Nazarlik (Turkish)

After passing by this Belmont storefront several times and noting the "Coming Soon!" signs, my husband and I findally stopped in at Nazarlik.

Just a few doors down from Scooters Frozen Custard, this new Turkish restaurant offers a simple menu of kebabs, salads, soups, and lahmaçun. That last item turns out to be an ultra-thin, ultra-crisp, pizza-like bread the size of a dinner plate, and spread with a dense, mildly spicy paste of tomatoes, red peppers, and herbs. Served with sliced tomatoes and a good-sized dollop of baba ganoush, it was definitely the best deal on the menu at only $3.50. We shared that, as well as a ground lamb kebab (a kefta kabob, really), which was wrapped in an oversized pita, along with chopped tomatoes and onions. I suppose that the Atep salad I also ordered was more than we needed, but it was intense and delicious: ripe tomato, chopped yellow onion, parsley, and a sprinklind of dried herbs, all dressed with oil and vinegar.

We also enjoyed their very good Turkish tea -- there are signs warning you that it is very hot, which I find amusing. Do pizza restaurants have to warn you that their pizza is hot? I suppose that in this lawsuit-filled land, they probably do . . .

It looks as if they will be adding to their serving options (there was an empty glass case, perhaps for pastry, as well as what looked like an as yet unused buffet cart). At the moment, though, they offer simple, very nicely prepared Turkish food at modest prices. Nazarlik is a nice addition to the neighborhood!

Nazarlik
1650 W. Belmont
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 327-5800
www.nazarlikchicago.com

Stopped in this evening and ordered dinner for take -out.
No other customers at 5pm on a Wednesday. The interior of the former "River Kwai" late-night legendary eatery is now a tad spartan, but seemed very clean. Definitely no evil will befall anyone while there-the name nazarlik refers to the many blue-eyed beads adorning the walls that are supposed to ward off evil. We called to see if we could bring beer or wine and the answer at present was no, so for now, I think this is a great addition to the neighborhood for take-out or a low key booze-free meal.

I agree with MariaTheresa, very fresh , tasty and reasonably priced Turkish fare. We got the lamb kebab sandwich($5.95) and a chicken kebab sandwich w/ shepherds salad($8.95) . The wait time was a bit longish, at least 20 minutes with no other customers, but it appeared everything was being made to order- heard lots of chopping sounds from the kitchen.
Sadly, the Lahmachun was not available "until later tonight" , but both of the kebabs were moist and flavorful and were joined by a mixture of onion, lettuce and tomato. The pita wrap was thin , fresh , wonderful stuff. Shepherd's salad a winnner- large portion of chopped tomato, cucumber, parsley, onion and vinegar-delicious. I will be back !

LTH,

I am utterly charmed, haven't been this taken at first blush in quite a while, mom and dad doing the cooking, daughter running the front of the house and Volkan James, their 5-year-old son, in charge of charming the customers. Though the physical space is spartan warmth abounds, from the open hearth of the pizza oven where hand-rolled made to order pita and and lahmacun are baked, to the overriding good nature of the Aksoy family.

We, I had the pleasure of Crrush's company at lunch (she took the pictures), started with Gozleme (Spinach and cheese pie), freshly made, as was every thing we ate, piping hot straight from the oven with a side of garlic laced Turkish yogurt, delicious.

Gozleme (Spinach and cheese pie)



Lahmacun is the best I've had, so good in fact I'd urge d4v3, a noted lahmacun aficionado, to give Nazarlik's a test drive. Blisteringly hot, aggressively flavored made from scratch right in front of our eyes.

Zeliha Aksoy Rolling dough



Lahmacun


Tender grilled lamb encased in fresh made pita with bright flavored onion and tomato elevated the Shish Kebab sandwich, even before we tasted the accompanying side of baba ghanoush.

