By james art 
We have to start with the Meze trio. I usually strive to find the hidden gems on the menu, but in the evening with friends in Smyrna in Charlotteville, the path extends clearly in front of me, and the first step is the Holy Trinity of the chef Tarik Sengul – undoubtedly soft humus; smoky charcoal eggplant, cooked in garlic confit; And sharp yogurt cheese, deleted in olive oil, probably the most common dish in the menu.
As we settle in our cozy four peaks, making the perfect triangle with a lively bar and a busy open kitchen, we are considering the deceptively simple appetizer of Sengul. This is reduced to ours 18:00
Hunger as we order more bread and pores over the rest of the menu.
With the table, evenly divided into vegetarians and omnivorous, our party bends more to the vegetarian suggestions of the menu. Too often vegetarian dishes can feel like thoughtful, but Smyrna makes a strong display with her vegetable Turlu– Traditional seasonal Turkish stew. Here is anchored with cabbage stuffed with Freekeh (walnut, earth cracked wheat similar to bulgur) and dressed with pumpkin and mushrooms, but the power of the dish is its flexibility. It can adapt to show whatever vegetables happen at the best of this week, allowing the kitchen to the seasonality to shine.
But the crowned menu’s achievement – a meal with a Signature of Smyrna – are Mantle Dumplings, tiny, handmade thick dough pillows covering Shardale mushrooms, seasoned with lush dehydrated tomato and accumulated on a blanket of yogurt. This is the dish in which Sengul seems to be ready to determine the food of his childhood according to his own conditions.
In his Gazpacho, another main menu, Sengul skillfully balances sweet cherries and tomatoes in an unexpected way that works extremely well. The chilled soup is reinforced with a touch of chili from Freen and gives pop cream by goat cheese cheese Caromont, with a cloak of palate to finish olive oil to finish.
Sengul says that the Smyrna’s menu is a reflection of his cooking career, and the focus on herbal dishes is by design: “I love vegetables and this is one of my visions for the future to have a more original vegetable kitchen.”
The Turcha-born chef came to Charlottevsville from New York with a only goal-to-open restaurant with his friend and colleague native of Turkey, Orshun Dikmen. Dikmen’s name was already known among fans elsewhere in Charlottsville, Sultan Kebab, who enjoyed enthusiastic reviews since his opening in 2012. Dikmen left New York, where he met with Sengul to work in Sultan with brother your Denise Dikmen. After hearing his friend for years of the hospitable city, Sengul was convinced to join him there, and in 2022 the duet seeks to open a restaurant, celebrating the aromas of Turkey and the classic Sengul technique, refined for eight years of cooking as chefs as As chefs, like chefs as chefs as chefs, like chefs as chefs as chefs like cooks as cooks as cooks as cooks as cooks like cooks like cook Belca at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon.
Just as the ancient city of Smyrna was a point on commercial routes connecting the Anatolian Mountains and the Aegean Sea, the Smyrna of Charlottsville connects the seafood of the Bay of Chesapik and beyond the charred and grown wonders of the Southwestern Mountains of Virginia in the dishes such as the charred octopus, in which Senuzh, in which Senuch, in which Senonga, in which Senonga . On the grill tentacles with an octopus şalgamTaking a traditional Turkish drink rethought as a sauce made with fermented purple carrots.
A game of the Turkish culinary tradition known as Raki Balikin which freshly caught fish enjoys a glass of attachment RakiThe spirit of the signature of Turkey, Sengul created a flexible Hamachi with a thin -shaped dill, sounding the aromas of Raki’s Anisetta, illuminated with lemon Mayer and balanced with a touch of sweetness of compressed melon, nod to use burning effects.
If Crudo lights your appetite to Raki, you will find two suggestions for anise -based anise aroma brandy, or take a page from the Turkish play book and order a chilled glass with a special nightfish.
The menu is full of Turkish customs, including in the choice of skewers, which recall Turkish cafes oriented to the grill, where guests feed on the seams directly from the fire. Smyrna’s chicken skewers on smyrna charred, but a delicate chicken with bright and lush romance sauce, and lamb skewers are served with fluffy lavish flat bread and creamy yogurt, with marinated dill, to cross the rich scents.
If Ribeye for two feels like a deviation from the rest of the menu, this is where Sengul bends those classic skills that he has accumulated through his forming New York years. Expert Ribey is served with POMMES DAUPHINE– Complex French preparation for otherwise humble potato – and a plate with baked small gem with a rich and spicy au jus This requires you to drag potatoes through it.
Although the start of the meal is pre -ordered, the end of the trip is less mapped. Instead, the epilogue menu has an adventure approach to your last moments, whether you are craving Portuguese dessert wine, a glass of amaro or dessert. For guests looking for something rich and luxurious, the stroke is a cheesecake baklava, which combines flaky, oily phil with warm spices, surrounding a cream cheesecake and liberally sprinkled with bright green sham -frescoes. If a light, sweet good night’s kiss is more than your style, choose a satisfactorily cool granite with fresh fruits and bizarre candy from garnish.
This article originally appeared in the December 2024 issue.