Sunday, March 02, 2003


turkish/odalisques

had a most beautiful day of classic orientialism, if i do say so myself. and naturally, it involved bread, coffee, and matisse. . .

the picasso-matisse exhibit now at the moma in queens is a fantastic show. we had an afternoon ticket and so fancied going up to queens for a great lunch before our entrance time.

mr. right -- the ultimate restaurant expert -- did his research (he can find out more stuff on the 'net than even willow, wiccan google queen!) and came up with a great turkish restaurant. so appropriate before an afternoon of odalisques! (ok, ok, so matisse's babes were all north african. . .)

for as picasso said after matisse's death on why he chose to paint a series based on delacroix's women of algiers: "when matisse died he left me his odalisques as a legacy."

hemsin is a surprisingly cute restaurant with an amazing set of ovens. the bread they bake on site there is simply outstanding; and the canoe-shaped "turkish pizza" comes in 7 varieties.

their "pita" -- so unlike most pita you've ever had! it's a 2-inch thick flatbread, round like a traditional focaccia, taken to a dark crusty brown and painted with egg wash, sesame seeds both black and white. . .no pocket, but a solid, soft supple crumb filled with beautiful large airy holes, whose cell structure display the glistening translucence of the perfectly baked loaf.

when you sit down, you see the waitresses grabbing your hot loaf from the massive ovens with a huge pair of tongs. in one motion they expertly use the tongs to fold the pita in half, drop it in a basket. . .it arrives your table hot, steaming. . .delicious.

of course after a delicious turkish meal comes the turkish coffee. i must confess i've never had a decent turkish coffee, and so haven't developed the proper appreciation for this classic cup. since the rest of the food at hemsin was so fantastic and reasonably priced, i had high hopes for the coffee. . .

which alas went unmet, although they made my thimbleful in the largest ibrik i've ever seen. . .after that it was a quick walk 6 blocks to the glorious odalisques of both picasso and matisse!

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