Turkish Anatolia Orleans
Restaurants that feature enormous cylinders of spit-roasted chicken, beef and lamb, some weighing close to 40 kgs, are popular across our dining landscape: I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like some sort of roasted meat shaved from a rotating vertical skewer that cooks and bastes the protein simultaneously.
And how could one not? It’s hot, tender seasoned meat with a few crispy bits wrapped in a warm envelope of bread as a shawarma, gyros or al pastor with a host of garlicky sauces, hummus and vegetables — and a favourite of mine, pickled pink turnip.
Turkish Anatolia in Orleans does a pretty good job of putting together a platter-for-two of said cooked chicken and beef in doner style that arrives at your table — I love hearing the sound of the knife slicing the meat — served on a bed of extremely tasty rice and a satisfying sort of bulgur “pilaf.”
Both meats were perfectly cooked — some tenderness and just the right amount of fattiness alongside those few crispy bits — and the portion of the platter just enough to pack up and take home for lunch the next day.
Ezme (“mashed”) tomato spread/condiment/salad is laced with some sort of red pepper paste and is quite delicious: the presentation, though simple, is beautifully done; one can appreciate the few extra moments of time it took to present it, even in a simple and humble dining room in a commonplace strip plaza.
Yogurt-based minty cacik is garnished with herbs and with the ezme is terrific slathered on the fresh, hot pita-like bread.
A couple of dips accompanied the platter and basket of bread and both were quite good and very garlicky (but a bit too much for my liking). I slurped a bottle of “Legendary” Uludag gazoz, a citrusy Turkish soda pop, perhaps akin to Sprite. The name pays homage to the “great mountain” Uludag in northwest Turkiye.
The restaurant’s specialty is dishes served with a Turkish inflection but there is also a Pakistani menu available. I can say that a distinguishing aspect was the friendliness and attentiveness of the staff, I’m guessing the owners.
A final gesture of hospitality, served in quaint perhaps traditional little vessels, were cups of tea. It appears that with some meals, the gesture is a complimentary and appreciated one.
There’s not much information available on either their website or their Facebook page, so you’ll have to fly solo when you visit Turkish Anatolia.
One thing that struck me, however: next door to the Anatolia was a juice place and sub joint — both of which seemed to generate more traffic than those looking for legit kebabs and doners. That’s a shame.
