My Moon

K. Adler invited me to my first art show in Williamsburg and on a Monday- imagine that! I couldn't believe it. Mondays are my weekend and I hardly ever have anything fun to do (except luckily this year July 4th fell on my weekend-allelujah). She suggested we do dinner in Williamsburg before the art show because we were sure to discover some unexplored territory.

We got off the subway and I felt like I was in a different world. There were no massively crowded crosswalks, no honking horns, and no skyscrapers blocking my view of the starry night. I could get used to this.

Unfortunately, K.Adler and I roamed around for about a half hour but nothing seemed to strike our fancy. Perhaps we had just walked the wrong way on Bedford. She got out her trusty New York Mag and we read about a couple restaurant openings, but it was a matter of finding them that was the problem. While we were following one street towards the water we ran into a large fence and a bouncer. K saw a menu lit up on the stone wall and what I thought looked like a crazy club scene was actually a restaurant. So what the heck, we gave it a try.

We walked into the large courtyard outside My Moon and walked in to a huge party inside. I wasn't sure where we were going to eat. It seemed like all the tables had been cleared away except the ones along the wall because there were a hundred people milling around in the middle with drinks. We approached who we thought was the host and he told us it would be about fifteen minutes. And because of all the noise and ruckus going on, he even asked for a cell phone number so he could call us when a table opened. I guess there's a first for everything.

After fighting our way to the bar, scoring a couple small cups of sangria, then fighting our way back through the crowd wher we'd be spotted by the host, one of the managers grabbed us. In a thick Turkish accent he asked if we were waiting for a table and swept us into a fairly large semi-circle of a booth. The back of the booth was really tall and looming over our heads and I felt slightly awkward there were only two of us eating in this larger-than-life table.

Everything on the menu, after I read the English translation of course, sounded excellent. There were too many tastebud-arousing plates to choose from. After some minor deliberation, we went for sigara borek or pan fried crispy filo dough filled with feta cheese, parsley and dill, a plate of mixed Spanish and Turkish olives marinated in garlic, herbs and spices, and a hummus plate. The filo and feta dish was definitely the highlight. They came out looking like mini Mexican flautas. The feta was smooth and warm on the inside and I kept taking mini bites so they'd last longer. The hummus was served with warm freshly made pita crisps and it was the perfect consistency- not too thick but not too runny.

As you can see, we were light eaters that evening. I would definitely go back to My Moon with a big group of people and order a variety of their other Turkish dishes. And I am curious what the atmosphere is like when there's not a raging party going on. What I liked most was even though we weren't really there for the private party, the staff welcomed us with open arms. I can't imagine that happening in too many places on my side of the bridge.

My Moon
184 N 10th St, between Bedford and Driggs,
Brooklyn
718-599-7007