Saturday
First Stop: Ana Sortun
Editor’s note: In the inaugural post of our new recurring feature, First Stop, we ask Chef Ana Sortun of the much-beloved restaurant Oleana and bakery Sofra in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she heads first for food when she arrives in Istanbul.
Sortun received the James Beard Foundation’s award for “Best Chef Northeast” in 2005 and wrote the cookbook Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean. Her newest restaurant, Sarma, opened at the end of 2013 in Somerville, Massachusetts.
When I arrive in Istanbul, I usually arrive in the afternoon and try to stay awake through an early dinner. If I am by myself, I shoot for dinner at the bar at Yeni Lokanta, which Şemsa Denizsel [chef of Kantin] had told me about, and have [Civan Er’s] dried eggplant mantı and hummus with za’atar. When I was there last October, I fell in love with a stuffed grape leaf that was round and flat and crispy from the oven – it looked like a small grape leaf pie – and topped with labne. In fact, that last time I loved the experience so much, I visited two nights during my stay and brought some friends with me on the second visit so I could try more things! Everyone was so friendly and it was a nice relaxing spot to enjoy delicious food on my own.
Read the rest of Sortun’s favorites at Culinary Backstreets.
In case you didn’t know, Istanbul Eats now lives over at Culinary Backstreets. Same great culinary walks, same great culinary writing. You’ll be redirected there in a few seconds!
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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
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no responses - Posted 04.25.18
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no responses - Posted 04.16.18
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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
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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
1 response - Posted 03.25.14
It’s hard to imagine Istanbul without its pastane windows stacked high with trays of ivory-colored flaky mille-feuille and coolers lined with row after row of chocolate-topped éclairs. And of course, the sweets scene in Istanbul would not be complete without the much-loved profiterole.Generations of İstanbullu have taken pleasure in these French exotics, but at ...continue
no responses - Posted 03.13.14
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no responses - Posted 03.06.14
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