Long Island Restaurants

Tulip

TURKISH. Two years ago, the gifted and eccentric Turkish chef Orhan Yegen left an indelible imprint on Long Island when he opened -- and then left -- Kebabi Alem in Huntington. Yegen's food was, in a word, transporting.

You sense Yegen's influence at Tulip in Great Neck, which opened under the ownership of former Kebabi Alem co-owner Munur Ciftcikal. Ciftcikal's brother, Meric -- also a Kebabi Alem alumnus -- presides in the kitchen. Menu covers (left over from Kebabi Alem) are imprinted with Yegen's ponytailed profile.

There are also suggestions of Yegen in the cooking, which, overall, is terrific, if not altogether transcendental.

When a friend tasted the mucver, melt-on-the-tongue zucchini pancakes dolloped with yogurt, her face lit up. I had craved those pancakes for years, and although these were a trifle oilier and heavier than the ones I recalled, they made me very happy.

What didn't was the grainy hummus, which was not up to the standard set by the house- made bread. Olive oil-braised artichokes were a bit tough but had a nice lemony tang. After having helped devour an order of tender grilled calamari, I found myself using bread to sop up the herbal olive oil at the bottom of the plate. Grilled octopus was almost as good.

To my knowledge, nobody but Yegen himself makes better patlican salatesi (pureed, char-grilled eggplant) than the version I sampled here. I liked the firm cranberry beans (barbunya piliki) with tomatoes in a lively oil and tomato sauce. Coban, the classic Turkish salad of cucumber, parsley and tomatoes, is all about the freshness of ingredients; these were optimal.

Both the lamb and the chicken adana kebabs -- spiced ground meat shaped into logs and grilled -- delivered a fiery kick, the chicken more than the lamb. I loved the contrast inherent in the dish known as "sultan's delight," tender baked chunks of lamb atop a bed of smoky pureed eggplant. If, like me, you favor dark over white-meat chicken, try the juicy, savory chicken chops, grilled, butterflied drumsticks.

"I don't approve of cheese and seafood together," said one friend regarding another's octopus casserole topped with a melt of kasseri cheese.

I approve of anything that tastes as good as that dish.

Pierce the parchment envelope of the paper-wrapped striped bass with fresh vegetables and herbs, and a cloud of fragrant steam escapes; you'll want to inhale the delicate fish, too. I made short work of a whole char-grilled sea bass, its skin slathered with yogurt.

For dessert, we enjoyed both the creamy almond custard and the delectable kadaif (shredded wheat and pistachio pastry).

Despite its somewhat inelegant decor, Tulip is a bright spot on the local dining scene.

It should blossom.

Food, dining out, restaurant, restaurant review, tulip, great neck, Turkish

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