Feb 08
Monday
48 Hours in Istanbul: An Eater’s Guide
(Editor’s Note: The New York Times’ travel section recently ran a “36 Hours in Istanbul” feature that was low on good eating suggestions. Prompted by the Times piece, today’s post is a food-centric “48 Hours in Istanbul” guide we prepared a few months ago for a local magazine.)
Day One: Turkey’s Regional Flavors in Beyoglu
Breakfast: Van Kahvalti Evi in Cihangir
In the city of Van, not far from Turkey’s border with Iran, breakfast has been turned into serious business: the town is filled with dozens of Kahvaltı Salonu’s – breakfast salons – that serve a dizzying assortment of farm fresh breakfast items day and night. Continue…
All entries filed under Features
Sultanahmet’s Dining Secrets
4 responses - Posted 01.29.10
Call it the Sultanahmet Squeeze: How to stay close to the monuments of the Old City and avoid eating in tourist traps? We get this question a lot. We. Since the Sultanahmet area is primarily a tourism zone, locals-only haunts are few and far between. At most restaurants, prices tend ...continue
4 responses - Posted 01.29.10
Call it the Sultanahmet Squeeze: How to stay close to the monuments of the Old City and avoid eating in tourist traps? We get this question a lot. We. Since the Sultanahmet area is primarily a tourism zone, locals-only haunts are few and far between. At most restaurants, prices tend ...continue
Beans: An Investigative Report
1 response - Posted 12.31.09
(Editor's Note: In honor of New Year's Day, we are rerunning this feature, which was originally posted in April of this year. Happy New Year to all our readers and keep coming back for more in 2010!) Until visiting some of Istanbul’s shrines to the baked bean, we generally regarded the ...continue
1 response - Posted 12.31.09
(Editor's Note: In honor of New Year's Day, we are rerunning this feature, which was originally posted in April of this year. Happy New Year to all our readers and keep coming back for more in 2010!) Until visiting some of Istanbul’s shrines to the baked bean, we generally regarded the ...continue
Istanbul’s Top 5 Street Foods: #1 – Sabirtasi’s Icli Kofte
1 response - Posted 12.04.09
(Editors's Note: This is the final installment in our (highly subjective) look at Istanbul's top 5 street foods.) For years on Istiklal Caddesi, just beyond Galatasaray High School, in one calm spot stood the beatific Ali Bey, an angel in a white doctor’s coat offering salvation in the form of golden ...continue
1 response - Posted 12.04.09
(Editors's Note: This is the final installment in our (highly subjective) look at Istanbul's top 5 street foods.) For years on Istiklal Caddesi, just beyond Galatasaray High School, in one calm spot stood the beatific Ali Bey, an angel in a white doctor’s coat offering salvation in the form of golden ...continue
Istanbul’s Top 5 Street Foods: #2 – Çitir Simit Bakery
no responses - Posted 12.03.09
Let’s hear it for the (deceptively simple) simit. With only a few ingredients to its name, this sesame-encrusted bread ring has gone on to become the most ubiquitous snack in Istanbul, the undisputed heavyweight champ of the city’s street food scene. In fact, in recent years, the plucky simit has ...continue
no responses - Posted 12.03.09
Let’s hear it for the (deceptively simple) simit. With only a few ingredients to its name, this sesame-encrusted bread ring has gone on to become the most ubiquitous snack in Istanbul, the undisputed heavyweight champ of the city’s street food scene. In fact, in recent years, the plucky simit has ...continue
Istanbul’s Top 5 Street Foods: #3 – Kizilkayalar’s Wet Burger
1 response - Posted 12.02.09
(Editor’s Note: this is the third installment in our look at Istanbul’s top 5 street foods.) The sign may read “Wet Burger” (“Islak Burger” in Turkish), but there’s a lot more to say about Kizilkayalar’s moist mini patties than that. How about “Heavenly Slider,” “Binge Drinker’s Delight,” or “The Best 2 ...continue
1 response - Posted 12.02.09
(Editor’s Note: this is the third installment in our look at Istanbul’s top 5 street foods.) The sign may read “Wet Burger” (“Islak Burger” in Turkish), but there’s a lot more to say about Kizilkayalar’s moist mini patties than that. How about “Heavenly Slider,” “Binge Drinker’s Delight,” or “The Best 2 ...continue
Istanbul’s Top 5 Street Foods: #4 – Maya Kumpir
3 responses - Posted 12.01.09
(Editor's Note: this is the second installment in our look at Istanbul's top 5 street foods. It was written by Jason D. Jones, an American expat living in Istanbul.) Although it’s been a staple food for many civilizations for over 2,000 years, the potato has largely been relegated to the role ...continue
3 responses - Posted 12.01.09
(Editor's Note: this is the second installment in our look at Istanbul's top 5 street foods. It was written by Jason D. Jones, an American expat living in Istanbul.) Although it’s been a staple food for many civilizations for over 2,000 years, the potato has largely been relegated to the role ...continue
Istanbul’s Top 5 Street Foods: #5 – The Galata Cucumber Man
2 responses - Posted 11.30.09
