(Editor’s Note: This review originally appeared on May 18, 2009.)
Mehmet Demir may not be one of Istanbul’s better-known restaurateurs, but he certainly is among its shrewdest. In fact, he has the best business plan in town: Demir runs a bustling business that has customers literally lining up in the street to taste his grub, doing so with minimal overhead, zero rent and a staff of two. Of course, working out of a wheeled cart that has no fixed address helps keep costs down (and insures that customers have no place but the street to line up). But it also means that Mehmet can channel all those savings into what he serves, which in this case is a monstrous and delicious breakfast sandwich.

Demir is part of Istanbul’s great food on wheels tradition, with different carts that sell everything from rolls to grilled meatballs making appearances throughout the city at different times of the day, and even according to the seasons. One of our favorite cart snacks can only be had in late spring and summer, when vendors selling peeled and salted cucumbers materialize, only to disappear with the first sign of fall.

Although Demir works from a cart, there’s something more permanent about his operation. For the last 11 years, Demir and his wife Ser have been selling their sandwiches from the same corner off Istiklal Caddesi, the pedestrian-only boulevard that runs down from Taksim Square, starting at 6:30 am and working until about 11 am or until they run out of bread, whichever comes first. The Demirs’ three-wheeled wooden cart is topped with a glass-lined box that holds crusty, bakery-fresh mini loafs on a top shelf, and below that a smorgasbord of breakfast ingredients: feta and string cheese, sliced tomatoes, green peppers, parsley, hard boiled eggs and some mystery meat he calls “chicken ham.” Most of Demir’s customers –hungry office workers on their way to their jobs – get all of the above crammed into a loaf that first gets treated with a schmear of zesty black olive paste (we prefer to order ours “etsiz,” without the meat). The way all the ingredients work together – the salty tang of the cheese and olive paste, the crunch of the pepper, the coolness of the tomatoes, the freshness of the parsley and the pleasing unctuousness of the egg – makes for something very satisfying. More discerning types, meanwhile, order the “bal kaymak” sandwich, a loaf spread with honey and the dreamy Turkish version of clotted cream. A very fine way to start the day. (For more information, check out this earlier post about kaymak.)

A whole sandwich will set you back three-and-a-half lira, while a half loaf – a mini bomb that should leave most office workers dazed in their cubicle – costs only two lira. So, if you happen to be walking down Istiklal during the week, we suggest you drop by Mehmet Demir’s breakfast cart – even if you’re not on your way to work. Day in and day out, this sandwich shop is on a roll.

Address: corner of Istiklal Caddesi and Deva Cikmazi (across from the Malatya Pazari store)
Telephone: no phone

(Photo by Yigal Schleifer)

(Editor’s Note: This post is part of our occasional “Since You Asked…” advice column. We welcome our readers’ questions, so feel free to send any you might have to istanbuleats@gmail.com)

Hi!
I’ll have an 8-hour layover in Istanbul in a couple of weeks. I was wondering if you have any suggestions for places to go for a good Turkish breakfast and lunch. I love to eat at small, local places serving authentic food. Sorry! I forgot to add that I prefer restaurants near the Yesilkoy area as I have to board an international flight (which I cannot afford to miss).
Frequent Eater, Buffalo, NY

Dear FE,
First off, with 8 hours you can safely venture into nearly any part of the city and safely make it back to the airport on time. But to err on the safe side, let’s limit your grazing territory to the southernmost neighborhoods of the Old City, which are the ones nearest to the airport.

First, Kumkapi:
We suggest taking a taxi straight to the Kumkapi neighborhood to save time. The fare shouldn’t cost more than 15 TL and takes about 15 minutes via the coastal road. After passing under the viaduct you will enter a street filled with restaurants. Continue straight toward the central fountain and make a left on Ordekli Bakkal Sokak. About 100 meters down this street on the left you will find Boris’in Yeri.

This place has been keeping Kumkapi’s restaurants and residents stocked with bal/kaymak, a rich buffalo milk cream served under a blanket of honey, for almost a century. And from the looks of the place, little has changed since Boris first opened shop. Old cracked tile floors, marble tables worn from use and a pair of stainless steel coolers the size of Buicks are about the only decor you’ll find here. But a plate of kaymak, alongside fried eggs or a Turkish style scramble with tomatoes and peppers, is the perfect way to start your eight-hour eating spree.

From Boris’in Yeri, we suggest a stroll through the residential streets of the neighborhood, once a quiet Greek and Armenian district, where grand churches set in peaceful courtyards seem to be tucked around every corner. The narrow streets lined with crumbling late-Ottoman homes, now inhabited by a vibrant community of Anatolians, migrants from the former Soviet Union and North Africans, offer an interesting glimpse into contemporary urban life within the City walls.

