#TerrificTakeout by @ManhattanPeachy #PeachyDeegan #WhomYouKnow Akdeniz by Mike Kocak Inaugural Review @AkdenizNY
Owner Mike Kocak with Turkish Coffee
Majestic Royal Dorado
Grilled Shrimp Extravaganza
It's never who you know; it's Whom You Know.
And guess what! Peachy Deegan does like Turkish cuisine however, it is quite difficult to find a venue serving it that aligns with our philosophy of excellence.
Good thing we met Mike Kocak, owner of Akdeniz as he did quite well on his first review.
He came to America in 1985 and this is his seventh restaurant.
Akdeniz means Mediterranean sea in Turkish, and this cuisine is especially bright and refreshing for summer. We are all about salads, salads and more salads right now especially if it is too hot to eat. Akdeniz did a great job with them: we began with the Mediterranean salad, above. Lettuce, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh mint, corn, parsley, green pepper and of course our favorite vegetable, cheese (feta in this case) come to this party of nutrition. Note the dressing is on the side, as requested.
We love that this is in a landmark building at 19 West 46th Street and do you know it is the narrowest in the city at roughly ten feet wide?!
Meet Cacik.
What you need to know is that if you like cucumbers, and who doesn't, you will love this cool little number. You pronounce it Cha-Check. Finely chopped baby cucumbers blended with garlic yogurt, olive oil, dill and mint to produce the ultimate in refreshing with super smooth consistency. It's an appetizer.
Stuffed Vine Leaves are a classic and they are stuffed here with rice, pine nuts and herbs cooked in olive oil; currents also make a smashing appearance inside and we liked that sweet touch.
The next salad we tried was the Grilled Calamari Salad, which was vibrant and fresh. Lightly char-grilled calamari is tossed with tomatoes, onions and parsley on top of lettuce; the amount of calamari included is a generous portion.
Perhaps our favorite salad of the visit was the White Beans Salad which centers around White Kidney Beans; these are not featured very often in our experience overall. Here, they are tossed with tomatoes, red onions, eggs, lettuce, summac (a nice kick!), olive oil, lemon juice and vinegar. Uber-fresh, this was delightful on a hot day.
Meet ZUCCHINI PANCAKES!
We loved them and they were one of Peachy's favorite components of this review.
We believe Mike said these are called Mucver in Turkish. They are lovely in every way from the perfectly pan-fried quality that culminates in an ideally crisp outside to the soft delicious inside amazingly accentuated with the beloved garlic yogurt sauce to tame the garlic monster named Peachy here. Peachy love love loves garlic. Obviously they are served piping hot; to earn a good review you have to serve your food at the appropriate temperature.
We are hugely into ordering sides of vegetables and at Akdeniz, vegetable sides include sliced carrots and sliced cucumber, which add crunch and nutrition to any meal here.
Look at how gorgeous the grilled shrimp is at Akdeniz!
What you need to know is how delicious it is as well! We love shrimp, and the jumbo shrimp at Akdeniz is locally sourced. Six shrimp line up at attention and we like how they are not on the kebab. Sometimes when we pull things off a kebab it could go flying and this is not ideal!. Mixed greens, shredded carrots and grilled vegetables including mushrooms, zucchini, onions and peppers of red, yellow and green. Seafood is delivered five days a week, Monday to Friday.
We understand the Chicken Shish Kebab is among the most popular selections and when you taste how juicy and delicious the chicken is, you will see why. Again, we like how it is not actually on the kebab. Beautifully marinated chunks of chicken are superbly char-grilled and served with rice and vegetables. You will also revel in the simplicity which absolutely hits the spot.
When we say we would like to order a fish entree, this is what we are talking about.
A sliver of fish is an appetizer, not dinner.
Dinner is a whole fish, and Akdeniz gives you a whole Royal Dorado that is from Greece, incredibly fresh as well.
Dinner is a whole fish, and Akdeniz gives you a whole Royal Dorado that is from Greece, incredibly fresh as well.
The menu accurately describes this as exquisite and we love the sensational char-grilled quality that pays homage to the magnificence of this tasty poisson. (That is Fish in French, which is the only other language Peachy understands.) Mixed greens and shredded carrots successfully set off this incredibly enticing dish.
Akdeniz impressed us on our first visit; we look forward to seeing what they do next.
