Istanbul Grill Take Two

Istanbul Grill

18010 Newhope St. #D

Fountain Valley, CA 92708

Doing what we do, reviewing restaurants, we do not often get back around to repeat visits to restaurants. There's always something new to try, and we want to give our take. It usually takes a special circumstance for us to make a return visit to a restaurant, and this trip to Istanbul Grill in Fountain Valley is one of those special trips.

Our original visit was early last year, and not to let the cat out of the bag, but we really enjoyed the food here. I was all set to write my review, and then my computer hemorrhaged, and I lost all of my photos. Yep, that's right, no backups either. So a year and a few months later, my new computer is working like a champ, and we finally made a return trip to Istanbul Grill

Istanbul Grill has been open in this easily accessible shopping plaza for going on four years now. Located right across the street from Costco, on the corner of Talbert and Newhope, right next to the Flame Broiler and Cancun Fresh restaurants. Istanbul Grill is a Turkish restaurant, but much like the city of Istanbul, which sits on the Bosphorus Strait, which straddles both the continents of Europe and Asia, most people will recognize items on the menu here as something they have had before in a Mediterranean restaurant. Enough of the geography lesson, let's check out Istanbul Grill.

Istanbul Grill is a very comfortable restaurant. Both times we had been here, we got sat right away. There's probably about twenty tables and a patio area with a few more, but we haven't seen anyone sit out there the two times we've been here. Through the decor here you can tell that they are very proud of Turkey, with plenty of pictures on the walls and a large flatscreen flashing pictures from that unique country and some shots of their food. The wait staff is very good answering questions about their menu. Let's see what came out for us on this second trip to Istanbul Grill.

Starting things off would probably be the Turkish equivalent of chips and salsa in a Mexican restaurant. The bread is a little thicker than most pita bread slices we have had but tasted very fresh. I did not catch the name of the sauce that came with this, but I'd guess that it was oil based with some Turkish spices included. It was mild, with an earthy feel to it. Katie seemed to like it a lot better than I did.

When dining in a Turkish restaurant, or any Mediterranian restaurant, it's a must to give their Hummus ($6.95) a try. This one at Istanbul Grill had a very smooth consistency to it. One of the smoothest I have had. Unfortunately, the tradeoff was that it kind of lacked in the flavor department. The tahini, garlic, and lemon did little to lift this hummus anywhere above average. Next time I'm going to ask if they have a spicy version.

After being up in the valley a few years ago for a party, I've been on the lookout for a Falafel ($7.95) that rivaled the one I had all those years ago. This one was fine, but not even close. These small balls of chickpeas flavored with garlic, parsley, and cilantro were a little on the dry side and packed a little too dense, so they lacked a lightness that I appreciate in my falafel. This came with a very good tahini sauce, which helped these out a bit. Katie's a big fan of garlic sauce, and liked this one, but was not blown away by it, like the one she had by her former workplace in Ontario.

Entrees are where Istanbul Grill really shined for us. I had the Kebab Combination ($15.95) and could not have been happier. The only difficulty was picking the two that I wanted. I settled on the Lamb and Ribeye Steak Kebabs. Not a bad bite out of the bunch. The lamb was strong here, with a good amount of spices included, and the meat itself really lacked the gaminess that most people complain about when eating lamb. I really liked that they asked how I wanted the ribeye to be cooked when I ordered it. I had it come out medium rare, and that's how they made it. Tender and juicy. Not that it needed it but I alternated using the garlic sauce and the humus with each bite of meat. This also came with rice pilaf and veggies, which also were pretty solid for side items. A very satisfying meal.

Katie was also pretty pleased with her dinner selection on this evening, the Chicken Shish Kebab ($13.95). I'm alway very wary when she orders chicken in restaurants because a lot of times it's way overcooked. Not the case here. This was some very tender cubes of chicken that were marinated nicely in their special sauce and then chargrilled. She was extremely happy with this meal.

When it was time for the check to come, a man, who I assume is the manager or owner came by and asked us how everything was. We told him it was great, and he offered us a piece of Turkish Delight and a Turkish Coffee. Katie took the coffee and I had a piece of the Turkish delight. After this encounter with Turkish delight, I can now confirm I am not a fan of this gel encased, licorice-flavored candy. It reminded me of a candy that grandmothers would have sitting out to trick their grandkids. Katie was a fan of the small, but powerful Turkish coffee, which was strong, and packed a mean caffeine punch, which kept her up even longer than usual on her phone.

Our second trip to Istanbul Grill was just as good as our first and really showed us why this restaurant is always mentioned in the upper echelon of Mediterranian restaurants in OC. Yes, I expected a little more from the falafel and the average hummus, but the entrees were excellent, and even a better value at lunch, where you get a starter, entree, dessert, and pita bread for $8.95. A savings of over 50 percent, and the perfect opportunity to try this Turkish restaurant, without a large investment. Even if you are here for dinner, you'll still enjoy it. The kebabs are some of the best we have found in OC and the service has been warm and friendly both times we've been here. I'm still not happy that my computer crashed, but it did necessitate a return trip here, which we will have to make more of a habit of doing.

Out of five tubs of popcorn, (because the first movie theater debuted in Istanbul in 1896, and has lead to this city becoming the hub for the Turkish film industry), five being best to zero being worst, Istanbul Grill gets 3.5 tubs of popcorn.