Loop back to the fountain now and follow the street lined with fish restaurants out to the sea. Cross the coastal road, carefully, and check out the day’s fresh catch at the fish market. This is an atmospheric place to familiarize yourself with the bounty of Istanbul’s local waters. There are some simple fish sandwich stands tucked among the fishmongers, but we suggest saving yourself for lunch in Samatya.

Keeping the shore on your left you will now set off for Samatya. The walk could take 30-45 minutes depending on your speed, so you might want to fortify yourself with a quick simit or acma by the ferry dock at Yenikapi.

You will walk along the seaside, passing remnants of the old city walls, small fishing boats bobbing in the sea and wide recreational green spaces. Continue on until you see road signs for Samatya.  Here you will cross the coastal road once again and follow the road into the center of Samatya.

Samatya, also once a largely Greek and Armenian neighborhood, has several lovely small streets to explore all in the general vicinity of the fish market.

When you arrive at the nabe’s small fish market, you’ll see a little fish shack called Kucuk Ev. This is our favorite spot in Samatya and provides a front row seat to the hustle and bustle of the fish market. At Kucuk Ev, everything is fresh, local, inexpensive and served quickly. For a full review of Kucuk Ev click here.

If you are having a kebab craving, just across from Kucuk Ev is a branch of the venerable kebab chain, Develi. We generally keep away from chains but this one serves interesting seasonal kebabs, a fine lahmacun and the Southeastern specialty dessert, kunefe.

After lunch you will probably need to catch a cab to the airport. The waiters at Develi can call one, as it can be difficult to flag one on the street in Samatya. When you get to the airport, have a walk through the food court and thank yourself for not wasting your Istanbul meals there.

Boris’in Yeri
Address: Ordekli Bakkal Sok. 17, Kumkapi
Telephone: (212) 517 -2256

Kucuk Ev
Address: Kuleli Cad. 46, Samatya, Istanbul
Telephone: (212) 588-5101

(photo by Mr. Mystery, via Wikimedia Commons

(Editor’s Note: This review of one of our all-time favorite places first appeared on April 1, 2009.)
The no-frills Lades 2 presents diners with that age-old question: what to eat first, the chicken or the eggs? This restaurant – a Turkish version of the American-style greasy spoon diner – specializes in all things fowl, from chicken soup, to a variety of egg dishes and even a dessert that, we kid you not, weds a thick, milky pudding with chicken. Even the name – “lades” means wishbone in Turkish – follows the chicken theme.

Lades 2 is located on a side street off the busy pedestrian-only Istiklal Cadessi, in a lively area filled with cafes and small nightclubs specializing in Turkish folk music. Across the street is the original Lades, a more respectable joint that serves classic Turkish food to a busy lunch crowd (and worth a visit in its own right). Lades 2 has a more proletarian vibe, with tables of mostly unaccompanied men scarfing down their food in a kind of monastic silence, broken only by the waiters shouting to the two short-order cooks in the back.

The menu is basic. If it’s chicken you want, you can order the restorative soup – not far off from what you would get in a Jewish delicatessen in New York – which comes with little strands of noodle floating in it, or “tavuk yağda,” a stir-fry of shredded chicken and hot green peppers in a tangy tomato sauce. Eggs come two ways: fried or scrambled with sautéed onions, green peppers and tomato in a dish called menemen. Most patrons order their fried eggs cooked together with either sucuk (a garlicky Turkish sausage) or pastirma (dried cured beef) and even ground beef. It’s greasy goodness, served up in its own individual skillet.

Of course, no visit to Lades 2 would be complete without a taste of their excellent “chicken” pudding, called tavuk göğsü (literally “chicken breast”). You won’t be biting into chunks of bird in your pudding. Rather, the meat is poached and then pounded until it is nothing but wispy fibers, adding texture and the subtlest flavoring to the white pudding, which is served with a dusting of cinnamon. Don’t be scared about ordering it. After all, you know what they do to chickens in Lades 2.

Address: Sadri Alisik Sokak 14, Beyoglu
Telephone: 212-251-3202

Van, of course, is the home and birthplace of the monstrous morning repast known as, well, the “Van Breakfast.” It’s a city that runs on the meal, with numerous “breakfast salons” (as they are called in Turkish) serving up breakfast and nothing but all day long. Like Vegas, Van even has its own “strip,” a pedestrian-only alley filled with restaurants that’s known as “Breakfast Makers Street” (Kahvalticilar Sokak, in Turkish)

As we’ve written here before, this boffo breakfast has been working its way west, with several Van breakfast places opening up in Istanbul in the last few years. But, as much as we love going out for a Van breakfast in Istanbul, we were happy that after an absence of several years, we recently had a chance to go back to Van and get our breakfast right at the source.

