Step aside pizza, let’s talk Turkish pide.
Opened in March 2016, Penn Pide, located at 127 West Beaver Avenue, is serving up this traditional Turkish staple — a thin, oblong-shaped flatbread. Pide is often described as Turkish pizza with uniquely Middle-Eastern spices, no sauce, topped with cheese, vegetable or meat fillings, folded over around the edges, and baked in the oven.
There are 12 different types of pide on the menu at Penn Pide, with meat and vegetarian options such as ground beef (kiymali), spicy Turkish sausage (sucuklu), plain cheese (peynirli), and spinach (ispanakli). The most popular is the lamb (kusbasili) pide.
Owners Sait Satici and his wife, Gizem, who are originally from Turkey, moved to State College from Germany in 2011. They are also the owners of Penn Kebab, located at 418 East College Avenue, which serves yufka kebabs (gyro wraps, shawarma, and doner kebab).
“Common in every region of Turkey, pide is very popular for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Since there are endless topping possibilities, pide can be eaten for any meal of the day,” explains Sait. “A nice cup of Turkish tea goes well with a pide and usually, a Turkish coffee is best after the meal.”
It is uncertain when the first pide was eaten; some say that the Ottomans ate a pide-like bread called tokalak, while others claim that the dish was invented in the 1920s as a way of stretching ingredients in war-torn Turkey.
Also on the menu at Penn Pide is lahmacun—a round, thin piece of dough topped with minced ground beef, onions, tomatoes, parsley, a mixture of spices such as cumin, cayenne pepper, and paprika, and then baked until crispy. In addition, there are three different grilled chicken dishes served with your choice of teriyaki, curry, or tomato pepper sauce, and your choice of side such as white or bulgur rice, or penne pasta.
Penn Pide also serves Turkish breakfast favorites like a traditional Turkish omelet, a dish of eggs scrambled just until barely set, mixed with tomatoes, chilies, and olive oil. Or try a piece of borek, a savory pastry with different fillings such as spinach and feta, or meat.
Complete your culinary taste of Turkey with dessert! Try the sutlac (rice pudding) or baklava. For the more adventurous eater, künefe is a crispy, cheese-filled dessert layered between finely-shredded dough, topped with pistachios or walnuts. Kadayif is a dessert made with strings of dough filled with walnuts, baked in the oven, and topped with sugar syrup.
There are also Turkish delights, coffee, and other specialty items at Penn Pide for sale.
For more information, visit Penn Pide on Facebook.
For a special 10 percent off your order at Penn Pide:
