A Wood-Fired Turkish Kebaps Restaurant Lands in San Diego's Normal Heights
Ever since leaving the shores of Mersin along Turkey's Mediterranean coast for sunny San Diego, chef Seckin Sage Anlasbay has dreamed of opening a Turkish-style meyhane, a kind of wine bar or restaurant to host friends and family. After more than a decade working at restaurants such as Bottega Americana in San Diego and 3rd Cousin in San Francisco, followed by a successful run with a pizza catering company, Anlasbay opened Bosforo in Normal Heights on May 27. Named after the Turkish strait that separates Asia and Europe, Anlasbay's restaurant will highlight the cuisine of Adana, the home of Turkey's most hallowed kebap (meat skewers) tradition.
Turkish interior designer Ilkem Naz Dinç worked with the Bosforo team to blend modern touches with traditional elements of meyhanes in Turkey. The all-white dining room is warmed by dark reds and leather upholstery at the bar, a wall lined with literature and vintage records, and Turkish lamps. The back bar adds a touch of Old World charm with a trio of arches featuring stone wall accents.
The heart and soul of Bosforo's kitchen is a Mugnaini wood-fired pizza oven, ideal for Anlasbay's Neapolitan-style pizzas cooked at 750 degrees, lahmacun (the Turkish spelling of lahmajoun, a flatbread with a blend of minced meat and vegetables), and kebap (the Turkish spelling of kebab). The pizza dough at Bosforo consists of double-zero flour, topped with a tangy Bianco DiNapoli organic tomato sauce for standards like pepperoni, cheese, or mushroom pizzas. The lone Turkish innovation on the pizza menu is the Anatolian, featuring keyseri pastrami (pastirma) from Central Anatolia, Turkish sausages, and white cheese imported from Turkey. While the Anatolian teases Turkish flavors, Anlasbay's lahmacun is an unadulterated taste of home.
Three wood-fired thin-crusted lahmacun come in an order, topped with a delicate layer of a minced blend of beef and vegetables. Slices of tomatoes, onions, sprigs of parsley, and sumac come on the side to dress the lahmacun before rolling them up for eating. 'This is a one and only Turkish experience in southern California,' says Anlasbay, who noted the more substantial Turkish dining options in New York City, Miami, and San Francisco.
Bosforo's elevated menu begins with cold and hot mezze, offering a unique approach to Turkish cuisine. From the cold mezze, standouts include an herbed hummus with beetroot, spicy eggplant atom (eggplant puree), and antep ezme, a fragrant salad of tomatoes, peppers, and onions, which works as a complement to the kebap. Hot starters like Mersin-style crispy potato fries to dip in green yogurt blended with herbs, and Adana içli köfte — minced meat croquettes — home in on the sense of place at Bosforo.
Kebaps are cooked inside the restaurant's wood-fired oven and consist of hand-minced beef, şiş kebap (beef chunks), and chicken kebap made of chicken thigh. All kebaps are served with fire-roasted tomatoes and peppers, and sumac–dressed onions atop toasted lavash. For vegans, there's a Beyond Meat skewer. Another standout on the menu is the grilled fish, prepared with sea bass sourced from Turkey.
No Turkish meal is complete without coffee to sip while enjoying desserts like sütlaç, oven-baked rice pudding, or pistachio ice cream.
On the bar menu, find wine and local craft beer, which are staples of meyhanes. For a modern twist, there are Turkish-inflected cocktails. Midnight in Istanbul features a base of vodka and Turkish coffee sweetened by sutlac (rice pudding) and Kahlua, while the gin-forward Antalya Spritz mixes in raki (Turkish anise), elderflower, and lemon.
Food from cultures like Greece, Turkey, Palestine, Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, and Jordan continues to be popular dining options in Southern California, with no signs of slowing down, and Bosforo promises to bring a taste of Adana to Normal Heights. 'I've been chasing this for 15 years, opening a restaurant that brings the food from my home,' says Anlasbay. 'It's been a long journey.'
