Posted By
nichole b on
March 31, 2011 4:24 PM
The husband and I have been regulars here for a while. It is our once-a-month treat since we discovered it. Last night, we wanted to indulge and found it under new management… and it was ACTUALLY BETTER than before. Food was just as delicious, bread has greatly improved, and wow, the restaurant was so generous with portions and extras that I walked away actually feeling guilty and deliciously bloated.
We ordered our regular: a large Mediterranean salad appetizer, falafel, chicken kabob platter with red rice, mixed lamb platter, green onion side salad, extra tahini on the side, double order of baklava, extra bread… and found *nothing* lacking. I can't wait to get home tonight for leftovers. Portions are *very* generous.
Ephesus reborn is just as authentic, just as delicious, just as family-oriented, but even more generous. I think the new ownership is great and I hope everyone keeps going so I can have my once-a-month large Mediterranean salads fix.
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Long Island, especially the South Shore in Nassau/Western Suffolk, isn't known for its diversity of food. There are Italian restaurants aplenty, diners every few miles, pizza joints and Chinese takeout at every turn. But aside from the occasional gem, it's a Roadfood desert.
Ephesus is a welcome change from the usual; Turkish cuisine smack-dab in the middle of the Massapequas, just a little south of the "downtown" area of Massapequa Park. But is it Roadfood? You bet.
Pides hit the target. Now, I'd thought I'd known "pide" (pita). Everyone knows it's that round, very flat bread with the pocket, best used for dips or to hold fillings. Apparently, that's a simplistic notion; this pide is thicker, soft, and pocketless, and addictively tasty. They serve it in a bunch of different ways: plain cheese, or with Turkish pastrami (smoky and chewy, and not so much like what we're used to calling pastrami), or chunks of lamb, or Turkish sausage, or chicken, or potato, just to name a few options. Think of it essentially as pizza, except better than what so many pizza places try to foist off these days. It's thin and crisp, the edges nice and chewy. Certain styles are served open, certain folded over with the filling inside.
A similar bread, thicker and crustier, is used for the sandwiches, and it is glorious. The bread is warm and fresh from the oven, the outside golden brown and crackling. Stuffed inside is meat: Turkish meatballs, shish kebab, gyro meat (a different style than that found in Greek restaurants), adana kebab (with a spicy kick), chicken shish kebab, served with tomato, lettuce, green peppers, and onion (enough onion that this isn't something you want to eat on a first date). A yogurt sauce is served on the side (and shouldn't be missed). Fries come standard.
Another word about the bread: if you eat in, it's served automatically (with a delicious, salty feta), and there is a definite risk of over-indulging. Worse, when it runs out, they ask if you want more; the natural answer is "of course," which means you can fill up before your entree ever makes its way out. If you order out, it is included only if you order an entree.
The entrees are no less delicious. No Turkish place would be complete without a big selection of kebabs, but the baked lamb shank wrapped in slice eggplant and the pureed smoked eggplant topped with chunks of chicken are nice choices. Not to be missed is the Sugara Boregi (the "Turkish cigar"): fried fillo dough filled with feta cheese and parsley, or babaghonush.
Desserts: baklava (layers of phyllo dough, filled with chopped walnuts and honey), and kadayif, which resembles shredded wheat, but sweet, like pastry.
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