Ephesus Mediterranean Restaurant

B8 Food & Dining
February 10 – 16, 2011
The Epoch Times
Ephesus Mediterranean Restaurant
By SHALINA FUNG
Epoch Times Staff
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Hip
downtown Mountain View, with
its international mix of shops and
restaurants, was graced with yet
another outstanding dining establishment, the newly opened Ephesus Mediterranean Cuisine. I took
a companion along last week to see
what it had to offer.
Ephesus is named after the famous ancient Greek city, and later a
major Roman city, on the west coast
of what is present day Izmir Province in Turkey. The photos adorning the walls of the restaurant instilled in me an urge to learn more
about this culture and the lives of
the people there.
The Vural family started Ephesus. While mom and dad cook at
the back of the kitchen to prepare
you with the most authentic Greek
and Turkish style cooking, two sons
take care of the front end of the
restaurant. Mehmet Vural is the
patriarch of the family, a professional cook with over 25 years of
experience.
Upon entering, a warm and
friendly waiter greeted us and led
us to our seats. Going with the
recommendation of our waiter,
we started, naturally with the
appetizers.
According to Galip Vural, one of
the owners of the restaurant, yogurt is one of the main elements
in Mediterranean food. Tzatsiki
is a wonderful cold appetizer that
is made of strained yogurt mixed
with cucumber, mint, lemon juice,
and touch of garlic. The yogurt is
light in taste with a cool, clean cucumber flavor to give a refreshing
sensation. I had similar yogurt in
Persian restaurants before, but the
type served at Ephesus was lighter
in taste.
Next, our calamari arrived. I
have to say this is some of the best
calamari I’ve ever had. The squid
is distinctly fresh and tender, not
too oily. I was told that they use
fresh ingredients every day—no
frozen food here. From the taste
LAMB SHISH: Cubes of tender lamb marinated in a special
blend of herbs and spices served with fresh vegetables and
rice. The meat pulls easily off the skewer. rachel tso/the
epoch times
of the calamari, I can testify that
this must be true. I could honestly
finish the entire plate of the calamari by myself without that greasy
aftertaste feeling. It was an A+ dish.
Another interesting appetizer I
picked from the menu was Lahmacun. Lahmacun consists of a round,
thin piece of dough topped with
minced meat. After adding vegetables, you can then roll it into a wrap.
If you are looking for a fun, unique
appetizer, this is a very safe one to
try. The taste is light and fresh.
We moved on to our main course:
Lamb Shish Plate. In this dish, you
get cubes of tender lamb marinated
in a special blend of herbs and
spices served with fresh vegetables
and rice. The lamb was marinated
very well again and the texture was
just right for a grilled dish. I could
easily pull the meat off the skewer.
It comes with healthy grain rice
When our second dish, Beyti, arrived, I was all tuned in. This dish
featured ground meat wrapped in
lavash bread basted with special
sauce and served with yogurt.
Magluba was the last entree we
had. This is another very delicious
house special consisting of rice
topped with grilled chicken, eggplant, and cauliflower. The rice was
infused with chicken flavor. The
dish is served with fresh vegetables and tzatsiki. All the vegetables
tasted extra fresh, and the Tzatsiki
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made for a great combination.
Towards the end we had Baklava and Kunefe for dessert. The
Baklava served at Ephesus is surprisingly tasty. It is a sweet pastry
made with layers of phyllo dough
fi lled with pistachios and sweetened with honey syrup. Unlike a
lot of sweet desserts that are loaded
with honey, the portions here are
just right. Kunefe is a baked,
shredded pastry with sweet cheese
served with honey syrup topped
with pistachios. You have to eat it
right away to experience the instant crunchiness of the shredded
pastry. Inside this Kunefe is goat
cheese. I’m not usually a big fan
of goat cheese but this one is delicious. It is crunchy on the outside
and the inside just melts into your
mouth. It was perfectly sweet and
hot. Very delicious!
During the course of dinner, we
also had Ayran. This yogurt drink
is very light and refreshing. Since
none of us knew what Turkish coffee tasted like, we decided to give
that a try as well. It contains ground
Turkish coffee, water, and sugar. It’s
quite bitter. But if you like a strong
coffee flavor, this may be your best
option. There are also wine and imported beers from Greece and other
European countries for those who
like to drink.
This restaurant offers great flavors served with lots of warmth
at very affordable prices. We will
definitely return with friends and
family to experience more of the
Mediterranean culture. There are
many entree options with prices
that range from $9.95 to $13.95. Appetizers are divided into cold or hot
categories. Ephesus serves plenty of
soups, salads, and desserts, as well
as vegetarian options. All items are
available for takeout.
Ephesus Mediterranean Cuisine
185 Castro Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
650-625-8155
Hours:
11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Mon-Sat
11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Sunday
A MASTER: Mehmet Vural along with his wife Serife Vural are the heart and soul
of Ephesus Mediterranean Cuisine. rachel tso/the epoch times
THE CREW: Mom and Dad serve up authentic Turkish and
Greek specialties while the brothers run the front of the house.
rachel tso/the epoch times
CASTRO STREET NEWCOMER: Ephesus opened
two weeks ago in Downtown Mountain View. rachel
tso/the epoch times
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KUNEFE: Shredded cheese-filled Phyllo baked and
smothered with simple syrup. Couldn’t be simpler or more
delicious. rachel tso/the epoch times
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