Turkish Baklava Haven Güllüoglu to Open in Manhattan

Turkish bakery Güllüoglu will open a new, 900-square-foot location on 2nd Avenue (a former home of Go Sushi, which moved down the block) in the next few weeks. Güllüoglu's first shop opened in 1871, making it one of the world's oldest chain restaurants; for the past four years the company has had just one location stateside, a nondescript storefront dangled all the way out on Coney Island Avenue's Homecrest area. In one sense, Güllüoglu is to baklava like Pierre Hermé is to macarons, and the peaceable dinginess of the original Brooklyn storefront belies the technical virtuosity of the baked goods inside, which have been gobbled up by UN diplomats and hungry wanderers alike. What sets Güllüoglu's baklava apart from its Greek counterpart is the 35 layers of phyllo dough—made with sheep and goat’s milk butter. There's also the matter of the special "Boz" pistachios they use, which while greener and nuttier than regular pistachios, admittedly have nothing to do with this awesomeness. If you like baklava but hate getting punched in the face by simple syrup, look for the swanky new Güllüoglu Manhattan in 1-2 weeks at 982 2nd Avenue at 52nd Street.