Like in Vegas, a visitor to Van is forced to choose between the glamour of one of the big, glitzy places on the “strip,” or to take their chances at a smaller, out-of-the-way spot where they might have an easier time getting a place at the table and perhaps more personal attention from the dealer, in this case the “usta” at the front who is in charge of putting together the numerous small plates that make up the Van breakfast.

In the name of thoroughness, we decided to split the pot and try two different breakfast spots. Following the recommendation of the deskman at our hotel, we first headed over to Kahvalticilar Sokak to try the offerings at Sütçü Fevzi, one of the strip’s veteran strongholds. We sat down at one of the outdoor tables and no quicker than you can say “deal ‘em,” our table was covered with food – a plate with cucumber and impossibly red tomatoes sprinkled with red pepper flakes, another plate holding some of the freshest-tasting butter we’ve ever had, very tasty cacik (chopped cucumber and parsley mixed with strained yogurt), and of course, a block of the superb local cheese, a white cheese mixed with brined wild herbs. Next to these plates was another, this one holding a generous amount of glorious kaymak covered in Van’s excellent local honey and a chopped walnuts. We knew we weren’t in Istanbul when a young fellow wearing rubber boots showed up carrying a steaming pile of freshly baked flatbreads, some of which soon made it to our table.

Already stuffed, we headed away from the breakfast strip and towards the heart of town to try the offerings at Imsak Kahvalti Salonu, an unassuming hole-in-the-wall breakfast spot we ate in a few years. Run by the self-effacing Omer (pictured above), Imsak does a brisk trade serving hungry locals, many of whom swing by to get a breakfast package to go.

We sat down in the small fluorescent-lit dining room, its walls painted a disturbing shade of neon lime, and ordered a small breakfast (if such a thing even exists in Van). Where Sütçü Fevzi’s dairy products had a kind of refined polish to them, Imsak’s seemed tuned to a tangier frequency, the cacik, butter and brined herb cheese having a more pronounced – in a pleasant way – flavor to them. Our beloved kaymak, meanwhile, came covered in a thick layer of lovely honey and a generous amount of chopped walnuts and, as a bonus, chopped pistachios. It was really more like dessert than breakfast and, as we saw it, we had just hit the jackpot.

Sütçü Fevzi
Address: Kahvalticilar Sok. No: 9, Van
Telephone: 0432-216-6618
Web: www.sutcufevzi.com

Imsak Kahvalti Salonu
Mareşal Fevzi Çakmak Cad. Bayram Oteli Alti, Van
Telephone: 0432-216-0921
Web: www.imsakkahvalt

(photo by Yigal Schleifer)

To the list of the “esnaf nouveau” in town we should add the restaurant/café at the Istanbul Culinary Institute, a stylish spot that since its opening a few years ago has become something of a neighborhood institution.

The idea here is simple: let the students of the culinary school upstairs prepare the food for the customers downstairs. The menu changes frequently depending on what is being taught, but it always features a selection of classics from the Turkish kitchen, sometimes made with organic fruits and vegetables grown on the ICI’s farm in Turkey’s Thrace region, near the Greek border.

Although it might sound like there’s an element of culinary risk in putting yourself in the hands of neophytes, we’ve always been happy with what comes out of the Institute’s kitchen. On a recent visit, we had very well-made mucver, zucchini fritters that were exceptionally fluffy and tasty – much lighter than other version of the dish that we have had around town – as well a nicely-done eggplant stew. Our dessert, a traditional milk pudding with stewed sour cherries at the bottom, was also very satisfying. And unlike dining at an old school esnaf lokanta, you can have a glass of wine with your meal and a cappuccino to finish it off.

There’s zero risk, meanwhile, when it comes to the restaurant/café’s interior – a stylish space that successfully fuses industrial cool with homey warmth. It’s the kind of space that wouldn’t seem out of place in New York, London, or any other capital of global chic.

Address: Meşrutiyet cad. No: 59, Beyoglu
Telephone: (212) 251-2214
Web: www.istanbulculinary.com/eng/

(photo by Yigal Schleifer)

“On Sundays, we have a staff of twenty-five. People drive in from Istanbul just for breakfast,” said the owner of Mavi Boncuk, a breakfast garden-cum-guesthouse located in the idyllic village of Cumalikizik near Bursa. The focal point of Mavi Boncuk may be the quaint little stone and timber village houses where guests can stay, but all of the action takes place in the sprawling multi-tiered garden where breakfast is served. On one recent Saturday night, after the staff had all left, we fell into a deep sleep to the soft splat of mulberries falling from the trees in the garden and the anticipation of what would be a major breakfast event.

