The footpath to nowhere. I'd been tricked by this before. After a promising start, it takes you past a car park and ends in a cul-de-sac.
No, not really, it turns out. It's lemon salt, otherwise known as citric acid, in this case mined in southern Turkey near the city of Burdur.
Well, the good thing about this incident was I met the chef/owner of the Minster Turkish Meze & Grill Restaurant and found out all about lemon salt. He and his wife and mum-in-law moved to this sleepy East Kent village in September 2020 and turned this character ex-pub with a lovely garden into a fine eating house.
Calamari starter with cacik, flat bread and grilled onion in a pomegranate, redcurrant, olive oil and sumach dressing.
I had a very good red house wine - Villa Dolluca - with, it says, "fruity, smooth and complex characteristics." Shiraz and Merlot are also available by the glass, and a selection of new and old world wines by the bottle, all coming in at a reasonable £20-£21 or so. Efes, bottled and on draft, available, too, as you would expect.
I was torn between the charcoal grilled lamb ribs ("succulent" - that's hard to resist) and moussaka, and eventually opted for the latter with salad and rice. Lots of nice meat options, plus fish and a vegetarian menu. Chips on the side if you must.
It was all delicious, and then I came across this hard, grainy lump in my salad ... This was the famous lemon salt, but all ends well and I was given some crystals to take home.
Look a little like the uncut diamonds Ving Rhames gets away with in Out of Sight, don't you think?
A lovely evening, well worth a visit.
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