Fazil Bey Kahvesi: Fad Proof
3 responses
- Posted
05.18.12
We’re all for free enterprise and open competition, but the mushrooming of cafes on Fazil Bey’s street sets up a dangerous trap that many of us could fall into. Turkish coffee is Turkish coffee and the tables are all natural stone anyway, a visitor to this stretch of Kadikoy might think, so what could be the big difference?
There’s only one ...
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Döner on the Side of Caution
1 response
- Posted
05.17.12
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 Osman's to check things out ourselves, but for now we suggest diners approach the spot with lowered expectations. Better yet, check out this ...
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Five Favorite Old-School Meyhanes
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- Posted
05.11.12
Another line in the article stopped us cold. “I couldn’t help myself thinking, ‘Where are the old watering holes?’ with their rakı etiquette and their meze varieties,” the author wrote, as if some strange plague had swept across Istanbul and somehow made the city’s old-school meyhanes vanish. In response, we thought we’d offer a list of five of our favorite ...
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And the Winner Is….
3 responses
- Posted
05.03.12
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 among that group of six finalists. A victory by any one of us would have been a victory for good taste. Thank you ...
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Vahap Usta: The Man Who Would Be (Kokoreç) King, Pt. I
1 response
- Posted
05.01.12
Beyond the financial gain, though, Vahap Usta was a cult figure – the Willy Wonka of kokoreç – who helped make this street food iconic. And then he disappeared. “Vahap Usta is like a kite without a string. You never know where he will end up,” said Vahap’s old neighbor, optician Bilgin Bilgic, to the Aksam Newspaper in 2003.
The legend ...
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Island — and Table — Hopping in Istanbul
1 response
- Posted
04.25.12
Burgazada - Kalpazankaya Restaurant
Burgazada is the smallest and least visited of the Princes’ Islands. The island has few easily accessible beaches and picnic spots, but what it does have is a laid back atmosphere and several charming waterfront restaurants and cafes in the harbor. Better yet, Burgaz is home to Kalpazankaya Restaurant, an out-of-the-way, open-air meyhane on the island’s backside that will ...
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Beyoglu Burger Wars: Counter Offensive
8 responses
- Posted
04.23.12
We stopped in for one of their classic “Oxnard” burgers, fries and a chat with the management about what happened. In the previous location in Tunel, it seems the municipality had complaints about their ventilation system, which often left the square smelling like one big grilled patty. When they extended the chimneys up above the roof, the whirling dervish museum ...
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