Istanbul Culinary Institute: Letting the Inmates Run the Asylum
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- Posted
09.08.10
The idea here is simple: let the students of the culinary school upstairs prepare the food for the customers downstairs. The menu changes frequently depending on what is being taught, but it always features a selection of classics from the Turkish kitchen, sometimes made with organic fruits and vegetables grown on the ICI’s farm in Turkey’s Thrace region, near the ...
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Besaltı Kirvem Tantuni: Turkish for “Taqueria”?
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- Posted
09.03.10
As the name implies, Besaltı Kirvem serves up tantuni, one of Turkey’s classic – though shamefully lesser known – street foods. For the dish, thin strips of beef are grilled, somewhat like Mexican carne asada, and kept warm on the side of massive circular pan with a concave depression in the middle. When an order is made, the cook scoops ...
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Inciralti: Meyhane Time Machine
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- Posted
08.30.10
Located on the Bosphorus’s Asian side, Beylerbeyi is a like a miniature and untouristed version of the more popular Ortakoy neighborhood on the European side, mercifully free of the tchotchke vendors and crowds that today line Ortakoy’s narrow streets. Stepping off the evening ferry from Eminonu at Beylerbeyi’s old wooden one-room ferry terminal feels a bit like stepping back ...
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The Esnaf Nouveau: Blue Collar Food, White Collar Style
1 response
- Posted
08.27.10
Whereas the traditional esnaf lokantasi has a standard interior design – one we associate with a hastily built hospital cafeteria – and a staff and clientele that remind us of an American diner, these days we are noticing a pleasant new trend in the esnaf lokantasi tradition. Without straying too far from the typical esnaf offerings, a new class of ...
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Istanbul Eats Walks!
2 responses
- Posted
08.26.10
We are happy to announce the start of our culinary walks program!
Turkish cuisine, like Turkey itself, channels cultural currents coming in from every direction, resulting in the delicious culinary chaos that is Istanbul. Turks, Greeks, Arabs, Persians and countless others have passed through here, leaving an indelible stamp on the cuisine. Historians speak of the “layered” nature of the city; ...
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Brews With Views
3 responses
- Posted
08.23.10
Dersaadet
Under most circumstances, we wouldn’t recommend drinking under a bridge, but Dersaadet offers spectacular views of the Old City from its perch under the Galata Bridge, right at the junction of the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus. Here we like to blow the froth off of a few while fisherman above reel in little fish right past our table.
Address: ...
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Istanbul Eats on the Road: Breakfast in Bursa
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- Posted
08.20.10
“On Sundays, we have a staff of twenty-five. People drive in from Istanbul just for breakfast,” said the owner of Mavi Boncuk, a breakfast garden-cum-guesthouse located in the idyllic village of Cumalikizik near Bursa. The focal point of Mavi Boncuk may be the quaint little stone and timber village houses where guests can stay, but all of the action takes ...
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