Having grown up in rural Western New York, access to exotic cuisine was limited. My definition of great food consisted of my mother’s Cheeseburger pie and Spiral Macaroni and Cheese (the blue box, of course).  We had a local Chinese take-out dive, and other than pizza joints and the occasional Mexican meal on our shopping trips to Buffalo, I was an all-American eater. 

Until I moved to Turkey.

It was in Turkey, while living abroad in Istanbul, that I actually became aware of food – other than my intense desire to consume it. Food in Turkey was a culture all of its own, and I was keenly aware of its impact on daily life. Meals were several hours long, and dinner preparation often began mid-morning. The food was fresh, flavorful, and more unique than any other I had tried. I only spent 6 months in Turkey, but in that amount of time I ate and toured to my heart’s content.

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Moving to DC meant that I would once again have access to diverse cuisine, and just this month the newest Turkish restaurant has opened its doors on 19th Street. Ankara Restaurant, named after the capital of Turkey, offers a full menu of my favorite authentic Turkish dishes. Having sampled Cafe Divan only a few months ago, the bar was set high for Ankara.

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I will say this: the food was delicious. It was, for the most part, truly reflective of how I ate while in Istanbul. Each region of Turkey is known for different dishes, but Ankara’s menu is inclusive of them all.  To start, we ordered the Yogurtlu Ispanek (yogurt with spinach), Mercimek Kofte (red lentil patty with herbs) and Htipiti (roasted red pepper and feta).

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I can’t stress how much I love Sigara Boregi, so we ordered a side of that as well. You can’t go wrong with fried phyllo and cheese.

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We split the Sujuklu Pide (spicy Turkish sausage) and my all time favorite Turkish dish – Lahmacun. It’s flatbread topped with minced meat, you eat it by rolling it and taking it down like pizza. 

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Sadly, the restaurant has much to do to prepare for its customers. The service was less than adequate, much of what we attribute to the newness of the place. As we sat, we witnessed two tables up and leave after waiting an unreasonable amount of time to be helped.  It wasn’t crowded, but it appeared to be chaotic as the patio came to life around the dinner hour. Please, Ankara, we hope you get things settled and fluid so you can continue to expose DC to quality and authentic Turkish cuisine.

Have you been? Let us know what you think…

-Al
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