I’m not sure what it is about my two business school trips, but both have somehow led me to eat Turkish food, which I love but certainly eat rarely. First I went to Cafe Turko in Seattle and this time it was Anatolian Kitchen in Palo Alto. Based on my experience, the menu seemed pretty authentic. Of course, that is just the opinion of a man who has been to Turkey once, but in my mind that was enough.
I found a little something called Alexander’s Favorite (Iskender) Plate, which was something I had come across in Turkey. The Alexander, by the way, isn’t just some common patron of the restaurant but Alexander the Great himself who once conquered the land that is now Turkey. In Turkish he is known as Iskender and he has a tasty dish named after him. It’s basically slices of lamb and beef (gyros really) topped with tomato sauce and atop bread cubes. It also comes with a yogurt sauce. Wow, this really hit the spot. The meat was plentiful and also juicy and flavorful. The tomato sauce mixed well with the yogurt for a unique taste that I’m pretty sure can only be found in Turkish food. Oh, and did I mention the meat was plentiful?
Yeah, it was good, and as a bonus there were hardly any veggies to worry about aside from a weird slice of green pepper that had no place being on my plate. Although, looking back upon my experience in Turkey (please ignore my poor writing skills), I should have known it was coming. Fortunately it was easy to avoid and easy to eat at Anatolian Kitchen. If I lived in Palo Alto, I would certainly return.
