Nov 30
Monday
Istanbul’s Top 5 Street Foods: #5 – The Galata Cucumber Man
Editor’s note: This week Istanbul Eats is celebrating Istanbul’s vibrant (and sometimes plain wacky) street food scene with a highly subjective look at five of our favorite street foods and some of the best places to get them. We’ll be writing about a different food every day, so join us as we work our way up to #1 on Friday.
We’ve never learned his name and at this time of the year he is probably preparing for his winter hibernation. But we eagerly await the reappearance in the spring of the vendor we know simply as the “cucumber man of Galata” (pictured above, smoking), a chubby fellow with Coke-bottle glasses who sells what may be the city’s simplest, yet most satisfying street food: peeled and salted cukes, a fresh green rebuke to all those starchy and fried snacks out there. Continue…
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Quick Look
Recent Posts
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Hanging On to History: Edible Nostalgia in Samatya
no responses - Posted 05.08.18
That much of the past seems to stick to Samatya is a marvel in Istanbul, a city being rebuilt and “restored” at an alarming pace. First, there’s the question of its name. Occupying a stretch of the Marmara Sea and squeezed between the old city walls and Kumkapı, an area home to a rotating cast of eclectic restaurants, the neighborhood still ... continue -
Spring Surprises: Skewering the First Fruits in Istanbul
no responses - Posted 04.25.18
It was the first of April and an absolutely pristine Istanbul spring day, the kind where one can break a slight sweat walking up a hill then catch a cool breeze in a nearby patch of shade. Returning to the city from a lovely weekend on Büyükada, we were smitten with spring and wanted to indulge in its finest offerings. In ... continue -
Farewell, Pando: An Istanbul Culinary Legend Passes On
no responses - Posted 04.16.18
It’s Saturday around lunchtime and business as usual in the bustling Beşiktaş Çarşı neighborhood, as crowds of mostly younger people fill the narrow streets. Down on Mumcu Bakkal Sokak, a pedestrian-only street lined with miniscule shops, a line around the block has been formed by those eager to get into one of the city’s best döner spots. For many of those ... continue -
Bağdat Ocakbaşı: Licensed to Grill
no responses - Posted 04.09.18
Istanbul’s T1 tramway is relatively pleasant if you can find a seat, but borders on unbearable if you are on your feet. Back in 2015, we wrote about a trip we took from the line’s first stop all the way to one of its last, which lies way out in the district of Güngören. By the time the tram has made ... continue -
Dose & Istos Café: Greek Revival
no responses - Posted 03.30.18
A café at its best is so much more than the sum of its parts: it’s a place where people can easily mingle, share ideas, and dertleşmek, or commiserate over their troubles, all while imbibing caffeine. At the same time, it’s a place where visitors might feel an invisible thread of common beliefs connecting them, an unspoken camaraderie, even if ... continue -
Back to the Land: Urban Turks Tackle Rural Life
no responses - Posted 03.23.18
When Buket Ulukut first moved from Istanbul to a rural plot of land in the foothills of the Taurus Mountains in southern Turkey, she was leading a double life. “I’d be taking calls from clients in Europe while out amidst the rows of peppers and eggplants, hoping they didn’t hear the rooster crowing in the background,” says Ulukut, who worked in ... continue -
Semt Pazarları, Civic Life Perfected
no responses - Posted 03.09.18
“Two kilos five liraaa! Two kilos five liraaa!” bellowed a young and exuberant vendor of tomatoes to the ongoing stream of frugal-minded shoppers making their way through the snaking Tarlabaşı Sunday Market. Hundreds of sellers of fresh produce, dairy, seafood, kitchenware, clothing, smuggled tobacco, jewelry, fresh baked goods and numerous other items set up side by side in the central Istanbul ... continue
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Hanging On to History: Edible Nostalgia in Samatya
All entries filed under this archive
The Simits Take Manhattan
13 responses - Posted 11.29.09
We recently posted about the arrival of the simit - the sesame-encrusted bread ring that it is a Turkish street food staple - in Manhattan, where it is being baked on location at the newly opened New York outpost of Güllüoğlu, an Istanbul baklava maker (not to be confused, as ...continue
13 responses - Posted 11.29.09
We recently posted about the arrival of the simit - the sesame-encrusted bread ring that it is a Turkish street food staple - in Manhattan, where it is being baked on location at the newly opened New York outpost of Güllüoğlu, an Istanbul baklava maker (not to be confused, as ...continue
Istanbul Eats in the GlobalPost
no responses - Posted 11.29.09
We recently took Nichole Sobecki, a reporter for the GlobalPost, on a walking tour of some of our favorite food stops in Istanbul's historic Eminönü and Fatih neighborhoods. You can check out her report here. continue
no responses - Posted 11.29.09
We recently took Nichole Sobecki, a reporter for the GlobalPost, on a walking tour of some of our favorite food stops in Istanbul's historic Eminönü and Fatih neighborhoods. You can check out her report here. continue
Istanbul Eats’ Photo Competition: The Winner!