For more information about Istanbul Grill, head to their website here: http://www.istanbulgrillca.com/default.html

Getting Our Culinary Passport Stamped at Doner G

Doner G Turkish and Mediterranean Grill

3800 Barranca Parkway Suite N

Irvine, CA 92606

When we were invited to a media tasting at Doner G, I asked almost everyone I ran into before it if they had ever had Turkish food. Out of the twenty or so people I had asked, none of them had said yes. This is not surprising since only 9 restaurants in OC appear Turkish on Urbanspoon, and Yelp yields about the same results. Most people could not point out Turkey on a map unless they jokingly pointed to Washington, DC, which is full of turkeys.

Anyways, one man is trying to introduce Turkish food to the people of OC. That man is the very personable Yalcin Aslan, owner of Doner G. Yalcin has recently opened up his second location of Doner G (his first is in Anaheim). Yalcin's family has been in the restaurant business for over 25 years, and he has opened up Doner G to showcase Turkey's unique culture and delicious food. Turkey is a unique country because it separates Europe from Asia. With its proximity to the Middle East, Turkish food has a different flavor profile from any other food.

At first glance at the menu, most Americans will see exotic-sounding items that do not register with anything they have eaten before. But look a little harder; you will see many similarities to the more popular Greek cuisine. They have gyros-like sandwiches, which they call doner kebab sandwiches. There's also the popular Middle Eastern staple, the falafel. The menu is separated into plates, sandwiches, salads, and sides.

Doner G's location is in the busy Crossroads Shopping Center in Irvine, anchored by Target, Stonefire Grill, and Creamistry. This is an order at the counter place, and then the food is brought out to you. During our visit, there was a steady stream of customers, so people have found out about this place since it opened in September. The customers demographic was interesting. There was a good cross-section of all people, proving that the doner kebab is everywhere, as is stated on their wall, which names cities with a strong doner kebab presence. We sat and talked for a while, but then the food started leaving the open kitchen. Let's see how we liked our first foray into Turkish food.

Starting things off were the Dolmas ($2.99 for four pieces). These are grape leaves stuffed with rice, parsley, onions, and herbs sprinkled with olive oil and lemon juice. I had a bad experience as a kid with stuffed grape leaves at a Greek restaurant once, and this was my first time having them again here. This version was much better. The rice was very tender, and the flavors created an earthy vibe. It's not overpowering, but just enough flavor to not overwhelm the taste buds. Glad I could overcome my grape leaves phobia here at Doner G.

A little more in the comfort zone of most Americans is Hummus ($3.49). You can find hummus on grocery store shelves and in many Mediterranean restaurants nationwide. The hummus here is served with fresh pita bread, and drizzled with olive oil. Very smooth but still with enough texture. The natural flavor of the mashed-up chickpeas really came through here. A little more exotic but just as delicious was the Baba Ghanoush ($3.49). This had more denseness to it than the humus. Made up of roasted eggplant mixed with garlic, lemon juice, and tahini sauce, this is sprinkled with sumac and olive oil. I liked this better than the hummus. It had a big pop of flavor, and I definitely got more of a garlic feel with this. If you're feeling more adventurous than hummus, I recommend this baba ghanoush.

Salads are not to be overlooked at Doner G. We got to try the Fettush Salad ($5.49), which consists of romaine lettuce, red onions, cucumbers, and tomatoes and is dressed in an unusual combination of lemon juice, vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil. I am usually more of a creamy dressing kind of guy, but this had a nice lemony flavor, which really showcased the freshness of the produce that they use here. Katie ended up being very happy with this salad.

Now, I was waiting for this: to bring on the protein. The Doner G Grill ($16.99) covers all the meats on their menu. This fed four of us easily. The meats here are Chicken and Beef Kebab (tender meats seasoned with special herbs and spices cooked on a vertical broiler), Chicken and Beef Shish Kebab (boneless meats, marinated and then grilled), and lastly, Adana Kebab (ground lamb which is seasoned and grilled). All the meats were very tender and flavorful, but my favorite was the lamb. A great taste to it, without being too gamey like a lamb can sometimes be. It was more like a tender meatloaf with significant flavor. The meats went very well with the sauces at Doner G. I would liken their Doner G sauce to a Turkish Thousand Island. It's a combo of mayonnaise, ketchup, mystery herbs, and spices. It was less thick than expected but added a lot to the meats here. The Jajik sauce is a subtler sauce, made of cucumbers, yogurt, garlic and mint. It reminded me more of a Middle Eastern sauce. A little too mild for me, but this was Katie's favorite.

I usually shy away from vegetables, but these Falafel ($3.49 for four pieces) were fried, so since they were fried vegetables, I made an exception. They were made of a mix of green vegetables and chick peas, then served with the jajik sauce. They were not too greasy, but I liked mine with the Doner G sauce instead of the jajik.

I had no idea, but the Turkish have their own version of Baklava ($2.99 for two pieces). This version is much less sweet than the Greek version and is dusted generously with bits of pistachio. I liked that this was not as rich either because that allowed me to have two pieces.

After having our first Turkish food experience at Doner G, I think Yalcin will achieve his goal of bringing Turkish food to many of OC's people. Everything we had was good, with flavor profiles that were new to us, but it provided a great dining experience. The food differs slightly from Greek food, so if you are a fan of Greek food, you will like what Doner G offers. We for sure will be back often. Thanks to Yalcin for the invitation to try his restaurant. We enjoyed meeting you, enjoying your food, and seeing your passion for Turkey.

For more information about Doner G, go to their website here: http://www.donerg.com/