In a little strip of buildings on 340 S. Walnut Street is Sofra Cafe, which cooks and serves Turkish fare, one of the many nations/cultures represented in Bloomington's international food scene. This is a new experience for me. Years ago I had tried Turkish food in another cafe, but hadn't been impressed with (might as well say it, I was upset by) my perception of the quality and my assessment of the cleanliness (of course, you know I have issues!). I was distracted by those problems and don't recall the food at all. Now I am ready to try Turkish cuisine again and I'm ready to be wowed.
Sofra is not located in the area often referred to as "restaurant row," but it's not too far away, about three blocks south of the courthouse square. On a good foot day, I could walk there from downtown. On a foot hurty day I'd have to drive and park in the metered parking out front and along the block. The cafe is a tiny little place, with seating for about 25. If I recall correctly, they do set up some sidewalk seating in nice weather. It is easily accessible with a smooth concrete ramp and all the seating on one level; a couple of booths and tables and chairs. There was a highchair available for the little one of the large group who shared the cafe with us having what appeared to be a family dinner.
I arrived as the last in our party and K had already ordered an appetizer platter. It had several items, including a red lentil patty, two stuffed grape leaves, feta roll, half a pita, a dish of eggplant salad and another dish of 'Cacik' a yogurt cucumber sauce. I'm pretty sure this is the same sauce that we refer to as tzatziki. I couldn't wait to start tasting! We discussed the menu, which is printed, and some items are also posted above the counter on marker boards.. ..and tasted the appetizers. I think the favorite was the feta roll, which was a nice savory treat. I also enjoyed the red lentil patty, especially with some of the yogurt dip. None of us really cared for the eggplant salad, which seemed to be a mass of bland, gelatinous goo to me - although later in the meal G. began to enjoy it and declared it has a "smoky" flavor. I wish the appetizer platter had come with more pita, I would have enjoyed that dipped in the sauce.
K had ordered a glass of ginger lemon tea to begin and it was super cute in a glass with a tiny tea spoon. It tasted fresh and natural and would be great on a cold day. They also serve Pepsi products and G. ordered a yogurt drink called Ayran. G has traveled a lot and has a more experienced palate than I and declared it rich and creamy. I'm a total sugar addict, so of course I wanted it to be sweet! I ordered lemonade, which wasn't anything special, but at least comes with free refills, for $1.95.
The questions and the ordering began.... Our server told us she was brand new, but encouraged questions and said she would find out if she didn't know. The process was short-circuited when G tried to order a lamb dish.... out of lamb, then K tried to order a ground beef pide....out of ground beef! K settled for a Mediterranean panini and G went for a red lentil soup. It does seem that there were several vegetarian dishes available and I did notice a section on the menu that listed a few. It was kind of frustrating. I'd especially have liked to have been able to order the lamb to try something new! It wasn't the end of the evening, but a 6:00 dinner in the middle of the week...it seems like all the menu items should have been available.
Our food began to arrive first with the Börek, a spinach and feta pastry with phyllo dough. Delicious. How could one go wrong with this!? Other dishes began to arrive...G's red lentil soup, a HUGE bowl, with a nice piece of bread. The soup was cold as she first began to eat, then she realized it was warmer on the bottom and stirred it up. Probably warmed in the microwave, but def needs a good stir before service. It was tasty and had a good texture. The presentation seemed to miss something and it looked pretty boring. G realized later in the meal that she enjoyed stirring some of the Cacik in... maybe it's not original to Turkey, but could possibly be served with a little side of the sauce to help make it look better and give another option. The Mediterranean panini really lovely! It was hot and tasty and full of good things. It was served with a sauce that K tasted and declared super hot (as in spicy)! Be careful if you try it until you know it's within your limit! I ordered a beef kebab bowl, which is beef cubes in a tasty sauce. You can have it served with bulgur or rice - the server did caution that the rice contains orzo! Diners with Celiac or others who avoid gluten or wheat, beware. I didn't ask about any other allergy issues so I don't have any other warning, but our server was willing to ask the cook questions if she needed to and I feel like questions would be willingly answered. We were all plenty full and were given to-go boxes as requested. K ordered a dessert, a type of lemon cake and I don't recall the name. K said "Ravana," but I am not sure of the spelling. She took it home for later and though she said it wasn't very lemony it was good enough to eat it all and not save a taste for me. ;)
Remember when I mentioned the other Turkish restaurant I had tried where I questioned its cleanliness and I forgot all about the food? Sofra is super clean! Sofra is so clean that I forgot to wash my hands after I touched the menu! Sofra is so clean that I FORGOT to check the restroom! Sofra is so clean that even though you can see into the kitchen I wasn't horrified! I wasn't distracted from the food because of *issues.* I enjoyed the food....not enough that I used my clever title, "Sofra, A Turkish Delight," but yes, clean enough and good enough that I'd like to try it again. I want to try a lamb dish and I want to try one of those desserts myself, and I definitely want more Börek!
Appetizer Platter, from upper left: Eggplant salad, feta roll,
stuffed grape leaves, red lentil patty, Cacik,
Mediterranean panini
Beef kebob bowl
hot ginger and lemon tea
red lentil soup
Borek
Borek