no responses - Posted 11.27.09
We are happy to present the winner of our first photo competition: "The Fruit Terminator" by Uta Beyer, a researcher, consultant and amateur photographer who lived in Istanbul for many years but is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia. Here's what Uta had to say about her winning photo: The photo was ...continue
no responses - Posted 11.27.09
We are happy to present the winner of our first photo competition: "The Fruit Terminator" by Uta Beyer, a researcher, consultant and amateur photographer who lived in Istanbul for many years but is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia. Here's what Uta had to say about her winning photo: The photo was ...continue
Istanbul Eats’ Photo Competition: Results (Pt. 2)
no responses - Posted 11.25.09
The first runner-up in our photo competition is "Nazar Cookies," by WenLin Soh. (You can see the photo that won third place here.) Originally from Singapore, she is currently on a one-year sabbatical which she is spending eating her way around the world, including some stops in Turkey. We asked ...continue
no responses - Posted 11.25.09
The first runner-up in our photo competition is "Nazar Cookies," by WenLin Soh. (You can see the photo that won third place here.) Originally from Singapore, she is currently on a one-year sabbatical which she is spending eating her way around the world, including some stops in Turkey. We asked ...continue
Istanbul Eats’ Photo Competition: The Results Are In (Pt. 1)
2 responses - Posted 11.23.09
After going through numerous worthy entries, we are happy to announce that we have picked the winner and the two runners-up in our first ever photo competition. The subject of the competition was simple - "Istanbul food culture" - and the entries covered it from a variety of angles. Today we ...continue
2 responses - Posted 11.23.09
After going through numerous worthy entries, we are happy to announce that we have picked the winner and the two runners-up in our first ever photo competition. The subject of the competition was simple - "Istanbul food culture" - and the entries covered it from a variety of angles. Today we ...continue
The Simit Has Landed, Pt. II
no responses - Posted 11.23.09
The November 25 New York Times has a quick review of the new Upper East Side Manhattan branch of Güllüoğlu, an Istanbul baklava maker (not to be confused, as we initially did, with the legendary Istanbul baklava house also called Güllüoğlu). We recently linked to a New York magazine item about ...continue
no responses - Posted 11.23.09
The November 25 New York Times has a quick review of the new Upper East Side Manhattan branch of Güllüoğlu, an Istanbul baklava maker (not to be confused, as we initially did, with the legendary Istanbul baklava house also called Güllüoğlu). We recently linked to a New York magazine item about ...continue
EatingAsia Interviews Çiya Chef Musa Dağdeviren
2 responses - Posted 11.22.09
EatingAsia, a marvelous blog that (mostly) covers Asian food and culinary traditions, recently caught up with chef Musa Dağdeviren, creator of Istanbul's Çiya Restaurant. A kind of culinary anthropologist, Dağdeviren has helped introduce Istanbulites and visitors to the city to traditional recipes and ingredients from across Turkey that are even ...continue
2 responses - Posted 11.22.09
EatingAsia, a marvelous blog that (mostly) covers Asian food and culinary traditions, recently caught up with chef Musa Dağdeviren, creator of Istanbul's Çiya Restaurant. A kind of culinary anthropologist, Dağdeviren has helped introduce Istanbulites and visitors to the city to traditional recipes and ingredients from across Turkey that are even ...continue
Zinnet Restaurant: Silk Road Trip
1 response - Posted 11.17.09
There are those restaurants worth going to because of their out-of-the-way location – a fish shack at the end of a lonely beach, a fondue hut at the top of an Alpine ridge. Then there are those worth seeking out despite their location – that culinary gem stuck inside a ...continue
1 response - Posted 11.17.09
There are those restaurants worth going to because of their out-of-the-way location – a fish shack at the end of a lonely beach, a fondue hut at the top of an Alpine ridge. Then there are those worth seeking out despite their location – that culinary gem stuck inside a ...continue
Adana Özasmaaltı: Club Kebab
2 responses - Posted 11.13.09
In London or New York, one could spend hours before lunch deciding among Eritrean, Guatemalan or that Jamaican jerked chicken joint on the corner. The choice in Istanbul, for the most part, is comfortingly simple: “fish or meat?” On one recent lunch run we had with Mehmet Bey, an Asian-sider who ...continue
2 responses - Posted 11.13.09
In London or New York, one could spend hours before lunch deciding among Eritrean, Guatemalan or that Jamaican jerked chicken joint on the corner. The choice in Istanbul, for the most part, is comfortingly simple: “fish or meat?” On one recent lunch run we had with Mehmet Bey, an Asian-sider who ...continue
Istanbul Top 10 (Take One)
3 responses - Posted 11.09.09
We were asked by the World Foodie Guide, a great blog that is a wonderful resource for all things food-related, to submit an Istanbul "top 10" list. You can read our guest post here. continue
3 responses - Posted 11.09.09
We were asked by the World Foodie Guide, a great blog that is a wonderful resource for all things food-related, to submit an Istanbul "top 10" list. You can read our guest post here. continue
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