Koftegi
Turkish restaurant · Anaheim ·
Turkish comfort food: köfte, pide, lahmacun, and Iskender
Turkish comfort food: köfte, pide, lahmacun, and Iskender
"Koftegi is a Turkish restaurant/bakery in Little Arabia with a menu that at first glance looks similar to others in the neighborhood. But skip the kabob wraps and meze (though they are tasty) and concentrate on the house specialties. Namely, the ground beef kofte, and the Turkish bread boats known as pide. You can order the kofte in a wrap, on a plate, but we prefer them stuffed with kashkaval cheese, a mild yellow cheese that's sometimes called "the cheddar of the Balkans." As far as pide, they offer 18 varieties filled with things like muhammara or soujouk, but if we're here in the morning, we go with the salty-sweet egg, cheese, and parsley one." - brant cox
"Koftegi is a Turkish restaurant/bakery in Little Arabia with a menu that at first glance looks similar to others in the neighborhood. But skip the kabob wraps and meze (though they are tasty) and concentrate on the house specialties. Namely, the ground beef kofte, and the Turkish bread boats known as pide. You can order the kofte in a wrap, on a plate, but we prefer them stuffed with kashkaval cheese, a mild yellow cheese that's sometimes called "the cheddar of the Balkans." As far as the pide, there are 18 varieties ranging from muhammara to ground beef, but we prefer the salty-sweet egg, cheese, and parsley—especially if we're there before 10am." - Brant Cox
"Little Arabia is a hotbed for Middle Eastern flatbreads thanks to bakeries like Al Amir Bakery and Forn Al Hara, which both specialize in round Lebanese-style manakish, also known as sphiha. Koftegi started as Al Sanabel Bakery in the same space. After chef Mehmet Kaplan and wife Lisa Matarazzo took over this colorful quick service business, they expanded the menu to include Turkish comfort foods and continued serving Lebanese flatbreads. They also added Turkish boats, traditionally called pide, that feature different shapes and fillings. Walnut lahmbaajin is a crispy oval topped with tangy ground beef and vegetables, finished with crumbled walnuts. The cheese and Turkish soujuk “boat” is both softer and pointier, topped with salty white cheese and sliced house-made beef “pepperoni.” You can’t spell Koftegi without Köfte, their signature grilled ground beef and lamb patties. The version filled with Kashkaval (sheep’s milk cheese) is particularly noteworthy, served with hummus, fluffy house-baked pita and salad. Döner, spit-shaved beef and lamb, stars in Iskender. Tomato sauce, browned butter, and toasted pita chunks accentuate this historic döner fueled dish, named for Mehmetoğlu İskender Efendi." - Joshua Lurie
"Koftegi is a Turkish restaurant/bakery in Little Arabia, and at first glance, has a menu that looks fairly similar to others around the neighborhood. But skip the kabob wraps and meze (though they are tasty) and concentrate on the house specialties instead. Namely, the kofte (seasoned ground beef patties) and pide (Turkish bread boats). You can get the kofte in a wrap, casserole, or as a plate, but we prefer it stuffed with kashkaval cheese, a mild yellow cheese made from a mixture of sheep and cow’s milk. You can wrap pita around the kofte if you want, or just do what we do: Go at it with just a knife, fork, and reckless abandon. As far as the pide goes, you can’t go wrong with any topping, because at the end of the day, it’s all about the thin, perfectly crunchy crust." - Brant Cox
"After rebranding the underutilized kitchen as Koftegi, I found the owners added standout Turkish comfort food and baked goods to the bakery’s offerings. Any conversation about Koftegi has to start with the namesake köfte: ground beef patties crafted with tri-tip and flavored with lamb fat, cumin, and onion, served in several iterations and tasting best when folded around molten kashkaval, a tangy aged cheese made with cow’s and sheep’s milk; the köfte plate ($13.99) pairs two char-grilled ovals with fluffy white rice, soft house-baked pita, a basic salad, and creamy hummus dressed with olive oil, parsley, and paprika. Iskender ($14.99) honors a 19th-century Ottoman tradition with beef chuck and lamb shoulder marinated 48 hours (with milk and yogurt juice), shaved from a vertical spit, showered with zesty tomato sauce and browned butter over toasted house-baked pita cubes, and served with a tangy lake of yogurt and a simple lettuce–tomato–cabbage salad. Koftegi also strays from Al Sanabel’s circular baking by serving boat-shaped pide (“Turkish Boats”), including Walnutlahmbaajin ($5.99), a crispier oval topped with a thin tangy layer of ground beef, vegetables, and crumbled walnuts, and Cheese & TurkishSoujukis ($6.99), a softer, more savory boat with salty white cheese and firm half-moons of house-made beef “pepperoni.” Desserts sit in a refrigerated case by the register; Ashura ($5) blends garbanzo and white beans, cracked wheat, dried apricots and figs boiled with sugar and finished with shaved almonds, tangy pomegranate arils, and crushed pistachios. The revamped space features faux stone arches, a tunnel-like entrance to a counter in the “Antique Market Old Bazaar,” blue fast-food–style booths under pale yellow walls lined with photos of Istanbul, Iznik-style plates, and hand-woven Turkish pillowcases and rugs, making the spot feel like a mini Istanbul destination." - Eater
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