Mobilize for Istanbul Grille!
I know, I know: for something that I have the audacity to call "Pittsburgh's yummiest blog," I sure don't write enough about places. I navel-gaze and ooh and aah about the stuff that Scheidt and I cook up. And a lot of that is yummy, to be sure, but it's just one piece of my Pittsburgh food experience.
Another piece of my Pittsburgh food experience, for at least the last year, has been a delightful little establishment called Istanbul Grille. Scheidt and I were first drawn in because at the time, it was a block away from his apartment in Friendship. Then, in the same meal, we ordered the baba ghanoush and the doner kebap platter. After wiping our plates entirely clean with our pitas, we knew we'd be back.
But my friends, there is a problem: Owner Coskun "Josh" Golkap had to close his Shadyside location* this summer, leaving just the takeout shop downtown. And while Josh will tomorrow open in the space that used to hold Your Inner Vagabond in Lawrenceville, the challenge still remains: neither of these places has a full kitchen.
This is a travesty against Turkish food in Pittsburgh, and indeed, against the entire Pittsburgh dining scene. After all, over the last 18 months Istanbul Grille enjoyed the Pittsburgh print media hat-trick, with glowing reviews from China Millman and Munch over at the Post-Gazette, Jason and Angelique at City Paper, and at least three different writers at the Tribune-Review.
What Istanbul Grille can pull off without a full kitchen is admittedly pretty amazing. Josh plays it down, calling it "Turkish fast food," but puh-lease: putting Istanbul Grille on the same plane as McD's or some burrito shop is morally reprehensible.
For instance, remember when I mentioned the baba ghanoush three paragraphs ago? I don't tend to go for eggplant, but I think the baba ghanoush at this place is transcendental. So luscious and richly flavored, it seems like it must contain a quart of cream, but no, it's vegan-safe.
Also: the "doner kebap," which most Burghers would call a gyro. There is at least lamb (yummo!) or chicken (omg!) available daily, and sometimes both downtown. The meat is layered in slices on a vertical spit, then roasted so it bastes itself in its own fat. The crispy edges are sliced off and served to you in a pita or atop rice or bulghur. It's accompanied by a salad of crisp iceberg lettuce with a simple yet delicious vinegar dressing and a mysterious herb mixture. And for the record, iceberg lettuce (like eggplant) is something I don't usually go for, yet I lap it up at Istanbul Grille.
After that, there are the zucchini pancakes, stuffed grape leaves, hummus even creamier than the baba ghanoush, and the lamb kofte (little meatballs) and baklava and
CLUNK
I just fainted.
So, Pittsburgh, hear my cry: I would like nothing more than to take a bottle of wine and a table-full of friends to a new, full-kitchened, dining-room-with-a-waitress, sit-and-laugh-for-hours incarnation of Istanbul Grille again. To make that happen, I think we need to patronize the existing locations over and over again until Josh is so flush with cash that he just has to open a bigger shop with a full kitchen that really lets him work his magic. I think he'd be down with it.**
Istanbul Grille
643 Liberty Avenue, Downtown
Weekdays only, Cash only
Istanbul (Formerly Your Inner Vagabond)
4103 Butler Street, Lawrenceville
*All the photos in this post are from the Shadyside shop. Le sigh.
**I might be putting words in his mouth. But I really just want the kofte. Don't they look yummy?
Another piece of my Pittsburgh food experience, for at least the last year, has been a delightful little establishment called Istanbul Grille. Scheidt and I were first drawn in because at the time, it was a block away from his apartment in Friendship. Then, in the same meal, we ordered the baba ghanoush and the doner kebap platter. After wiping our plates entirely clean with our pitas, we knew we'd be back.
Doner kebap - a gyros platter
But my friends, there is a problem: Owner Coskun "Josh" Golkap had to close his Shadyside location* this summer, leaving just the takeout shop downtown. And while Josh will tomorrow open in the space that used to hold Your Inner Vagabond in Lawrenceville, the challenge still remains: neither of these places has a full kitchen.
This is a travesty against Turkish food in Pittsburgh, and indeed, against the entire Pittsburgh dining scene. After all, over the last 18 months Istanbul Grille enjoyed the Pittsburgh print media hat-trick, with glowing reviews from China Millman and Munch over at the Post-Gazette, Jason and Angelique at City Paper, and at least three different writers at the Tribune-Review.
What Istanbul Grille can pull off without a full kitchen is admittedly pretty amazing. Josh plays it down, calling it "Turkish fast food," but puh-lease: putting Istanbul Grille on the same plane as McD's or some burrito shop is morally reprehensible.
For instance, remember when I mentioned the baba ghanoush three paragraphs ago? I don't tend to go for eggplant, but I think the baba ghanoush at this place is transcendental. So luscious and richly flavored, it seems like it must contain a quart of cream, but no, it's vegan-safe.
Back: chunks of lamb. Front: zucchini pancake direct from heaven.
Also: the "doner kebap," which most Burghers would call a gyro. There is at least lamb (yummo!) or chicken (omg!) available daily, and sometimes both downtown. The meat is layered in slices on a vertical spit, then roasted so it bastes itself in its own fat. The crispy edges are sliced off and served to you in a pita or atop rice or bulghur. It's accompanied by a salad of crisp iceberg lettuce with a simple yet delicious vinegar dressing and a mysterious herb mixture. And for the record, iceberg lettuce (like eggplant) is something I don't usually go for, yet I lap it up at Istanbul Grille.
After that, there are the zucchini pancakes, stuffed grape leaves, hummus even creamier than the baba ghanoush, and the lamb kofte (little meatballs) and baklava and
CLUNK
I just fainted.
So, Pittsburgh, hear my cry: I would like nothing more than to take a bottle of wine and a table-full of friends to a new, full-kitchened, dining-room-with-a-waitress, sit-and-laugh-for-hours incarnation of Istanbul Grille again. To make that happen, I think we need to patronize the existing locations over and over again until Josh is so flush with cash that he just has to open a bigger shop with a full kitchen that really lets him work his magic. I think he'd be down with it.**
Istanbul Grille
643 Liberty Avenue, Downtown
Weekdays only, Cash only
Istanbul (Formerly Your Inner Vagabond)
4103 Butler Street, Lawrenceville
*All the photos in this post are from the Shadyside shop. Le sigh.
**I might be putting words in his mouth. But I really just want the kofte. Don't they look yummy?
You f-in rock. If only every restaurant got you on their side. Josh is a good man, and an even better food-preparer. Let's eat.
October 11, 2009, at 8:12 PMR
Now that's a call to arms I can support. I've never made my way out to Istanbul Grill, but I've heard nothing but good things.
It's about time I drag myself out there to show Josh my support (not to mention, enjoy a quality meal).
October 11, 2009, at 11:35 PMSounds great! The downtown location has been on my 'to try' list since the Munch piece quite awhile ago but I still haven't made it there - must go soon!
October 12, 2009, at 8:45 AMThanks for the good news regarding Istanbul Grille's re-relocation. I was sad when the Shady Side location mysteriously closed. The food is worth hunting down. Josh, don't stop.
October 13, 2009, at 9:19 AM