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Reviews (Eats)Kasap Osman: A Cure for Döner Fatigue
Though Iskender kebab is a registered trademark of the famous Kebapci Iskender restaurant in Bursa, imitations are ubiquitous. In Istanbul, Iskender kebab – a dish based on döner, strips of roasted lamb shaved off from a vertical spit – is almost as common as designer knock-offs in the Grand Bazaar. But unlike a $20 Dolce & Gabbana track suit with dubious stitchwork, the “pirated” Iskender kebab over at Kasap Osman’s in the Sirkeci neighborhood is most certainly the real thing, if not better.
The restaurant is located around the corner from the Sirkeci train station, on a side street that’s best described as an open-air food court for serious eaters. Restaurants offering Kurufasuliye (Turkish style baked beans), pide (or Turkish pizza) and other local specialties stand cheek by jowl on this crowded little street filled with outdoor tables. But something extra special radiates from Kasap Osman (“Osman the Butcher” in Turkish), where, turning slowly on an upright spit, stands a blue ribbon döner carefully watched by the usta.
Döner, slices of lamb stacked like pancakes on a tall skewer and slowly turned before a vertical grill, is the most important factor in any Iskender kebab. Though gas and electric grills are more common these days, we far prefer the smoky flavor imparted by the traditional cooking method employed by Kasap Osman, where charcoal is used to roast the döner. Naturally the quality of the meat plays an important role as well, and who better to trust at the spit than Osman, who actually is a former butcher. Osman and his team also have experience working in their favor, having turned döner spit for a loyal, hungry audience of local shopkeepers and office workers everyday for the last 25 years from the same corner on Hocapasa.
Timed to coincide with the lunch hour rush, at around noon the usta starts shaving off the first long ribbons of succulent döner and collecting them in the pan in his other hand. The döner is then sent to the kitchen where it becomes Iskender kebab and other döner-based dishes. For Iskender, our favorite, the cooked meat is laid over a bed of chopped flatbread in a clay dish and garnished with peppers and tomatoes and dressed with a thin tomato sauce. The dish is then quickly fired in the oven crisping the saucy bread on the bottom and softening the garnish. Finally the whole dish is doused with butter browned in a skillet and a quick dollop of thick yogurt is added to one side. We can often hear our Iskender sizzling on its way to the table.
So noble a kebab, it’s quite logical that someone trademarked it and no surprise at all that the trademark is infringed upon everyday from Melbourne to Miami. But if you don’t have time for the official Iskender kebab pilgrimage to Bursa, head over to Kasap Osman for the best genuine fake Iskender in the city.
Address: Hocapasa Sokak 22, Sirkeci
Telephone: 212-519-3216
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Post Tags: Doner, Eminonu, Grill, Hocapasa Sokak, Kebab, Sirkeci
Jun 21, 2009
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Q: I read somewhere that Iskender kebab was named for Alexander the Great. Can you confirm this?
Jun 21, 2009
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It’s a nice story. “Iskender” is Alexander in Turkish, but the Alexander in this case appears to be the chef that created the dish in Bursa in the late 1800’s. A great chef, very likely, but not the Alexander the Great you’re thinking of.