I do not know why but each time I look at sites to dine on Park Avenue I commonly commence my mental cafe roll contact at Lyman Avenue and head north from there. But of course that suggests I skip some others value recommending that are on the lessen stop of the road, this sort of as Cafe de France, which is a person of the oldest eating places on the avenue, Umi Japanese and Grato, a newcomer Italian.
Now add an even newercomer to the checklist, Lale a Mediterranean/Turkish cafe that has moved into the compact place up coming to Umi (they are so near to each other that it’s challenging to distinguish which sidewalk tables belong to which restaurant).
The area had beforehand been a Ben & Jerry’s ice product shop. But now there is a cook station wherever the freezers utilized to be, only partly concealed at the rear of glass partitions etched with tulips (lale, pronounced lah-leh, suggests tulip in Turkish) and compact tables coated in white cloths, even at lunchtime, occupy the entrance of the place.
The menu is extensive and characteristics a amount of Turkish favorites with most proteins leaning towards lamb, which is fantastic with me.
My lunch companion and I commenced with an appetizer of sigara boregi, phyllo dough “cigarettes” crammed with business feta cheese and deep fried to an ethereal crispiness.
But though individuals ended up airy the red lentil soup had great heft, both in its texture and its flavor.
For my entree, I requested the sausage pide, the Turkish oval flatbread with crusty sides that folded up so it looked like a seafaring vessel. It experienced melted mozzarella and several bits of sujuk, a beef sausage. Eventually there was a lot much more bread than topping, but it was accompanied by a wonderful salad of mixed greens with shredded carrots.
My lunch guest out requested me with the lamb saute, a common dish that featured chunk sized pieces of lamb cooked with onions, crimson and environmentally friendly bell peppers, mushrooms and garlic in a sauce thickened with tomato paste and seasoned with cumin, black pepper and paprika. It was delightful all by by itself and even better with the baldo rice dotted with bits of orzo.
Our server was client when we desired to go to right before buying and attentive when we ended up completely ready.
With Lale, Park Avenue now has two Turkish eating places, which include Bosphorous, and additional diversifies the culinary scene of the road.
Lale is at 521 S. Park Ave., Winter season Park (map). It is open for lunch and meal day by day. The telephone amount is 407-333-0033.