Cafe Antalya: Then kiss me already

By Tom Maicon at May 18, 2009 | 4:30 pm | Print

I eat Mediterranean food at least once a week mostly because it’s flavorful, interesting and healthy, not to mention it’s the wife’s favorite. I’ve always said, behind every mentally-intact man is a happy wife.

Café Antalya (8290 Roswell Rd, Sandy Springs, Tel: 678.527.0900) is the latest Turkish restaurant to bless our city’s rich culinary landscape, and I’m happy to report the food is very good to excellent, especially for the price.

Hummus is texturally pleasing, not too runny and not too thick. And it’s sort of spicy, which I like.

Falafels aren’t the usual. Think thick undercooked cookies with a crispy outer shell and soft center. The inner texture is perfectly between gooey and cake-y. You’ll be hard pressed to find better.

Baba ganoush isn’t too smoky nor is it too garlicky, and subtly served as large chunky pieces of eggplant mixed with herbs.

The entrée menu is chock-full-of shish kebobs, as one would expect. I generally find these offerings boring and opt for more interesting stuff like falafel platters and stuffed cabbage. Yes, stuffed cabbage. It’s a weird comfort food I’ll never lose a taste for. Perhaps it’s the Hungarian in my melting pot of a family tree.

The stuffed cabbage here is served smothered in creamy yogurt with a light drizzle of tomato sauce. The cabbage leaves are neatly rolled like a tortilla, stuffed with well-seasoned beef and rice.

Possibly one of the most interesting dishes on the menu at this little Turkish eatery is the rice pudding. Served in a big bowl, it has the texture of crème brulee and the lid is scorched. Fun.

The pita bread, prepared in house, is as good as you’ll find. It’s kind of crispy on the very outside layer yet still pleasantly chewy.

The sign hanging over the kitchen door reads, “I kiss better than I cook.” Judging from the food chef must be some lover boy.

Tom Eats Cafe Antalya, falafel, Sandy Springs, turkish cuisine