Sip Sak

Red chandeliers and technicolor yellow, red and blue walls conjure up distant bazaars at this festive spot, where crowds pack in for expertly crafted Turkish cuisine from eccentric chef Orhan Yegen. Plates fly from the kitchen at an impressive pace: an appetizer of ethereal tarama (red caviar spread) topped with slices of smoked salmon seems to arrive seconds after ordering. Entrées soon follow, including manti—delicate beef dumplings resembling tiny tricorne hats in a tangy yogurt sauce—and chunks of juicy grilled lamb served with a homemade tomato-based hot sauce, so good it should be bottled and sold. Desserts, like a slab of pistachio-studded halvah and a deep bowl of gratinéed rice pudding, are big enough to share.