Mar 22
Monday
Badehane: Asmalimescit Gone GaGa
One recent Wednesday night found us outside of Badehane, in Beyoglu’s Asmalimescit area, packed in like sardines. We were pleasantly pickling ourselves with raki while listening to the sweet sounds of clarinet virtuoso Selim Sesler and his Roma orchestra when someone at an adjacent table said, “This place used to be cool, but now…”
Having a look around Asmalimescit these days, it’s easy to get nostalgic for a time when this little district was a bit less developed. Continue…
All entries filed under this archive
Beyoğlu Öğretmenevi: The Teacher’s Lounge
7 responses - Posted 02.15.10
Like Atatürk statues and crescent-and-star flags etched into the sides of mountains, the öğretmenevi (“teacher’s house”) is an integral part of the Turkish landscape. Found in almost every city in Turkey, these government-run institutions serve as affordable guesthouses for educators on the road and – since anyone is welcome if ...continue
7 responses - Posted 02.15.10
Like Atatürk statues and crescent-and-star flags etched into the sides of mountains, the öğretmenevi (“teacher’s house”) is an integral part of the Turkish landscape. Found in almost every city in Turkey, these government-run institutions serve as affordable guesthouses for educators on the road and – since anyone is welcome if ...continue
Istanbul Eats Drinks: Asma Altı Café Bar
no responses - Posted 02.05.10
Models don’t hang out at Asma Alti Café Bar and Mustafa, the bartender, isn’t experimenting with lost Ottoman-era concoctions or any dry ice hocus-pocus. In fact, order anything but an Efes draft – an Efes Light, for instance – and watch the waiter scramble off to the corner store to ...continue
no responses - Posted 02.05.10
Models don’t hang out at Asma Alti Café Bar and Mustafa, the bartender, isn’t experimenting with lost Ottoman-era concoctions or any dry ice hocus-pocus. In fact, order anything but an Efes draft – an Efes Light, for instance – and watch the waiter scramble off to the corner store to ...continue
Çukur Meyhane: When Liver Met Hamsi
3 responses - Posted 01.25.10
It wasn’t quite as dramatic as Meg Ryan’s big moment at Katz’s deli in “When Harry Met Sally,” but a low-register, guttural moan of pleasure was detected from our table upon our tasting of the shredded celery root in yogurt, a house specialty meze at Beyoğlu’s Çukur Meyhane. And we ...continue
3 responses - Posted 01.25.10
It wasn’t quite as dramatic as Meg Ryan’s big moment at Katz’s deli in “When Harry Met Sally,” but a low-register, guttural moan of pleasure was detected from our table upon our tasting of the shredded celery root in yogurt, a house specialty meze at Beyoğlu’s Çukur Meyhane. And we ...continue
Sofyalı 9: Keeping it Real in Asmalımescit
3 responses - Posted 12.28.09
It’s hard not to feel pangs of nostalgia when walking through Beyoğlu’s booming Asmalımescit neighborhood these days (and nights). The old corner butcher shop with its window display of lamb carcasses? Gone and replaced by a generic bar imaginatively named “The Corner.” The veteran grocery store where the colorful and ...continue
3 responses - Posted 12.28.09
It’s hard not to feel pangs of nostalgia when walking through Beyoğlu’s booming Asmalımescit neighborhood these days (and nights). The old corner butcher shop with its window display of lamb carcasses? Gone and replaced by a generic bar imaginatively named “The Corner.” The veteran grocery store where the colorful and ...continue
Istanbul Eats Drinks: Otantik Türkü Bar
3 responses - Posted 12.21.09
One night in Otantik, a Türkü (Turkish folk music) bar in Beyoğlu, delivers all the emotional peaks and valleys of life itself. As the saz-strumming bard on stage moans out the first few bars of a familiar song of lost love, even the table of stony-faced, rakı-drenched fellows in leather ...continue
3 responses - Posted 12.21.09