Lamb Shish Kebab


Keeping with the made on the spot theme, moments after we ordered Ali Nazik (Kebab dinner served on a bed of baba ghanoush topped with yogurt) both parents sprung into action, Ahmet forming ground lamb around skewers for grilling, Zeliah rolling dough for pita.



Ali Nazik


Volkan James is a real charmer, informing us, as he showed us his lunch time cheese sandwich (he loves cheese) that he had washed his hands before eating.



In the it's a small world category, turns out Secil worked one summer for Asena Corp, where LTHForum was originally hosted, and her dad and the owner of Asena, Ahmet, are friends. Secil also had the good fortune to work with the ever effervescent Tolga, who married the lovely Nesli and moved back to Turkey,

Secil


Lest you think I have completely gone off the deep end with praise, I did think the pita, which is a 50/50 mix of white and wheat flour, could have used a little more time in the oven. I prefer a bit of toastiness, but that may simply be a style decision on the their part.

I should also point out, even though Nazarlik has been mentioned in Chicago Magazine's Dish and has a nice Reader blog write up by Mike Sula, there was only one other customer during peak lunch hour on a Friday.

Thanks for the heads up MariaTheresa and Baroness, I'm already planning my next visit.

Enjoy,
Gary

Nazarlik
Authentic Turkish Cuisine
1650 W Belmont
Chicago, IL 60657
773-327-5800

Allow me to add to the chorus of praise for the simple, affordable, and fresh-tasting Turkish food at Nazarlik.

Of particular note for me were the mujver - zucchini "fritters" -- freshly fried and studded with green onion. Dipped in a little yogurt, they're quite delicious. Also, fantastic gozleme and lahmacun.

What really impressed me was the taste of hand-made freshness that came along with every dish--just like every piece of pita was rolled especially for you.

What exactly does "hand-made freshness" taste like? I'm not sure I'm a talented enough word-smith to type it up, but I can say that I know it when I taste it and I tasted it at Nazarlik. It's a nice spot for a simple lunch and I hope more people check it out.

Best,
Michael

Man this place is good. After seeing a good review on metromix TV I decided to check out this new place right next to scooters custard. This has to be the best Turkish food in Chicago! My wife had a awesome lamb kabob sandwich and I had Lamachun and lentil soup. The Lamachun is a huge thin crust pizza with a combination of spices and meat. Its about 14" for only $3.45 with a side of baba ghanoush! The soup has to be the best Lentil soup I have ever had. The interior is small yet cozy and is run by a family and everything is homemade. When I talked to them they said they invested all there money in the place after coming here from Turkey and should have delivery, online ordering, and outdoor seating soon

I've been to Nazarlik several times specifically for the lahmacuns, which are the best I've had. They look as good as GWiv's photo and taste even better. Get them hot from the oven and eat in; I wouldn't expect equal bliss from carry-out. I can't comment on the rest of the menu--the lahmacuns are seriously addictive.

had an underwhelming experience thurs @ lunch. door was locked upon arrival. when opened it was sweltering hot inside w/children's video blaring. had what i consider to be an avg lunch @ best. i was prepared to love it but that was not to be. maybe it had something to do w/the heat and noise which there was no relief for the duration, but i found it to be less than what i was hoping for.

lentil soup was watery and bland, baba ganoush had little or no seasoning as well. fresh chopped onions on top helped but generally, you can get better almost anywhere. the lamb kabab sandwich was dry, in need of moisture mainly. the lamachun was good. not wonderful. good. saw a fellow lth'r there, we discussed our meals and i believe the feeling was mutual. off day? probably. but it doesn't make me need to go back. there's numerous other middle eastern places i prefer.

Yeah, the feeling was mutual. It's nothing approaching the best turkish food in the city, and I'm not even sure it's the best in Roscoe Village.

I felt the lahmacun was underseasoned, and my ground lamb kebab sandwich was also a bit dry. Adding some of the chili sauce helped, but at $7.95 or something for it, I wouldn't bother again.

