There’s a long line of pubs down Queens Boulevard that may lead you to think that this stretch of Sunnyside is solely Irish territory. But a small yet popular group of Middle Eastern restaurants also calls this neighborhood home, and a 15 minute subway trip from Grand Central to the 40th or 46th Street stops on the 7 train can reward you with some top-notch Turkish and Lebanese cooking, if you know where to look. A glance at Grill 43 may suggest that grilled meat and poultry are the specialty of the house. They are not. But where the kebabs and shawarma disappoint, the dips, spreads, and salads on the menu are worth a visit all on their own.
Impressively flavorful mezze run $4 to $5 each, or $13.95 for a plate of four. Don’t miss eggplant in any of its forms, roasted whole and topped with garlic sauce, chopped up with tomatoes and chilies (in hot and mild versions), or puréed into patlican salatisi, a lighter baba ganoush that favors olive oil and straightforward smoke over tahini. A piquant relish of ezme carries a fierce heat to liven up the restaurant’s fresh, crisp-crusted bread; I’ve found no equal of it in New York. Grill 43 is especially rewarding at breakfast, when you can get their excellent Menemen ($5.95)—a homestyle dish rarely seen at Turkish restaurants in the city. The tender curds of egg are stained orange by the tomatoes and peppers they’re cooked with, leaving a film of oil on the plate best sopped up with more of that great bread.
