Nazif's Is Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

"This food is so simple," he said, stealing bits of pideli köfte off my plate, "that it could go very wrong. But this is stunning." He and I both noticed the aggressive chargrilled sear on the köfte, beefy meatballs diced roughly, tossed on top of thick squares of bazlama bread and topped with a barely sweet tomato sauce that smacked of smooth, buttery marinara. To the side, tart Turkish yogurt offered a cooling, astringent dimension when mixed with the pideli, and nutty rice pilaf begged to be thrown in — but I had no more stomach space left for it.

Along with the enormous plate of pideli köfte, my $14 lunch special had included a big bowl of Turkish shepherd's salad — cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and more — and a large slice of baklava, plus unlimited refills of Turkish tea, which I drank from my tulip-shaped glass greedily. My friend's lunch special cost a few dollars less but somehow came with even more food: a sausage pide, more salad, crispy French fries and soft, jiggly rice pudding.

Tony Fields

A sausage- and egg-stuffed pide is the Turkish version of a calzone, but better.

Location Info

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Nazif's Turkish Grill & Deli

8821 Westheimer Road
Houston, TX 77063

Category: Restaurant > Turkish

Region: Outer Loop - SW

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Details

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.
Baby lahmacun: $1.95
Shepherd's salad: $3.45
Mixed appetizer plate: $7.95
Sausage pide: $8.95
Pideli köfte: $9.95
Sunday brunch buffet: $14.95
Baklava: $3.95

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READ MORE
SLIDESHOW: Turkish Delights at Nazif's Turkish Grill & Deli
BLOGPOST: Nazif's Brings Affordable, Amazing Turkish Food to West Houston

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More About

• Houston (Texas)
• Nazif Farsak
• Istanbul
• Food and Cooking
• Eating Out

Although he hadn't known pide from pideli before ordering, I encouraged him to get the stone-baked specialty by describing it as the best calzone he'd never tried. This description does not do pide justice, however — especially not the pide at Nazif's.

The hand-rolled dough is both sweet and savory at once, crunchy on its golden exterior and pita-soft inside. Tucked into the diamond-shaped pastry is an assortment of ingredients that would be equally at home inside one of the kolaches sold next door: scrambled eggs, cheese and Turkish sausage robustly seasoned with nutmeg and other warm spices. My friend's eyes widened on his first bite and stayed wide as he worked his way through the platter-sized pide.

"I've never had anything like this," he finally said, mystified by the revelation that this Turkish pide was perhaps better than his beloved Italian pizza.

"If you come back here without me, we aren't friends anymore," he warned, only half-joking. "I want to try more things. Can we try more things next time?"

"Yes," I assured him. "We'll definitely be back to try more things." With or without him, I'm determined to work my way through all of Farsak's dishes at Nazif's. After all, I had only a taste of the lahmacun — spicy beef and vegetables on flatbread so unbelievably thin and crispy, it could have been a buttery communion wafer — that day, thanks to a charming appetizer section that offers "baby" bites of various dishes for around $2. I can't wait to try that entire flatbread, the urfa kebap Nazif's was out of that day, and so much more at Houston's newest Turkish restaurant — a welcome entry in the small but welcoming Turkish scene.

katharine.shilcutt@houstonpress.com