Bosforo is located at 3201 Adams Avenue in Normal Heights. It's open Sunday to Thursday from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Friday to Saturday from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Sign up for our newsletter.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Elon Musk and Donald Trump timeline: Key events leading to their public feud
The public split between President Donald Trump and former White House adviser Elon Musk continued this week, as the pair exchanged barbed insults after the tech billionaire recently announced his departure from the administration and criticized the president's megabill. Musk criticized Trump's so-called "Big Beautiful Bill" on May 27 in interviews, prompting a back-and-forth that devolved into insults Thursday, June 5, in a news conference and on social media. "Elon and I had a great relationship," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office June 5. "I don't know if we will anymore." Musk quickly fired back, saying Trump wouldn't have won a second term and Republicans would have fared worse in elections in both chambers of the U.S. Congress were it not for his efforts on the 2024 campaign trail, where he poured a quarter of a million dollars into Trump's campaign. "Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate," Musk said in a post on X, the social media company he owns. "Such gratitude." The latest: Trump and Musk's bromance ends after personal attacks over criticism of tax bill Thursday's squabble is the latest and most severe development in what has been a widening chasm between the billionaire and the Republican president. Musk, who had already scaled back his role with the Department of Government Efficiency, announced his departure in a May 28 post on X. Musk started to scale back his work leading the government-slashing Department of Government Efficiency in April, following massive profit losses for his electric car company Tesla. Here's a brief timeline of key stages in the pair's relationship and Musk's involvement in Trump's orbit over the past year. : 'Disappointed' by the cost of Trump's tax bill, says it undermines DOGE work July 13, 2024: The same day Trump was shot in an attempted assassination at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Musk officially endorses him for president. The billionaire's donations to Trump's reelection effort end up topping more than a quarter of a billion dollars. Sept. 3, 2024: Then-candidate Trump says he would establish a government efficiency commission headed by Musk if he wins the Nov. 5 election. October 5, 2024: Musk joins Trump onstage at a rally at the site of his assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. Nov. 5, 2024: Musk spends election night at Trump's Mar-a-Lago as the Republican wins the 2024 presidential election over Kamala Harris. Nov. 12, 2024: Trump announces Musk and Republican presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the new "Department of Government Efficiency", also known as "DOGE" with the mandate to slash federal government spending, waste and regulations. Jan. 20, 2025: Musk attends Trump's inauguration in Washington, D.C., and delivers a speech at one of the events. He attracted controversy after delivering a one-armed salute that some said appeared to resemble a Nazi-style gesture. "It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured," Musk said before making the gesture. Feb. 11, 2025: Musk visits the Oval Office with his young son, X, to mark Trump signing an executive order seeking to significantly reduce the size of the government through "large-scale reductions" in the federal workforce. Feb. 20, 2025: Musk makes an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) wielding a blinged out chainsaw gifted by Argentina's president, using it as a prop to symbolize his role leading DOGE and "slashing" government spending, March 4, 2025: Trump gives Musk a shoutout during his joint address to Congress, applauding his work at DOGE. "He's working very hard," the president said during his speech. April 30, 2025: Trump's Cabinet secretaries give Musk a round of applause as the Tesla CEO attended what might have been his final Cabinet meeting, as he takes a backseat from DOGE. May 1, 2025: In his most extensive remarks to a room of reporters since he launched DOGE, Musk discusses stepping back from the agency. The White House classifies him as a "special government employee," with the title of senior adviser to the president and allowing him to stay on the job for 130 calendar days a year. May 27, 2025: Musk criticizes the centerpiece of Trump's legislative agenda, saying he is "disappointed" in the president's so-called "Big Beautiful Bill" in a CBS News interview, and that DOGE has become the "whipping boy for everything" in an interview with the Washington Post published May 27. June 5, 2025: In response to Musk's criticisms, Trump says he is "very disappointed" with Musk and signaled his close relationship with the former top White House adviser was over. Musk quickly fired back, saying Trump wouldn't have won a second term were it not for the quarter of a million dollars in campaign cash he pumped into his 2024 campaign. Contributing: Joey Garrison, USA TODAY. Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@ and on X @KathrynPlmr. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elon Musk, Donald Trump timeline: Key events before their public feud
New York Post
5 hours ago
- New York Post
One of Brooklyn's oldest homes has listed for $5.95M
A home in Brooklyn Heights not only offers a glimpse of old New York — but also the chance to live in a strong piece of local history. Built in 1829, making this one of the oldest residences in the borough, the clapboard Federal-style home at 69 Orange St. has just hit the market for $5.95 million, The Post has learned. It offers not only four to five bedrooms and a private garden, but also what locals say is a living link to the Underground Railroad. Indeed, this property is believed to have been part of the network that led escaped slaves to their freedom. Advertisement 19 One of Brooklyn's oldest homes, a meticulously preserved 1829 Federal-style residence at 69 Orange St., has hit the market for $5.95 million, offering not just rare architectural charm but deep historical roots tied to the abolitionist movement. Vibra Inc 19 An archival image of the home's exterior. Getty Images To walk through the house, which includes a mansard roof and Victorian-era gingerbread trim, is to step back into a version of Brooklyn that predates the Civil War. Advertisement The home, landmarked as part of the Brooklyn Heights Historic District, still retains original handrails, moldings, hardware, six fireplaces and even milk-paste paint. But the real stories are below the surface. 'My late husband who died last year, Henry, discovered the crawl space,' current owner Rasa McKean, 73, told The Post of a tell-tale feature inside the dwelling. 