The baba ghanouj isn't b.g. as anyone on LTH would know it, it's some other classic turkish eggplant mezze passed off as b.g.. It's fine, but don't expect smokiness or any of the other characteristics of baba ghanouj.

Hopefully these are just recently-opened kinks, and if enough people in the next few months tell me it's awesome, I'll give it another shot.

reviewing the pix posted above, my lamb kebab sandwich was not on freshly baked pita. it was on something closer to boring store bought lavosh. while the lamachun dough was rolled and baked to order it was not a mindblower. @ least not for me.

Living right around the corner, we decided to try them the first week they were open. They were actually closing early, so our first efforts were thwarted.

The next week we came back; the sweltering heat was omnipresent. When we asked about it, Secil informed us that the owners of the building wouldn't put air conditioning in and they were going to give it a go without it. We immediately decided we would always take out our food should we like the place and come back.

As some of you may remember, my partner has celiac, so we cannot eat gluten. This has a huge impact on where we eat; many places are not able or willing to ensure that the food would be safe.

Secil was very thorough in questioning her mom to make sure that the food would be safe. I think it took us a full ten minutes to place an order as they checked boxes and went out of their way to ensure the food would not contain gluten. They actually cooked plain rice for us, using their homemade chicken stock, as the little pasta in the normal Turkish rice is not something we could have.

We tried a salad and the chicken/rice entrée this first visit. It was very simple food. I have not eaten Turkish food more than five times, so I can't really compare it to know if it was authentic. My partner prefers strong, in-you-taste bud flavors; while he liked it, he wasn't excited by it. I, on the other hand, love comfort food, and the chicken was just like comfort food.

We went back last night. This time, we were greeted by a much cooler room, so apparently air conditioning has been added. When we walked in, Secil remembered us immediately. We ordered the lamb and white bean entrée, as I had plans to make falafel at home. Again, Secil ensured that the ingredients didn't use a form of gluten and Zeliha offered to make a fresh pot of rice, sans glutenous pasta. We cheerfully accepted her offer and left for Whole Foods to do a bit of shopping while the meal was prepared.

Secil included some pita for me, which was thoughtful. The food was ready shortly after we returned and we left for home.

We LOVED the lamb and beans over the rice. It was delicious. I admit, however, to not being bowled over by the pita. It was very yeasty and somewhat dry. Again, that may be how Turkish pitas are made and I wouldn't know - I do know that it isn't my preference.

I would give it another shot, maybe later in the evening. They now have veggie lamachun.

I'll add to the (small) chorus of "me too's". Hubby and I were in the neighborhood last night and stopped in for dinner. We ordered the hummos, one lamb kebob sandwich and a lamachun plus two Turkish teas. Wow. The lamb was tender and well flavored. I didn't find it dry at all.

The house made pitas were perfect and the lamachun crispy with a little bite from the peppers. The baba ghanouj was smoky but more like cooked and shredded eggplant than the Lebanese version I'm used to. No garlic or tahinni. The hummos was also an interesting variant. Very creamy with strong tahinni flavor and topped with paprika in oil. We enjoyed tasting this variant on an old favorite and find it interesting to see how our favorite Middle Eastern dishes are reinterpreted in different countries.

The most interesting dish we tried was dessert: Chicken pudding. We asked Secil about dessert options and she offered this, albeit a bit skeptically. Clearly she liked the dish, made from her mother's secret recipe, but she didn't think we'd like it.

It was a cold creamy pudding, clearly tasting of chicken, with a thick pudding skin on top. It's served sprinkled with cinnamon or pistachios. We opted for a little of both. The texture is very creamy but a little reminiscent of chicken gravy. It isn't very sweet and I am glad we tried it. It made a good foil for my very sweet Turkish tea. Would I order it again? I haven't decided. I didn't hate it and I didn't love it but the novelty of the dish is quite intriguing. The couple at the next table ordered one after we did. She wouldn't taste it but he did and commented he couldn't taste the chicken (!?!)

