The Austin Food Bloggers Alliance recently had our holiday party at MezzeMe Turkish Kitchen. I’d never been before but was super interested to check it out. I love fast healthy “bowl” type places. They’re perfect for lunch or a quick dinner (instead of hitting the In-n-Out drive through again…).
“Mezze,” I learned, is a word found in all cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire. It refers to a selection of small dishes or appetizers, typically served with drinks, usually before a multi-course meal.
MezzeMe crafts their meals with the belief that “food is an expression of the soul.” They weave farm-fresh simplicity with Turkish spices and Mediterranean flavors to create food that is rich in flavor. It’s slow-cooked, but served fast, they say. MezzeMe supports local farmers and the local growing season by handpicking the freshest, never processed ingredients.
Thanks for having us, MezzeMe! While I did receive complimentary food and drinks, all opinions are my own.
We had quite the spread to try – a mixture of rice, meats, and sesame pita. We had lahmacun Turkish pizza, slow-cooked lamb, seasonal roasted veggies, and various dips like roasted carrot yogurt. I just scooped up a collection of rice, hummus, veggies, and meats into my pita and chowed down.
The truffle feta fries are a must. I nearly devoured a bowl of them on my own. I wasn’t a huge fan of the falafel… I haven’t eaten much falafel, to be fair, but I felt like it was pretty dry. Maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be? I loved the hummus, though! Both the regular and red pepper hummus were wonderful. The lamb kibbeh platter was also tasty. Overall, my favorite dish was the moussaka. I’d never tried moussaka before, but it’s basically a shepherd’s pie type dish with potato or eggplant and ground meat.
Usually, when you order at MezzeMe, you choose a base (pita pocket, wrap, greens, grain, or white rice), then you pick a protein (beef, lamb, meatballs, chicken, falafel), add mezzes (hummus, roasted carrot yogurt, black-eyed peas, and spicy tabouli), and finally, you top with various cheeses, olives, and veggies. Don’t forget to drizzle with tzatziki, lemon tahini, or mint garlic yogurt! Since we were a larger group, they brought out items a la cart and we pieced it together ourselves.
After dinner, don’t forget dessert! MezzeMe has some delicious Turkish coffee and tea, which pair wonderfully with their baklava. Turkish Coffee is made by grinding coffee beans into a very fine powder, which is then brought to a boil with water and the desired amount of sugar. The power is left in the coffee then served in a small porcelain cup. Baklava is a tasty pastry made with filo dough, butter, honey, and chopped nuts. Ours was made with pistachio and it was absolutely delicious!
Thank you so much for serving us, MezzeMe! I can’t wait to come back.
MezzeMe’s original location is located at the Triangle (4700 Guadalupe St, #9) but they just opened a new location near UT at the Drag (2530 Guadalupe St.)
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