(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 ...continue
2 responses - Posted 11.30.09
(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 ...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
Döner: Heavy Rotation
1 response - Posted 10.16.09
(Editor’s Note: This guest post was written by Atilla Kapar, author of the blog Turkiye ve Dunyadan Lezzetler (“Good Tastes from Turkey and the World”) and a Turkish food enthusiast who, as he describes it, “reviews lesser known restaurants in İstanbul that offer great tasting food.” Atilla is a graduate of ...continue
1 response - Posted 10.16.09
(Editor’s Note: This guest post was written by Atilla Kapar, author of the blog Turkiye ve Dunyadan Lezzetler (“Good Tastes from Turkey and the World”) and a Turkish food enthusiast who, as he describes it, “reviews lesser known restaurants in İstanbul that offer great tasting food.” Atilla is a graduate of ...continue
Istanbul Eats’ First Photo Competition
1 response - Posted 09.24.09
We are happy to announce the start of our first ever photography competition. Open to all, the contest’s first prize is lunch at one of the restaurants reviewed on our site (winner’s choice). Subject: "Istanbul Food Culture" Deadline: October 31, 2009 (Note: Due to popular demand, we've extended the deadline to ...continue
1 response - Posted 09.24.09
We are happy to announce the start of our first ever photography competition. Open to all, the contest’s first prize is lunch at one of the restaurants reviewed on our site (winner’s choice). Subject: "Istanbul Food Culture" Deadline: October 31, 2009 (Note: Due to popular demand, we've extended the deadline to ...continue
A (Shady) Place in the Sun: Picnicking in Istanbul’s Concrete Jungle
4 responses - Posted 08.27.09
Summer months in Istanbul can be oppressively hot. In a city that seems more prone to laying asphalt than planting trees, a public place in the shade is hard to find. Though many Istanbulites escape to the green spaces outside of the city on weekends, we’ve compiled a few inner-city ...continue
4 responses - Posted 08.27.09
Summer months in Istanbul can be oppressively hot. In a city that seems more prone to laying asphalt than planting trees, a public place in the shade is hard to find. Though many Istanbulites escape to the green spaces outside of the city on weekends, we’ve compiled a few inner-city ...continue
The Grand Bazaar: Come for the Shopping, Stay for the Food
2 responses - Posted 07.15.09
We like to think of Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar – open since 1461 – as the world’s oldest shopping mall. If that’s the case, shouldn’t the Grand Bazaar be home to the world’s oldest food court? That may be taking the analogy too far, but for us, the Grand Bazaar can ...continue
2 responses - Posted 07.15.09
We like to think of Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar – open since 1461 – as the world’s oldest shopping mall. If that’s the case, shouldn’t the Grand Bazaar be home to the world’s oldest food court? That may be taking the analogy too far, but for us, the Grand Bazaar can ...continue
Brews With Views
1 response - Posted 05.25.09
The mojito may go the way of the grasshopper and other forgotten cocktails, but a cold beer accompanied by a panoramic view of the waters and hills of Istanbul will never go out of style. Though the guidebooks may steer you elsewhere, we’ve compiled a short list of lesser-known but ...continue
1 response - Posted 05.25.09
The mojito may go the way of the grasshopper and other forgotten cocktails, but a cold beer accompanied by a panoramic view of the waters and hills of Istanbul will never go out of style. Though the guidebooks may steer you elsewhere, we’ve compiled a short list of lesser-known but ...continue
Çiya: Loquat Kebabs and Mesopotamian Truffles at Istanbul’s Culinary Shrine
6 responses - Posted 05.06.09
For us, one of the highlights of spring in Istanbul is a visit to Çiya Sofrası, the Asian-side eatery that is very likely the best restaurant in Istanbul. It’s certainly not the fanciest or most cutting-edge place in town, but we rarely leave Çiya without having a profoundly new and ...continue
6 responses - Posted 05.06.09
For us, one of the highlights of spring in Istanbul is a visit to Çiya Sofrası, the Asian-side eatery that is very likely the best restaurant in Istanbul. It’s certainly not the fanciest or most cutting-edge place in town, but we rarely leave Çiya without having a profoundly new and ...continue
Kaymak: The Heavenly Cream
7 responses - Posted 04.01.09
In our imagination, kaymak - the delicious Turkish version of clotted cream - is the only food served in heaven, where angels in white robes dish out plate after plate of the cloudlike stuff to the dearly departed, who no longer have to worry about cholesterol counts and visits to ...continue
7 responses - Posted 04.01.09
In our imagination, kaymak - the delicious Turkish version of clotted cream - is the only food served in heaven, where angels in white robes dish out plate after plate of the cloudlike stuff to the dearly departed, who no longer have to worry about cholesterol counts and visits to ...continue

