New San Diego Restaurant Bosforo Brings a Taste of Turkey to Normal Heights | Eater San Diego

"Led by chef Seckin Sage Anlasbay—who left the shores of Mersin along Turkey’s Mediterranean coast for San Diego and, after more than a decade working at restaurants such as Bottega Americana in San Diego and 3rd Cousin in San Francisco followed by a successful run with a pizza catering company—opened a Turkish-style meyhane in Normal Heights on May 27 to highlight the cuisine of Adana, the home of Turkey’s most hallowed kebap tradition. Turkish interior designer Ilkem Naz Dinç worked with the team to blend modern touches with traditional elements of meyhanes in Turkey: an all-white dining room warmed by dark reds and leather upholstery at the bar, a wall lined with literature and vintage records, Turkish lamps, and a back bar that adds Old World charm with a trio of arches featuring stone wall accents. The heart and soul of the kitchen is a Mugnaini wood-fired pizza oven, ideal for Anlasbay’s Neapolitan-style pizzas cooked at 750 degrees, lahmacun (the Turkish spelling of lahmajoun, a flatbread with a blend of minced meat and vegetables), and kebap. The pizza dough consists of double-zero flour topped with a tangy Bianco DiNapoli organic tomato sauce for standards like pepperoni, cheese, or mushroom pizzas; the lone Turkish innovation on the pizza menu is the Anatolian, featuring keyseri pastrami (pastirma) from Central Anatolia, Turkish sausages, and white cheese imported from Turkey. While the Anatolian teases Turkish flavors, Anlasbay’s lahmacun is an unadulterated taste of home: three wood-fired thin-crusted lahmacun come in an order, topped with a delicate layer of a minced blend of beef and vegetables, with slices of tomatoes, onions, sprigs of parsley, and sumac on the side to dress the lahmacun before rolling them up for eating. "This is a one and only Turkish experience in southern California," says Anlasbay, who noted the more substantial Turkish dining options in New York City, Miami, and San Francisco. The elevated menu begins with cold and hot mezze—standouts from the cold mezze include an herbed hummus with beetroot, spicy eggplant atom (eggplant puree), and antep ezme, a fragrant salad of tomatoes, peppers, and onions which complements the kebap—while hot starters like Mersin-style crispy potato fries to dip in green yogurt blended with herbs and Adana içli köfte (minced meat croquettes) home in on the sense of place. Kebaps are cooked inside the wood-fired oven and include hand-minced beef, şiş kebap (beef chunks), and chicken kebap made from chicken thigh; all kebaps are served with fire-roasted tomatoes and peppers, and sumac-dressed onions atop toasted lavash. For vegans there’s a Beyond Meat skewer, and another standout is the grilled fish prepared with sea bass sourced from Turkey. No Turkish meal is complete without coffee to sip while enjoying desserts like sütlaç (oven-baked rice pudding) or pistachio ice cream. On the bar menu, wine and local craft beer are staples of meyhanes, and for a modern twist there are Turkish-inflected cocktails: Midnight in Istanbul features a base of vodka and Turkish coffee sweetened by sutlac (rice pudding) and Kahlua, while the gin-forward Antalya Spritz mixes in raki (Turkish anise), elderflower, and lemon. "I’ve been chasing this for 15 years, opening a restaurant that brings the food from my home," says Anlasbay; the restaurant promises to bring a taste of Adana to Normal Heights and is open Sunday–Thursday 4:00 p.m.–9:30 p.m. and Friday–Saturday 4:00 p.m.–1:00 a.m." - Bill Esparza