaurant that has found its niche.
Bill Addison, San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Bursa Kebab extends what every neighborhood restaurant worth its salt should offer: a contagiously warm welcome.
The restaurant's walls are painted an electrifying lime, providing instant color therapy against the blustery West Portal fog. Rothko-like prints hang in a meticulous row, leading the eye down the dining room's narrow rectangle in a prismatic procession. A backlit bar casts curvy silhouettes around rows of wine bottles.
Great beginning
A genial server sat us at a table among couples immersed in ardent tete-a-tetes. Water, bread and glasses of wine chosen from an inexpensive, user-friendly list arrived with speed.
It was exactly the kind of friendly yet no-nonsense start many of us hope to have at a local, moderately priced restaurant on a weekday night. Things may get a bit saucier on the weekends when gyrating belly dancers occasionally appear on the scene, but I prefer the more docile, after-work version of Bursa.
In the three years since it opened, Bursa's kitchen has found a solidly consistent groove. The Turkish menu -- a mostly familiar montage of Middle Eastern greatest hits -- may not dazzle with surprises, but it can exceed expectations in quiet ways.
The combination platter of appetizers ($13.50) thrusts diners into the meal with a zigzag of flavors and textures: glossy hummus; smoky baba ghanoush; roasted eggplant cooked with tomatoes, onions and red peppers; lemony dolmas; sesame-coated falafel; and haydari -- yogurt embellished with feta, garlic, olive oil and dill.
A bland rendition of tabbouleh was the platter's only letdown. Still, I loved the sense of abundance.
For those not as bent on grazing, these starters are available separately ($3.95-$4.95 each). But vegetarians might consider ordering the combination platter as an entree over uneventful mixed vegetable kebabs ($11.95) or mushy, muddled baked eggplant ($12.95) stuffed with tomatoes and pine nuts and topped with feta.
Kebabs stand out
Kebabs comprise the bulk of the main-course offerings, and this is where Bursa distinguishes itself. Bursa's chicken shish kebab ($13.95) is juicy with garlicky pep, and the hunks of lamb shish kebab have a slight blush to their interior and a satisfying char to the exterior.
Kofte kebab ($13.95) tastes essentially like hamburger with a swarthy kick; lamb mixed in with the beef imbues the long strips of grilled ground meat with gamy charisma.
The menu takes some eccentric twists here and there. I didn't quite expect beef stroganoff ($14.95) to be included with moussaka ($12.95) and shawarma ($14.95). And, indeed, it was a perplexing concoction: Pickles mingled among the beef and mushrooms in a white-wine cream sauce.
Likewise, the dessert menu includes out-of-place options like a very precise circle of dense, flavorless New York cheesecake ($6.50). Stick to desserts like kunefe ($5) -- lightly sweetened fresh cheese covered with shredded phyllo and simple syrup -- that reflect the restaurant's Turkish soul.
Though sweet-natured and sincere, the servers piled our entrees on our table well before we were done with our appetizers -- a frustrating practice that was noted when The Chronicle first reviewed the restaurant two years ago. It was the one glitch that detracted from an otherwise neighborly experience in a restaurant that has found its niche.