Thursday

Istanbul Kofte Week: #2 – AKO Adapazari Islama Kofte

Post a Comment June 9, 2011 – 9:01 am | Permalink |  Print This Post |

(Editor’s Note: Over here at Istanbul Eats, we like to think of ourselves as kofte savants. While to the untrained eye kofte may look like nothing more than a grilled meatball, we like to discern differences in taste, texture and consistency in the different styles of this ubiquitous Turkish dish. Like coffee, tea and wine, we would argue that the concept of terroir be applied to kofte and its different regional interpretations. With that in mind, we invite to join us this week for an exploration of the many faces of kofte, with a look at five favorite spots in Istanbul.)

Students of Istanbul street food will recognize the “islama” modifier on this kofte and understand its relation with the oh-so-edible “islak” hamburger in Taksim Square. It is a fellowship of drenched bread. But while the wet burger is drenched in secret sauce and sent to steam in the burger hamam, islama kofte’s wide slices of village bread are dunked in kemik suyu, or, homemade beef stock, and grilled alongside the meatballs.

We asked Osman usta, who has worked the grill at AKO Adapazari Islama Kofte for 39 years, what the secret is. He replied, “No secrets. You just dunk [the bread] and grill it.”

The “and grill it” part of Osman’s instructions, we think, is the key to this dish though….(Click here to see the full review)