A Taste of Turkey on the

Thanksgiving Table
An authentic, flavorful Turkish meal compared to your
typical turkey dinner.

By Liya Kilani

Nov. 19, 2023

Turkish Lazuri Café  Mediterranean; Turkish  $$  487 Cambridge Street, Allston 

617-765-7865  8.5/10

The Turkish Lazuri Cafe, surrounded by other markets and cafes in Allston, MA.
The holiday season is approaching and that means lots of food. When you hear the
word “Thanksgiving”, and someone asks you to name a food, you will
automatically think “turkey”. After reading this, you’ll be thinking Turkey, the
country with mediterranean food, not the bird.

I recently tried Turkish Lazuri Café’s take-out in Allston. Overall, I would have to
say it was worth the trip. Somewhat. If you can stomach 40 minutes on the B Line,
I say go for it. Better things await, like maybe the neighborhood, food, or even the
price.

Turkish cuisine is one of the top food cuisines in the world. The food has unique
and memorable flavors and is filled with color. The foods often consist of lamb,
chicken, lentils, rice, and a variety of vegetables. To give the food more depth,
there are usually spices like red pepper, thyme, black pepper, saffron, and more.

The cuisine has grown from the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. Not only does
Turkey as a whole have a strong mediterranean cuisine, but the different regions in
the country each carry a specialty. Whether it’s the Aegean region with olive oil
vegetable dishes with zucchini and eggplant, or the syrupy and sugary pastries
from Thrace, all of it is enjoyable.

The heart of Turkey, Istanbul, is able to present all of those distinct flavors,
exceptionally well, in one place. Often times, the dishes will also include yogurt,
bulgur, or rice. Something fairly easy to find are the kebabs. The Turkish cuisine
has endless options for many types of people to savor.

The Turkish Lazuri Café is a small restaurant that specializes in mediterranean

breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They have a large selection on their menu with over
70 items to choose from. The owners came from a small town in Turkey, hoping to
build a life in America. Their chef has over 25 years of experience, working with
many mediterranean dishes. The ultimate goal of the Turkish Lazuri Café is to
bring a unique food experience to their community and expose their customers to a
new culture.

Heading to this place was a struggle, but the neighborhood was definitely worth
seeing. Every other place around was from another cuisine. Next door was the
Turkish, Turco Market. More diversity right down the street with the Mexican
Lone Star Taco Bar. You cannot forget the Korean restaurant, kimchipapi around
the corner. This random town in Massachusetts made you really feel like you were
visiting many parts of the world. As most of these places are small businesses,
there was not a lot of seating, so take-out and delivery were very common in the
area. You want to try a new cuisine, go there.

Back to the Lazuri Café though. For the hard trip over, the food was pretty good. I
entered the café, looked around, found limited seating and minimal décor. At first,
it lacked this “welcome” feeling when all you see is landscapes with some Turkish
décor here and there.

I got my food from the rushed person up front, then I only had to head all the way
back to campus to start eating. You would expect it to be cold. The chicken wasn’t
exactly the temperature I was hoping it would be in, but that did not ruin it for me!

The styrofoam and plastic packaging did a fine job keeping the food tasty. I will
admit though, it was not very appealing to look at. I don’t think it’s good for the
environment either, but that’s beside the point.

Chicken kebab plate with a side of seasoned fries at Marino

Recreational Center.
The chicken was not too dry, warm, and full of that black pepper and cumin flavor.
On bottom of the plate, there was the rice, which had a great a texture, fully
cooked. Same went for the golden orange bulgur.

Then, you take a bite of the overly dry, not well seasoned fries and that only makes
you enjoy the rest of the plate some more.

The dry salad that took up half the plate did the same job sending my interest back
to the chicken and rice.

Take a bite of the large, circular, fluffy bread though and you’re happy again. It all
balances out.

It gets better. The menu was massive. I felt like I was going to choose five meals
instead of one. Each item led to something else I was interested in.

There were like 20 appetizers, 15 entrees, with plenty of dessert too. There were a
few options that were fairly common in many restaurants, but the Mediterranean
influence was still prominent. It made my stomach smile. That feeling is something
everyone should experience.

Area surrounding Lazuri in Allston, MA.

I should probably mention, for my chicken kebab plate, with 6-7 pieces of chicken,
a small shepard salad, and a massive piece of bread, it was almost $20, and do not
forget the tax! Pricey, I know. Let me fix your conflicting feelings about buying
from there now.

I got a small little, cinnamon, rice pudding dessert on the side. The texture was
soft, but not gross. The sweetness was not too much. Very light. The best part is, I
didn’t even ask.

For the expensive price, the café did an exceptional job making the proportions of
food add up to it. Lazuri café equals free stuff. I’d say that’s a win-win!

Generally, Turkish food is loved not only because of its special background, but
because of the rich mixture of flavors. The cuisine is filled with a large number of
options to choose from, and each dish is delicious in its own way. Journalist,
Corby Kummer, in the Boston Magazine, said every meal and flavor “can drive
you made with desire” and is “complex and unfamiliar to most diners”.

The Turkish Lazuri Café had its fair share of delicious and “needs some work”, but
visiting meant exploring more mediterranean culture and flavors. Turkish food is
not common and is not known around here, but after trying it, one will crave it
constantly. If you love well-cooked, yummy, filled-with-flavor, mix of sweet, salty,
and tangy food, this is your place to try. If not, take the risk and make that
commute because I am sure there will be another cultural cuisine to test out,
especially in this holiday season.
 Works Cited

Turkish Lazuri Cafe. 19 Nov. 2023.

“Turkish Cuisine: A Complete Guide to Turkish Food & Drinks.” #1 Loved Istanbul Food Tours
- Yummy Istanbul, 23 Aug. 2022, yummyistanbul.com/turkish-cuisine/.

Hickman, Kennedy. “End of an Era: The Fall of Constantinople.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 12

Mar. 2018, www.thoughtco.com/byzantine-ottoman-wars-fall-of-constantinople-2360739.

“Life In Istanbul.” Life in Istanbul, www.izu.edu.tr/en/international/international-students/life-in-

istanbul. Accessed 30 Nov. 2023.

Fatimah. “Turkish Bulgur Pilaf.” FalasteeniFoodie, 11 Oct. 2023, falasteenifoodie.com/turkish-

bulgur-pilaf/.

“Turkish Chicken Kebabs.” Allrecipes, www.allrecipes.com/recipe/244632/turkish-chicken-

kebabs/. Accessed 30 Nov. 2023.

“Turco Market.” Instagram, www.instagram.com/explore/locations/100286039642133/turco-

market/. Accessed 5 Dec. 2023.

“Cambridge & Allston Ma’s Best Tacos ⋆ Lone Star Taco Bar.” Lone Star Taco Bar, 18 Aug.
2023, lonestar-boston.com/.

“Korean Inspired Poke Bowls: Bibimbap: Allston.” Kimchipapi Kitchen, www.kimchipapi.com/.

Accessed 5 Dec. 2023.

Turkish Lazuri Cafe Food. 19 Nov. 2023.

Kummer, Corby. Review of Turkish Delight, Boston Magazine,

https://www.bostonmagazine.com/2008/11/18/turkish-delight/ Accessed 30 Nov. 2023.

Turkish Lazuri Café. 19 Nov. 2023.