One night in Otantik, a Türkü (Turkish folk music) bar in Beyoğlu, delivers all the emotional peaks and valleys of life itself. As the saz-strumming bard on stage moans out the first few bars of a familiar song of lost love, even the table of stony-faced, rakı-drenched fellows in leather ...continue
Istanbul Eats Drinks: Araf Cafe Bar
3 responses - Posted 12.11.09
Editor’s note: Since we realize that those who love to eat usually also like to drink, we are introducing a new feature, “Istanbul Eats Drinks,” an occasional look at some of the city’s more appealing bars and lounges, places that still have that authentic Istanbul vibe. Istanbul: capitol of contradictions. East ...continue
3 responses - Posted 12.11.09
Editor’s note: Since we realize that those who love to eat usually also like to drink, we are introducing a new feature, “Istanbul Eats Drinks,” an occasional look at some of the city’s more appealing bars and lounges, places that still have that authentic Istanbul vibe. Istanbul: capitol of contradictions. East ...continue
Adana Özasmaaltı: Club Kebab
2 responses - Posted 11.13.09
In London or New York, one could spend hours before lunch deciding among Eritrean, Guatemalan or that Jamaican jerked chicken joint on the corner. The choice in Istanbul, for the most part, is comfortingly simple: “fish or meat?” On one recent lunch run we had with Mehmet Bey, an Asian-sider who ...continue
2 responses - Posted 11.13.09
In London or New York, one could spend hours before lunch deciding among Eritrean, Guatemalan or that Jamaican jerked chicken joint on the corner. The choice in Istanbul, for the most part, is comfortingly simple: “fish or meat?” On one recent lunch run we had with Mehmet Bey, an Asian-sider who ...continue
Grifin: Seafood Oasis
4 responses - Posted 10.23.09
Editor's note: Due to a number of troubling reports, we can no longer recommend this restaurant. Though the view remains as fine as ever, it seems the kitchen is no longer holding up its end of the bargain. The good news is that Tarihi Karaköy Balıkçısı, located just downstairs from Grifin ...continue
4 responses - Posted 10.23.09
Editor's note: Due to a number of troubling reports, we can no longer recommend this restaurant. Though the view remains as fine as ever, it seems the kitchen is no longer holding up its end of the bargain. The good news is that Tarihi Karaköy Balıkçısı, located just downstairs from Grifin ...continue
Kosinitza: Trattoria à la Turca
no responses - Posted 10.20.09
Editor's note: This guest post was written by Kathryn Tomasetti and Tristan Rutherford, freelance travel journalists for The Guardian, The Independent and Time Out, among others. Their website can be found here. Kosinitza is located in the charming Bosphorus-side village of Kuzguncuk, a short bus ride north of Üsküdar. It’s a time-forgotten ...continue
no responses - Posted 10.20.09
Editor's note: This guest post was written by Kathryn Tomasetti and Tristan Rutherford, freelance travel journalists for The Guardian, The Independent and Time Out, among others. Their website can be found here. Kosinitza is located in the charming Bosphorus-side village of Kuzguncuk, a short bus ride north of Üsküdar. It’s a time-forgotten ...continue
Antiochia: Style and Taste
12 responses - Posted 08.16.09
In Istanbul, we’ve noted an inverse relationship between a restaurant’s atmosphere and what’s coming out of the kitchen. In most cases, as furniture design goes slick, as bathrooms get properly lit and ventilated, as the wait staff becomes customer-savvy, the quality of the kitchen inevitably goes down. Presumably, there are ...continue
12 responses - Posted 08.16.09
In Istanbul, we’ve noted an inverse relationship between a restaurant’s atmosphere and what’s coming out of the kitchen. In most cases, as furniture design goes slick, as bathrooms get properly lit and ventilated, as the wait staff becomes customer-savvy, the quality of the kitchen inevitably goes down. Presumably, there are ...continue