turkey, oh how delightful are the treats your cuisine has to offer! previously, my only exposure to turkish food was from eating börek bought at efes, the wonderful turkish pastry shop that is 5 minutes from my house. now i know that i have been missing out. the anatolian peninsula’s contribution to the culinary world is not limited to the stuffed phyllo dough that i have been thoroughly enjoying up until now.
traditionally, an eastern mediterranean meal starts with a selection of meze, served here with baskets of freshly made lavash bread. options include hummus (chickpea purée), vine leaves stuffed with rice and meat, cacik (a simple yogurt & cucumber dip), a nice baba ghanoush (puréed roasted eggplant topped with pomegranate seeds). these were nice, but ordinary. my only advice is to not be fooled by the description of the hummus with lamb. it is simply tasteless dices of lamb thrown on top of the chickpea dip; you are better off with just the hummus. also available as a starter are two kinds of börek: potatoes & ground beef and spinach & feta. the börek is quite different from what i am used to. the ones at this restaurant are not made with the flaky phyllo that the bakery uses, but rather with chewy layers of dough. they were good, but not spectacular. they tasted rather leathery and the filling was somewhat dry. it could be a sign that they’ve been sitting in the display case all day, but some have speculated that they are reheated in the microwave. i must say that the appetizers in general were underwhelming; many of them were bland.
hoping that the main courses would be better, i opted for the manti from the specialties section. the description of was similar to the afghani mantoo that a friend has been insisting i try. the dish is made up of tiny spicy meat dumplings bathed in a minty yogurt sauce and topped with a red pepper paste. exquisite! the spicy meat contrasted well with the tartness of the yogurt. the differences in taste made for a quite pleasant symphony in the mouth. every bite had a sublty different effect on the tastebuds. the manti was without a doubt the highlight of my meal.
also a first for me was the gözleme. found in the salad section of the menu, it is a freshly made lavash, folded into quarters, with stuffing between the layers. stuffings include spinach & cheese, feta only, spicy potatoes, or minced meat. the meat gözleme was quite good, but at a little less than an inch thick and hanging off the plate, it was too big and every bite tasted the same after a while.
avesta
2077, rue ste-catherine ouest
montréal, québec
H3H 1M6
T: 514.937.0156
www.restoavesta.ca
payment: cash, debit, visa
hours:
10am – 11pm daily