19 Located beside the famed Plymouth Church — once led by anti-slavery preacher Henry Ward Beecher — the landmarked clapboard home is rumored to have served as a stop along the Underground Railroad. Getty Images Advertisement 19 Henry Ward Beecher. Getty Images 'In the cellar, the walls are made of large stones, not bricks. He noticed one was slightly out of place and suspected something was behind it. After wiggling it loose, it was clear there was an opening. We believe it was part of the Underground Railroad.' That hunch is supported by the home's immediate neighbor, Plymouth Church, a cornerstone of the 19th-century abolitionist movement. 19 Current owner, Rasa McKean, recalled how her late husband, Henry McKean, discovered hidden crawl spaces and stone-lined tunnels leading toward the church. Monica Luque Advertisement 19 Originally owned by members of the influential Gracie and Middagh families, the house boasts original details such as milk-paste paint, molding, and hardware. Vibra Inc 19 The historic home has preserved over the last three decades by the McKeans in an effort to maintain its historic integrity. Vibra Inc Its first preacher, Henry Ward Beecher, famously auctioned enslaved people to freedom from the pulpit, which drew the likes of Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain to worship. McKean said she and her late husband found additional clues while doing outdoor chores. 'We dug up the garden to replace the soil, and that's when we discovered a tunnel underneath, leading along the back fence,' she recalled. 'It looked like it went all the way to the church.' McKean and her husband, Henry McKean, a mathematics professor, bought the home in the early 1990s for $345,000 after spotting its photo in a Montague Street real estate office. Over the next three decades, the couple made it their mission to preserve it — eschewing modern renovations in favor of historical fidelity. 19 Listing rep Monica Luque, who calls the home 'a museum,' said they've even written a preservation clause into the sale. Vibra Inc Advertisement 19 Rasa McKean is hoping the city might step in to honor her husband Henry McKean's dying wish to protect the property for future generations. Vibra Inc 19 The home maintains six original fireplaces from when it was first built. Vibra Inc 19 Another fireplace with intricate moldings. Vibra Inc 'The other parishioners' houses around the church all participated in the Underground Railroad, but they're gone now,' McKean said. 'Ours is one of the few that remains — and we changed all the electrical systems, water pipes and heating in a way that preserved the history.' Advertisement Their preservation efforts extended to its decorations. 'They tried all these years to keep the same paint, which was a milk paste paint,' said listing representative Monica Luque of Douglas Elliman. 'They only did what was absolutely necessary in terms of heating and cooling and plumbing, but everything else is there. All the original bones are there.' Luque is now marketing the home alongside co-agent Gabriel Suarez, and said the late McKean's wish was that the city step in to preserve the house after his death. 'It would be amazing if the city or the state bought it instead and kept it,' she said. 'It is a museum.' Advertisement 19 An antique wall-mounted crank telephone used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This style of phone was often used in homes or businesses before rotary dial and push-button phones became widespread. It's a fitting detail in a historical preserved home like 69 Orange St. Vibra Inc 19 An antique gas stove, likely from the 1930s. Vibra Inc 19 The dining room. Vibra Inc Though the home is already protected from demolition under its landmark designation, Luque noted that many historic interiors in the neighborhood have not fared as well. Advertisement 'Everyone else — if they didn't tear them down, because they must be preserved as landmarks, thank God, then they destroy them on the inside and make them completely modern,' she said. 'This family tried so hard to preserve it.' Though the home is already protected under its landmark status, Luque said the owners had begun the process of seeking official certification recognizing the property as part of the Underground Railroad. She noted that while such designations can take years, the documentation they've gathered — from physical tunnel evidence to oral histories — will eventually help secure the home's formal place in the national historic record. To that end, the listing includes a preservation clause to ensure future buyers maintain the home's integrity, Luque added. 19 A living room with built-in bookshelves. Vibra Inc 19 A bedroom. Vibra Inc 19 The backyard and garden. Vibra Inc McKean, who now lives in a co-op in Manhattan, said the decision to sell was both emotional and necessary. 'I'm in my 70s and it's too much for me to take care of, and my husband is gone,' she said. 'Our mission was we wanted to leave a legacy. We wanted to maintain the history. Because … it's part of you.' Every room in the 2.5-bath home tells a story. There's a parlor with views of the leafy 55-by-25-foot backyard, which borders Greenacre Park and a library filled with built-ins that recalls a quieter century. Two additional rooms function well as offices or nurseries. It's a residential time capsule — but one grounded in some of the most pivotal movements in American history. The home's original owners, members of the Gracie and Middagh families, were part of Brooklyn's early elite. Middagh Street and the 'fruit streets' of Pineapple, Orange and Cranberry owe their names to the same lineage — legend says Lady Middagh renamed them to poke fun at the neighborhood's pretension. 19 An aerial view of the home. Vibra Inc 19 Map showing routes of the 'Underground Railroad,' used by fugitive slaves to escape into the free states of the United States or Canada, between 1830 -1865. Getty Images The house later passed to Henry L. Pratt, a deacon of Plymouth Church and ally of Rev. Beecher. A manufacturer and devout abolitionist, Pratt reportedly hosted religious leaders and Underground Railroad operatives in the home. McKean notes the uncanny coincidence that her husband, also named Henry Pratt McKean, was born in Massachusetts — just like Pratt. 'That always felt like more than a coincidence,' she said. McKean still visits the house frequently. 'Every time I leave the house, I cry,' she said. 'It really makes a big difference when you work on your home. It feels more like yourself. When you make all the decisions about the details and how you want things, it becomes part of you.' The home is awaiting a buyer who not only values old Brooklyn charm, but also recognizes the weight of its legacy. 'The city has to make a decision,' Luque said. 'Not only to purchase it, but to preserve it.'
