Slideshow

Orhan Yegen Goes Nose to Tail

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Turkish food guru Orhan Yegen’s latest midtown venture is called Bi Lokma, which means “one bite” in his native tongue, and although it would be impossible to eat anything here in that manner — assuming that you are not a cobra — that is beside the point. The handsome eight-table dining room is lined with jars of pickles and is about half the size of the kitchen where Yegen (also the chef-owner of Sip Sak) will teach cooking classes and operate a catering business. The plan is to serve tea and Turkish pastries like spinach and cheese böreks for breakfast, and homestyle dishes like stuffed cabbage and moussaka, plus doner kebab for lunch.

Later in the evening, the café will morph into what Yegen calls an iskembeci. “An iskembeci is a place people go after they have eaten, had drinks, and entertained themselves,” he explains. “It’s the last frontier for food before returning home for the night.” What does one eat after one has already eaten and been entertained? Roasted lamb’s head, spit-fired intestines, and tripe soup, of course. And is there a demand for roasted lamb’s head in the wee hours in midtown? “If there is one person who needs it,” says Yegen with the confidence of a man who answers to a higher culinary calling, “then there is a demand.”

Bi Lokma, 212 E. 45th St., nr. Third Ave.

Orhan Yegen Goes Nose to Tail