Turkish Food and Song in Mount Kisco

Sinan Maden of The Turk is set on bringing an authentic dining experience to guests, and will serenade you while he’s at it.

A good chef is one thing, but when a passionate chef turns food into an experience, your meal can be elevated to a new level. Take that passion and sprinkle in a touch of vibrancy, imported Turkish ingredients, enough food to satisfy your hunger for a few days, and a Saz-playing host serenading guests with traditional tunes, and you get The Turk, Mount Kisco’s only restaurant specializing in authentic Turkish cuisine.

That host, Sinan Maden, also happens to be The Turk’s chef and owner. He’s a Mount Kisco resident, but more importantly he’s exceptionally passionate about his culture and its dynamic cuisine. The Istanbul native says close to 70 percent of his guests aren’t very familiar with what that cuisine consists of, so for most his uniquely hospitable approach to dining is a new adventure.

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Similar to Greek cuisine, The Turk’s menu presents a variety of Mediterranean flavors. Choices for cold appetizers include a mix of spreads like baba ghanoush, artichoke hummus, and lebni, all made by Maden in-house and served with warm pita. For a more savory start to your meal, the warm appetizers include fried delights like zucchini pancakes, falafel, and spinach pie.

Chef and owner, Sinan Maden

The Mixed Hot Appetizers with zucchini pancakes, spinach pie, sigara borek, and falafel

Ordering just a mixed platter of either appetizer could stand in for an entire meal. But traditionally, a meal in Turkey is an event to be enjoyed amongst family and friends, hopefully over the course of a few hours (and plenty of drinks). So it’s heavily encouraged you save room for the delectable entrees like lamb or chicken shish kebab, adena kebab, and lamb shank, plus plenty of vegetarian options like spinach borani and turlu.

Maden, being an artisan of his craft, often tests out original recipes he hopes to introduce to guests as specials. One such dish was manti, tortellini-like purses filled with tasty lamb; a promising sign of further delicious experiments from Maden’s kitchen in the future.

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Baklava with pistachio

With a host of Mediterranean beverages, like wine from Turkey’s oldest winery KavaklÄ±dere, or the Sambuca-counterpart, raki, available to wash your meal down, prepare yourself to be so full that you may find yourself performing the post-Thanksgiving meal recline-and-exhale. But, making room for dessert should be easy enough once you catch sight of Maden’s flaky baklava walnuts, baked kunefe, or halva, all incorporating the saltiness of pistachio to an enticing effect.

After a meal at The Turk, it may be hard to get up from your seat (in a good way), but a small cup of Turkish coffee, unfiltered and roasted twice for a very dark brew, should help. Either way, you can expect a meal at The Turk to be both filling and memorable.

The Turk
20 S Moger Ave, Mount Kisco
914.864.1900; www.theturkny.com

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