Crispy Fish, Tender Octopus And Mollusks On A Stick At Liman Restaurant – The Bite
by Adam Rabiner
THE BITE: Coastal Mainers slurping mollusks and cracking crustaceans at local lobster pounds have it good. Fortunately, so do those living near Sheepshead Bay.
Down the length of Emmons Avenue, many of the old-school Italian seafood eateries have faded away, leaving us with only a handful. Yet seafood itself remains the mainstay. Catering to new palettes, other ethnic establishments have been filling the fish niche for years now. Among them, one of the oldest, the charming Turkish seafood grill, Liman Restaurant (2710 Emmons Avenue).
Liman will be one of the 21 delicious restaurants at The BITE, the new name for A Taste of Sheepshead Bay, taking place on Thursday, May 28. Get tickets now!
Liman’s décor is a nod to the nautical: full length murals depicting the Bosphorus, fishnet entangled with buoys, ropes, shells, harpoons, life preservers, stuffed marlins and other seafaring miscellanea; walls cluttered with anchor- and steering wheel-shaped clocks.
Liman’s menu offers a wide choice of cold and hot appetizers, known as meze, and seafood and meat main dishes. Our party of four selected pan-fried mussels ($10), borek ($9), char-grilled octopus salad ($15.50), Turkish Ezme salad ($8), a seafood specialty – St. Peters fish – char-grilled ($26) and a frosty Efes Pilsen.
The mussels came on three skewers, four per stick, with a side of creamy garlic dipping sauce lightly sprinkled with paprika. Served piping hot, the mussels were crispy and chewy, with a strong oceanic flavor, the perfect accompaniment to the pilsner.
As were the borek – Turkish cheese rolls, akin to the mozzarella sticks you might find at a bar, but infinitely better. Though we were served five, somehow I managed only a single bite. This dish was my 8-year-old daughter Ana’s favorite. If the mussels conveyed the taste of the sea, the borek channeled the flavor of the land and the grasses upon which the sheep grazed to fulfill their feta or kasseri cheese production.
The octopus had great texture and just the right amount of char. Liman’s chefs do not shy from salt but know the proper amount required to bring out a food’s inherent flavor. Arugula and thinly sliced red onions dressed with olive oil nicely complemented the tender meat.
The Turkish Ezme salad, a concoction of finely chopped cucumber, tomatoes, onion and jalapeno pepper, dressed in olive oil and fresh lemon was described by the waitress as “not too hot” – a family requirement for ordering as I’m the only spicy food lover – but it had a real kick. The salad had the perfect consistency for spreading on the fresh bread that came with the meal.
Grilled fish served whole is always minimalistic, sometimes blandly so. But the mysterious St. Peters fish lived up to its billing as moist and buttery, hopefully with ample stores of Omega-3.
With fifteen choices for dessert, both Turkish and traditional items, it was difficult to settle on the chocolate covered strawberries and an unusual walnut pudding. Finally, filled to the gills, we wiped our chocolate and fish smeared faces with the restaurant branded Wet-Naps and got in our car for the long drive back to land.
Liman Restaurant, 2710 Emmons Avenue, (718) 769-3322. Open Sunday to Thursday 12:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., and 12:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
The Bite is Sheepshead Bites’ column exploring the foodstuffs of the Sheepshead Bay area. Each week we check out a different offering from one of the many restaurants, delis, food carts, bakeries, butchers, fish mongers, or grocers in our neighborhood. If it’s edible, we’ll take a bite.
