If you are a fan of Turkish food, you must visit Lydia Mediterranean Café and Grill in Teaneck, New Jersey.
The place is open and airy, located right there on the main thoroughfare and serves delicious dishes from Turkey and the Mediterranean region.
Owner Erin Cekic, 33, immigrated to the United States in 2014, and he opened his café in July.
“I wanted to offer Americans the taste of food from my country of Turkey and from the Mediterranean region. There is a large Turkish population in Paterson nearby. Hopefully, they will find me.”
One of the country’s most diverse cities, Paterson represents a huge Turkish and Middle Eastern contingency.
“Our food at Lydia Mediterranean Café and Grill is not only Turkish,” Cekic said. “We have Middle Eastern and European dishes, and many of the recipes were passed down through my family. The spices, the ingredients, they’re all from the old world.”
Old world is a term that packs so much when it comes to food.
I started with the falafel plate ($9.95), which included falafel, grilled veggies, rice and Greek yogurt with cucumber and garlic. The falafel was crunchy on the outside and full of flavor, and the grilled veggies were super delicious and crunchy. I could have eaten a lot more, but I wanted to try different dishes.
Next was the labneh ($8.95) with beats, walnuts, garlic and dill. Labneh is a thicker yogurt and a staple in Mediterranean countries. This labneh reminded me of my mother’s in Damascus, Syria. It was flavorful and made just right, not too thick, and the beats and walnut on top were a unique twist.
I was getting a bit full, but I persevered and tried a few bites of the carrot tarator ($8.25). Tarator is Bulgarian for sauce, and various kinds of tarator are used in Mediterranean cooking. The dish here was tasty, with a hint of charred eggplants.
No Mediterranean feast would be complete without pickles ($7.75), including cauliflower, peppers, carrots, and cucumber. This was another reminder of my mother’s cooking, and I must say, her pickles were better. These were fine, but again, no pickles can compare to my mother’s!
I told Cekic about the pickles I grew up eating. He laughed, saying, “I would be disappointed if your mother’s pickles were not better than mine.”
I highly recommend Lydia Mediterranean Café and Grill. The food is tasty, the prices are reasonable and the service is excellent.
For a taste of Turkey in South Jersey, visit Fevsi’s Mediterranean Grill, where the Lavash wraps are ($12.95) and come with a meat and some tasty accouterments. Lavash is a bubbly and soft Armenian bread that comes infused with wood smoke. If you’re a fan of appetizers and want to sample a variety of dishes, the babaganoush, the Feta salad and the spicy ezme dip (Made with Aleppo Peppers) are all ($6.95).
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Karim Shamsi-Basha may be reached at kshamsi-basha@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter & Instagram.
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