Interestingly they were speaking Arabic but my husband, who understands but won't speak it, didn't think we should ask them where they were from. I was curious because this dish was new to them, too.

Overall we really enjoyed the food and the friendly family and will be back.

FWIW, they'll be on Hungry Hound Friday night.

Yet another "Me too!". We went there for a late lunch on Saturday. The food is wonderful. Little Volkan James cried when the snow turned to rain, ruining his opportunity to make his first snowman of the season.

The two of us split the following (which was a lot of food!)

Mujver w/ Yogurt - pan fried zucchini pies with turkish yogurt

Homemade Turkish Gourmet Pizza. Thin Crust Topped with Minced Meat and Vegetables or Vegetarian. A Very Special Handmade Nazarlik Specialty. Lahmacun - served w/ baba ghanoush

A ground lamb kabob.

Along with a soda, this topped out at $20 and could easily have served three people. We will definitely return soon.

Nazarlik
1650 W. Belmont
Chicago, Il
773-327-5800
http://www.nazarlikchicago.com/

kates wrote:It appears that Nazarlik, at 1650 W. Belmont, has closed. The phone has been disconnected, and last night when we went to check it out the place was dead as a doornail. If you're interested, you can check out Mike Sula's Reader piece on it here: http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/s ... ts/070907/

Or the LTHForum thread about it here.

Too bad. I liked that place.

kates wrote:It appears that Nazarlik, at 1650 W. Belmont, has closed. The phone has been disconnected, and last night when we went to check it out the place was dead as a doornail. If you're interested, you can check out Mike Sula's Reader piece on it here: http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/s ... ts/070907/

The sign on the door says closed for techical reasons. Whatever that means. I'm kind of pissed because I live a few blocks away and have been meaning to try it. Hopefully it's only temporary.

I talked to someone involved with crossroads (Hey Sushi) they said their shooting to open this week. that's a very quick turn around. No word on the food.

Sorry for the false alarm--they had just closed temporarily because of a gas problem (though that doesn't explain why the phone was disconnected).

Nazarlik
1650 W. Belmont
773-327-5800

After failing, yet again, to try and make it to the cookie jar "museum" (it was closed) we decided to stop in at Nazarlik. I sorta remembered hearing about this place in my LTH reading, but couldn't remember any specifics. We had the lahmacun with baba ghanoush. I really liked the thin pizza crust and the garlicky lamb topping. What it lacked was a little spice, but when we asked for some hot sauce we were given a spicy ground red pepper sauce that really perked up the pizza. The baba ghanoush, as stated, wasn't a dip but more of an eggplant salad. Fairly bland, but not bad - refreshing.

I'd love to try the cig kofte (spicy ground raw beef) and kebobs so we'll be back.

Nazarlik is indeed gone...and a sad story it is. They lost their home in this venture.

Alan Julamoke, Executive Chef for Tsunami and owner of Asian Avenue, has taken over the place and it's now called Late Night Thai. I can't remember the days of the week, but it's open from 9 PM to 5 AM. He is running the business with his nephew, who is recently out of the service.

This is the old River Kwai space, for those who remember it. Alan is keeping the menu more in line with traditional Thai, but it's still Americanized. He has, however, a new menu coming that will be entirely in Thai and is geared toward the Asian workers in other restaurants who want to go out to eat after their establishments close. I asked if he'd translate into English and he said he might.

We went last night and were rewarded with reasonably priced, quickly produced, tasty dinner. Because of Mr Views celiac disease and shrimp allergy, we were unable to try some of the items we might have wanted to and stayed with more Americanized offerings that wouldn't poison him. If anyone has allergies or intolerances, Alan will read labels, clean out the work and implements, offer substitutions, etc.

They have only been open a week and he wasn't clear as to when the new "true Thai" menu was going to be there, but he did say they could make things by request. I'm not sure how much they have in stock, however, to be able to do that.