Brad N.
Yelp
I was first introduced to The Mayor's House at a Yelp UYE setup by some of my favorite Yelpers, and wow, what a place. It's set in a beautiful classic converted two story home, with a number of distinct dining areas, including some very intimate ones like ours. We were seated in a library of sorts with many books about cooking on the shelves, and it was full of light and had a warm vibe.
I started with a Turkish coffee martini, being a big fan of coffee. It featured an intense coffee flavor without being bitter, with Tito's vodka adding extra punch along with Kahlua. This is not a subtle drink, but it's awesome if this is the style you like.
But what of the food? In a word, outstanding. We sampled a number of dishes family style, and they were all winners. Here are some highlights:
Grilled eggplant salad - Wonderfully smoky eggplant is the focus of this dish, and it's delicious. Tahini adds depth of flavor along with EVOO, which helps coat the tongue with those great flavors. Definitely try this.
Stuffed dates - An interesting presentation, these were sweet on the outside, and the inside almost reminded me of a good NY deli with the pastrami and cheese, with a little extra flavor from the spinach. A substantial bite. good for sharing.
Fried cauliflower - A perfect execution of the classic dish, great browning but still retaining the "tooth" of the cauliflower, it was tasty by itself or with the chimmichurri.
Beyti Special - Definitely a favorite, if not THE favorite, at the table. Kind of a interesting dish that presents as a flatbread rollup, but it's so much more. Tender, well spiced chopped lamb is wrapped on flatbread, and sliced into what I'd call two bite sized pieces. Tomato yogurt added a great contrast to the meat, and made for a dish that everyone gobbled up.
Beef shish - Big honkin' skewers with super tender grilled beef tenderloin, this dish was another winner, and had a great presentation to boot.
We also had to get some desserts, since ten people can share without anyone's blood sugar spiking. I'll just be brief here and say that, while the baklava was fantastic, the pistachio cheesecake was the clear winner. It had a great texture, not too dense, not too soft, and was also perfect in sweetness. The slight crunch of the pistachios added a great contrast to the soft filling, making this a total knockout of a dessert. Definitely try this.
Bottom line, this is a wonderful restaurant with a great decor, great service, and even better food. It's a win all around.