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Supreme Court sides with Smith & Wesson, blocks Mexico's $10B suit against gunmakers over cartel violence
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a $10 billion lawsuit Mexico filed against top firearm manufacturers in the U.S. alleging the companies' business practices have fueled tremendous cartel violence and bloodshed. The unanimous ruling tossed out the case under U.S. laws that largely shield gunmakers from liability when their firearms are used in crime. Big-name manufacturers like Smith & Wesson — which still produces guns in Springfield, Massachusetts — had appealed to the justices after a lower court let the suit go forward under an exception for situations in which the companies themselves are accused of violating the law. But the justices found that Mexico hadn't made a plausible argument that the companies had knowingly allowed guns to be trafficked into the country. 'It does not pinpoint, as most aiding-and-abetting claims do, any specific criminal transactions that the defendants (allegedly) assisted,' Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the court's opinion. Mexico had asked the justices to let the case play out, saying it was still in its early stages. Asked about the case during her daily news briefing, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum pointed to another suit the country filed in 2022 against five gun shops and distributors in Arizona. 'There are two trials,' she said. 'We're going to see what the result is, and we'll let you know.' The case the Supreme Court tossed Thursday began in 2021, when the Mexican government filed a blockbuster suit against some of the biggest gun companies, including Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Colt and Glock. Smith & Wesson moved its headquarters and much of its operations from Springfield to Tennessee, but the company retains about 1,000 employees at its plant in Western Massachusetts. Operations that remain in Springfield include its forge, metal working, machining, finishing the assembly of Colt 1911-style handguns and revolver assembly. On Thursday, Mark Smith, Smith & Wesson president and CEO, said in a statement that the court's unanimous decision 'shutting down this ridiculous lawsuit' represented 'a big win for Smith & Wesson, but our industry, American sovereignty and, most importantly, every American who wishes to exercise his or her Second Amendment rights.' 'This suit, brought by Mexico in collaboration with U.S.-based anti-Second Amendment activist groups, was an affront to our nation's sovereignty and a direct attack on the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans,' Smith said in the statement. He called it the latest attack on the firearms industry 'in a blatant abuse of our legal system to advance their anti-constitutional agenda. 'To all American patriots — you can rest assured that Smith & Wesson will always stand and fight for your constitutional rights at every turn,' Smith said. Mexico has strict gun laws and has just one store where people can legally buy firearms. But thousands of guns are smuggled in by the country's powerful drug cartels every year. The Mexican government says at least 70% of those weapons come from the United States. The lawsuit claims that companies knew weapons were being sold to traffickers who smuggled them into Mexico and decided to cash in on that market. The companies reject Mexico's allegations, arguing the country's lawsuit comes nowhere close to showing they're responsible for a relatively few people using their products to commit violence. The trade group National Shooting Sports Foundation applauded the ruling, adding that gunmakers work with U.S. authorities to prevent gun trafficking. 'This is a tremendous victory for the firearm industry and the rule of law,' said Lawrence Keane, senior vice president and general counsel. A federal judge tossed out the lawsuit under a 2005 law that protects gun companies from most civil lawsuits, but an appeals court revived it. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston found it fell under an exception to the shield law for situations in which firearm companies are accused of knowingly breaking laws in their business practices. That exception has come up in other cases, including in lawsuits stemming from mass shootings. Families of victims of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, for example, argued it applied to their lawsuit because the gunmaker had violated state law in the marketing of the AR-15 rifle used in the shooting, in which 20 first graders and six educators were killed. The families eventually secured a landmark $73 million settlement with Remington, the maker of the rifle. The Supreme Court's ruling doesn't appear to affect similar cases, said David Pucino, legal director at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 'All survivors, in the United States, in Mexico, and anywhere else, deserve their day in court, and we will continue to support them in their fight for justice,' he said. Read the original article on MassLive.
