Two young men stood about 15 feet apart on a sunny narrow street in the Kadikoy market, chafing in their brown lab coats. The one tending to a handful of white marble tables barked “buyrun!” (roughly, “come and get it!”) at passersby, the other quietly wiped down seven or eight black marble tables.
The black tables – the ones in front of the veteran Fazil Bey Kahvesi – used to be white until they were replaced when a gaggle of upstart neighboring cafes put out their own white tables, presumably hoping to siphon off some of Fazil Bey’s business. Next door is Yavuz Bey and next to that Hurrem Efendi and just across the street Niyazi Bey, all serving Turkish coffee and seating customers at the same white marble tables. Buyrun!
In Istanbul, fads burn white hot and competition can be comically ruthless. Be it coffee or mojitos, you’ll see butcher shops, bookstores and pharmacies retrofitted overnight to capitalize on the latest popular trend. We even know one (now former) barber, Suleyman, who recently hung up his shears, donned a fez and turned his barbershop into place to squeeze and sell fruit juice. Continue…
We've previously sung the praises of Kasap Osman, a standby doner spot in the increasingly touristed Sirkeci neighborhood, but we've been getting unsettling reports from reliable sources that things might be slipping over there. We'll go to ...
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A recent article in one of Turkey’s English-language newspapers, describing plans by Mey İçki, Turkey’s largest producer of raki, to introduce the anise-flavored liquor to Europe, left us both steamed and amused. As part of its efforts ...
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We are very proud to announce that we have been voted "Best Culinary Travel Blog" in Saveur Magazine's third annual Best Food Blog Awards competition. The competition was stiff and we were honored just to be included ...
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Vahap Usta pulled a pair of reading glasses from the inside pocket of a snug dinner jacket and sifted through a stack of newspaper clippings. Here was a full spread from a major daily paper proclaiming him ...
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Istanbul's Princes' Islands, a lovely archipelago just off the city's Asian shore, offer what we believe to be the best travel bargain anywhere in the world. Whenever we're in need of a vacation but can't afford the ...
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Six months ago we were very concerned to see one of our favorite burger joints, Mano Burger, closed down. The workers gutting the place told us there was financial trouble. Someone else said they’d opened up shop ...
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Turns out New Yorkers are only now discovering what Turks have known for eons: that the humble anchovy is absolutely delicious (particularly when lightly coated in flour or cornmeal and fried). As an article in today's New ...
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In the world of chicken breast pudding (a traditional Turkish dessert made with thickened milk and thin strands of poached poultry), elasticity is the quality that the confection is judged upon above all else. Tucking into a ...
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(Editor's Note: In the midst of the excitement over our recent Saveur Magazine "Best Food Blog" nomination, we forgot to properly mark Istanbul Eats' third anniversary. In honor of the occasion, we are rerunning our first post, ...
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(Editor’s Note: This is the third installment of our newest feature, “Supermarket Cellars,” which aims to uncover those drinkable Turkish wines that won’t kill your budget or, let’s face it, you. In charge of this mission is ...
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A recent article in one of Turkey’s English-language newspapers, describing plans by Mey İçki, Turkey’s largest producer of raki, to introduce the anise-flavored liquor to Europe, left us both steamed and amused. As part of its efforts to promote the consumption of raki, it appears the company – along with an outfit called the Tourism Research Association (TURAD) – has ...
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Istanbul Eats: A Serious Eater's Guide to the City |
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