Carmel’s new Artemis Turkish Kitchen delivers delicious discovery.

Among the swirl of new and adventurous items I’d never had and will never pronounce smoothly – things like piyaz, içli köfte and kizartma – came two ingredients that felt familiar. They also happen to be two of the primary ingredients that allow food to transcend sustenance, no matter the language.

The first was fun.

Set in a clean and stylish space on Ocean Avenue between Mission and San Carlos, the new Artemis Turkish Kitchen (574-8991) generates that in several ways, both from the top of the menu and the start of the experience.

The top of the menu unleashes eight cold mezes (or appetizers), each $14-$15, or $35 for the whole gamut. That price tag for that Artemis meze tabagi isn’t cheap, but the big plate quickly demonstrates a dedication to fresh, high-grade ingredients and authentic recipes done in house.

So you get what you pay for, including garlicky puréed eggplant (patlican salatasi) and my two favorites, a tangy and thick cucumber-garlic-mint-dill yogurt dip (haydari) and something called cevizli ezme, a signature concoction of walnuts, tomato, cumin, garlic and Turkish red pepper paste. No misses across the lineup, and the soft baked-in-house pide flatbread came warm, textured and tasty.

Our four-top also shared silky stuffed eggplant (or moussaka, $24) and marinated lamb (kuzu sis, $29), followed by a trilogy of spanakopita (one stuffed with feta cheese, another spinach, another ground beef, Turkish spices and peppers, $9 each with small salads). Only a few crumbs made it out alive.

The fun maker from the start of the meal was Javier Feliú, one of those servers who seems born for the hospitality industry. He happily rolled out three of his favorite Turkish wines for a tasting, knowing small generosities can bring big dividends from diners. (At Artemis that starts with a complimentary tasty high-caffeine Turkish black tea.)

That provided the other familiar ingredient: wine, only with totally unfamiliar grapes from a wine list that goes $10-$15 a glass, $39-$79 a bottle and includes Turkish varietals like Bogazkere and Öküzgözü.

The lean and citrusy Narince by Kavaklidere ($59) was tasty on its own, but gains complexity when Feliú adds much of varietal’s vines are grown for the leaves. Those wrap dolmas like Artemis’ zesty olive oil-poached version with pine nut and currant stuffing.

We settled on a Turasan wine ($49) from Turkey’s Cappadocia region made with Emir grapes, a bright and lively second cousin of a big California Chardonnay.

“We like to really explore and get things you haven’t seen around,” Feliú says.

Owner and unofficial Turkish ambassador Erkan Demir, who like Chef Mustafa Yuzen is a native of Istanbul, started with an eponymous boots store, then introduced carpet and leather jacket stores, all near Ocean Avenue in Carmel-by-the-Sea, but adds he always held the restaurant idea close.

“It was part of my dream, to build this restaurant for this town, just like places on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey,” he says.

Added impetus came after he fed 600 people grilled lamb and chicken and a mass of meze in Doud Arcade, paired with Sufi music, to celebrate the opening of the carpet and jacket shops a few years back. He claims ex-mayor Jason Burnett was among those suggesting he open a restaurant.

Now he’s survived the process of transforming a former sweater shop into a restaurant, and a faulty hood that set things back significantly. The place enjoys a Dutch door, nice design, colorful Mediterranean-style chandelier lamps, smart art and a wine tasting bar beneath minimalist racks of red wine.

For now, hours are 11:30am-2:30pm and 5:30-10pm daily, with a happy hour in the planning to connect the two service times via wines and small plates.

Meanwhile, Demir’s tickled at how many people are into his culture’s cuisine.

“A lot of people who come are those who have been in Turkey and know the food,” he says. “It’s surprising seeing how many know it.”

Not that they don’t prefer those who haven’t ever wrestled beef-stuffed bulgur (içli köfte, $15) or pepperoncini-sauced prawns (keynirli karides, $15).

“We invite people to come and discover new things,” Feliú says. “That’s what we’re here for.”

~QUICKBITES ~

• Liquor industry-busting Lost Spirits – born in the outskirts of Salinas – has another inspired liquor on the market, and it’s more than 120 proof. More on the blog, www.mcweekly.com/edible.
• Pebble Beach Food & Wine 2017 – its 10th annual, featuring the likes of Daniel Boulud, Nancy Oakes and Graham Elliot – is starting to fill up its endless tastings, dinners and seminars.
• Nepenthe, Camoldi Hermitage and Big Sur Bakery figure into updates about Big Sur on the blog, including word on BSB’s pop-up at Salumeria Luca in Carmel 10am until they sell out Saturday and Sunday, March 11-12.
• Poke Lab in downtown Monterey (200-3474) now offers sushi donuts. Really.
• Forbes Travel Guide just gave Bernardus Lodge four stars for Lucia Restaurant & Bar (658-3400).
• Whole Enchilada Marketplace (633-3038) in Moss Landing does bottomless mimosas Sundays 11am-4pm ($10) with live music 1-4pm. Free wine tasting 5-7pm Fridays too.
• Sweet Elena’s (393-2063) is making organic Irish soda bread ($5) and corned beef sandwiches on baguette ($7.75) March 10-20.
• Anton & Michel (624-2406) hosts a Monterey Symphony benefit with March Supper Club 5:30pm Sunday, March 19 ($70). Three-course dinner, Hahn Family wines, RSVP by March 15.
• The Steinbeck House (424-2735) in Oldtown Salinas is serving corned beef sandwiches ($12) throughout the month of March (11:30am-2pm Tuesday-Saturday).
• Cibo Ristorante Italiano (649-8151) does its high-value happy hour all night every Thursday (4pm – 1:30am), with $3 well drinks, beer and wine.
• Those Sodastream canisters that make sparkling water at home can be refilled at Target and Staples.
• Life hack: If your liquor budget is low, Spoon University reports you can improve the taste of cheap vodka by running it through a Brita filter a few times.
• Elif Safak: “I write with humor about sadness, to introduce an element of sweet to the sour, a bit like Turkish food.”