Kapadokya Offers Baklava, Borek, Other Authentic Turkish Treats on Albany Street

NEW BRUNSWICK – The baklava at New Brunswick’s new Turkish bakery is sweet, but it’s nuanced and somewhat understated. Each bite starts with a slight crunch of the baked phyllo dough and ends with this gooey treat latching itself to the roof of your mouth.

This may be the signature dish at this Turkish bakery at 120 Albany St., but it has a lot of competition.

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The case at Kapadokya at 120 Albany Street is a colorful feast for the eyes, filled with cookies, cakes, pastries and other sweet, salty and savory treats.

There are coconut cookies encased in rich mocha shells, slices of seven-layered pistachio cakes with a luscious vanilla cream, a sesame seed-based cookie that’s decidedly unsweetened and more.

“I just want to make people happy,” said owner Samet Karaarslanoglu. “I want them to come in, enjoy the food and then they will be happy. I don’t care about anything else.”

Karaarslanoglu has opened Kapadokya just in time to participate in New Brunswick’s Restaurant Week .

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Restaurant Week, which is such a hit among the 25 or so participating restaurants and cafes in and around City Center that it actually stretches 15 days, runs through July 27. Some establishments offer prix fixe menus, others discounts on meals, appetizers and desserts.

To Karaarslanoglu, who came to the United States two years ago from his native Turkey, New Brunswick was the perfect spot to open his bakery.

Karaarslanoglu, who worked in his father’s coffee house in Turkey, does not do any of the baking. He does apparently have a knack for interior design, however.

He has transformed what used to be a Gloria Jeans Coffees joint just a few months ago into a little slice of his homeland. Decorated with Arabian-style lamps and a glowing, wall-mounted moon sculpture that Karaarslanoglu made, Kapadokya transports you to another world. Even the bakery’s logo incorporates the unusual natural rock formations of Göreme National Park and the ubiquitous hot air balloons that waft over the region.

The borek, a spinach and cheese filled pastry that’s traditionally enjoyed at breakfast, is another specialty at Kapadokya. There are many authentically prepared omelets on the menu, too.

If you plan to wash it down with some Turkish coffee, just know that it’s not for the faint of heart. It’s so strong that at Kapadokya, it is served with a shot glass of water and a slice of what’s commonly known as Turkish delight – a jelly that is nibbled to sweeten a mouthful of coffee.

In the kitchen, chef Metin Sahin was busy one day last week spooning out a mixture of chopped peaches, hazelnuts and figs smothered in chocolate onto a cookie sheet. It was then scheduled for a session in the freezer.

“A lot of the other bakeries around New Brunswick, their cookies and cakes are very sweet, too sweet,” Karaarslanoglu said. “That’s not good. The food here, you can have a piece, and it’s not too sweet. So, you can have another piece.”

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