London warms to Turkish grills

LONDON — The scent of grilled meat floods the bus when the doors open. The Hackney district’s Stoke Newington Road is filled with Turkish barbecue restaurants that in-the-know Londoners flock to almost as much as to their beloved curry restaurants.

Inside the door of the Mangal I, a man seated before a charcoal pit has somewhere near two dozen skewers of lamb, chicken, quail, and vegetables going at once, his calm face appearing and disappearing behind a wall of smoke. The man at the grill seems to prepare every bite guests at the large restaurant will consume (there must be a prep cook in a kitchen somewhere), even chopping salad vegetables to order in that same peculiar seated position.

The Boston Globe, 12.12.2010