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Reviews (Eats) - Category Archive

Jul 05
Monday

Padişah Sofrasi: Roaster’s Delight

Filed under Reviews (Eats)


In an age where even Wal-Mart is selling ready-to-go rotisserie chicken, that simple but lovable version of roasted bird has become something of a laughable cliché, no longer seen as a cure for hunger but rather as a symptom of a society too busy to cook for itself.

Still, we remain big fans of spit-roasted chicken. There’s something captivating and utterly appetite-inducing about watching that row of trussed chickens turning on the rotisserie’s spit, like a line of self-basting chorus girls putting on their show. Let’s face it: done right, there are few things more satisfying than a golden roasted rotisserie chicken. Continue…

Culinary Backstreets
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All entries filed under Reviews (Eats)


Omur Restaurant: It’s Thymus Time
1 response - Posted 07.02.10
The Turkish kitchen has a refreshing way of keeping things simple – apply spanking fresh ingredients to a natural heat source, flip, and serve. Such is the case with uykuluk, or sweetbreads, our latest culinary obsession in Istanbul. And there is no better place to feast on this lovely, creamy ...continue
Bursa Kebapçısı: Good İskender, No Debating It
2 responses - Posted 06.28.10
According to the website of its registered trademark holder, Kebapçı İskender , it was a moment of great culinary revelation when the ingredients of İskender kebap first came together on a plate in Bursa back in the late 19th century. But we imagine this kebab’s creation as an elaborate ploy ...continue
Pamuk Usta’s Nohut Dürüm: Garbanzo Gone Gonzo
3 responses - Posted 06.21.10
In previous posts, we’ve reported on the unusual eating habits in Turkey’s hot and dusty Southeast. In Gaziantep, we noted the “wake and flake” baklava breakfast. In Urfa it was a morning dose of grilled liver. But in the town of Nizip (and elsewhere in the area), the favored first ...continue
Istanbul Eats on the Road: In the Republic of Köfte
1 response - Posted 06.18.10
(Editor’s Note: This guest post – from the far reaches of the former Ottoman Empire – came to us courtesy of Sevin Turan, an Istanbul-based journalist and translator and a member of the Istanbul Eats team.) “Welcome the youngest republic of the world!” This is how we were greeted when our ...continue
Inci Pastanesi: Cream Puff vs. Wrecking Ball
10 responses - Posted 06.16.10
We’d like to like the profiterole at Inci Pastanesi on Istiklal. And we’d like to believe their claim that the profiterole was invented on the premises in the 1940’s. But we like Inci for non-culinary reasons. This old school Beyoglu pastry shop has been spooning out cream puffs covered in ...continue
Istanbul Eats on the Road: Bahce Balik in Kaş
1 response - Posted 06.11.10
The sign on the glass cooler at the Kaş Fisherman’s Cooperative reads like a huge Bible passage on a billboard beside an interstate promising salvation, “Balik var!” We’ve got fish. It was a promise of false hope. Inside that glass-fronted case there were no fish. Nor were there any at the fishmonger ...continue
Bilse Restaurant: Paleo Kebab
4 responses - Posted 06.07.10
(Editor's Note: A reader has written in to inform us that due to a lack of demand, this restaurant is no longer serving cağ Kebab. For those interested in trying this great meat dish, Şehzade Erzurum Cağ Kebabi in Sirkeci is worth a try. It has great cağ and a steady ...continue
Antebi: Straight Outta Antep
8 responses - Posted 06.04.10
On Saturday afternoon, in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep, our baklava was neatly wrapped with plastic and then paper, tagged “Antebi, Istanbul” in black marker and escorted to the bus station by either Levent or Bülent of Zeki İnal Baklavacısı. While we slept that night, our baklava passed through ...continue
Huseyin’s Çiğ Köfte Cart: Seriously Handmade
3 responses - Posted 05.24.10
Hands stained red by pepper paste is an occupational hazard of the wandering çiğ köfte man. “Machine-made doesn’t look like this,” said Huseyin usta with the intensity of a misunderstood artist, thrusting up a freshly formed lump of çiğ köfte. Just as the çiğ köfte’s red pepper left its mark ...continue
BBQ Chicken Café: Seoul Chicken
4 responses - Posted 05.17.10
A rather intriguing bird named BBQ Chicken Café recently landed in the heart of Istiklal Caddesi, Beyoglu’s busy pedestrian-only boulevard. A large, two-story restaurant with a big, bottle shaped character that stands outside and accosts passersby, BBQ belongs to a rapidly expanding Korean fried chicken chain whose claim to fame ...continue

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