Simit House Bakery brings Turkish traditions to Montclair
In 2013, Ibrhahim Yagci opened Simit House Bakery & Co. in downtown Montclair with the hopes sharing the 500-year-old legacy of Turkish street food – Simit – with its residents. Since then, Ibrahim has done that and more.
Montclair resident George Malas came to Montclair from Turkey in 2003 “[Simit House Bakery] brings my country back to me when I miss it,” said Malas.
A similar story to Malas, owner Ibrahim was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey and came to the United States for his college education. With a passion for street food in his suitcase, Ibrahim opened Simit House Bakery to share Turkish street food, Simit’s, 500-year legacy.
Simit, which comes from the Arabic word samid meaning “fine flour,” has been produced in Istanbul since the 16th century. Turks of all ages typically eat it as a snack or breakfast food accompanied by a glass of tea. Vendors sell simits on the streets by carrying them over their heads or pushing them on a trolley yelling things like “Taze simit!” (fresh simit) or “Sicak simit!” (hot simit) as they are baked freshly throughout the day, rather than once in the morning.
The Simit House Bakery specializes in simit, but has even more delicacies on its menu. They have pies filled with meat and spinach, salads and appetizers such as celery root salad, kisir (traditional Turkish side dish) and stuffed grape leaves and panini sandwiches. They also have sides like cheese, yogurt and hummus, red lentil soup and traditional desserts like baklava and kadayif.
“Simit has food that everyone can enjoy,” said Malas.
To learn more about Simit House Bakery, visit them in downtown Montclair at 2 Church St. (on the corner of Church Street, Bloomfield Avenue and South Fullerton Avenue). To get more information, visit Simit House Bakery on their website at www.simitlove.com or give them at call at 862-283-3181.
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