The next morning, before breakfast, a quick stroll around the narrow stone-paved alleys of the village offered a sneak preview of what our breakfast held in store. Around one corner, a spry old woman in Anatolian camouflage – baggy pants, shirt, headscarf of three different floral prints – beckoned us into the courtyard of her home to show us what she was up to. A wide pan of blackberry au jus was bubbling over a fire of twigs. “I gather the blackberries and raspberries with my husband,” she jerked a thumb in her husband’s direction without looking at him, “I make the jams, jar it and sell it. My daughter-in-law lives right upstairs but she does nothing!”

Her husband took us out to the garden to sample ripe blackberries and divine raspberries. As we picked and ate at will, he fielded a telephone call about the availability of river trout. Yes, he could source them, no problem. These villagers are clearly in the business of food.

Just down the way, under a jutting bay window overhang painted pastel blue, a fat lady sat in front of a table filled with bags of tarhana, dehydrated soup powder of wheat and yogurt, brown eggs, jars of deeply hued chestnut flower honey and bags of erişte, a sort of Anatolian noodle. Following a stream that ran right down the middle of the stony path, we found another old lady with jars of bright red tomato and pepper paste. “It’s spicy, son,” she said as we walked by, “Spicy.” Around another corner we found a young lady watching over a table of long spirally loaves looking like a giant croissant, alongside hearty, dark wheels of bread dusted in flour.

Then the narrow street opened all at once onto a wide plaza where much of the same foodstuff was for sale in great abundance. At the center of the plaza sat a beautiful big red tractor flanked by two boisterous old farmers selling blackberries and raspberries at sinfully low prices. It seemed everyone in this quaint little village was selling something delicious and they all looked happy and well fed. Wandering around the village, tasting some of this and buying a jar of that, we felt like a certain character in the children’s book Charlotte’s Web delighting in a veritable smorgasbord.

By the time we returned to the Mavi Boncuk – our appetite peaked by the morning stroll – breakfast was slipping into high gear. As promised, there were dozens of ladies in colorful headscarves darting around – one with toasted bread, another concerned only with the kaymak, two that worked the gozleme station. Tea, though, was the business of a group of nimble young men in uniform, served in big brass samovars requiring yet another staffer,  charged with doling out hot coals from a barbeque pit.

We found a table under a tree near two dogs tethered to a fence post. As they bounced around at the end of their chains, another dog slinked around the breakfast area freely but the waiter told us not to worry, “He’s blind.” And then breakfast was served.

The final count was two plates of honey, a fat roll of kaymak, three different jams, three local cheeses (“local,” meaning within walking distance), two breads, two different bowls of olives, yogurt, cucumbers and tomato wedges, a beautiful char-freckled gozleme stuffed with cheese and potatoes and, of course, a hulking, piping hot samovar filled with tea.

In previous travels in Turkey, we’ve happened into idyllic farming villages like this one only to find the breakfast table set with the same packaged foods we find in the supermarkets of Istanbul. In our experience, an entirely farm-to-table meal can be surprisingly hard to find. However, our breakfast in Cumalikizik calls for reconsideration. Whether the folks in Cumalikizik got the slowfood memo or they are just upholding an entirely logical rural supply chain, we will never know. We will, however, be looking out for more culinary destinations like this one.

Now, if we close our eyes and try to conjure the quintessential Bursa flavor, spinning meat-sicles trimmed by men in white jackets no longer come to mind. It’s the warm, sweet, runny scoop of blackberry jam served up by rough, stained fingers in a smoky courtyard that remains the strongest impression – one that will surely lure us back to Cumalikizik every season.

Address: Saldede Sok, Cumalikizik Koyu, Bursa
Telephone: 224-373-0955
Web: http://www.cumalikizik-maviboncuk.com/

Note: Cumalikizik is roughly half an hour by car from the center of Bursa. Reservations for Sunday brunch are strongly recommended. One night at Mavi Boncuk including breakfast for one person, 80 TL

(photo by Ansel Mullins)

On nizip.com, a chatboard dedicated to all things southeastern Turkish, members of the diaspora log-in and bombard each other with questions on important Nizip-related subjects. Eating nohut durum, a savory wrap of chickpeas in pita bread, for breakfast seems to top the list of concerns for many Nizipli trying to maintain their identity in the melting pot of Istanbul.

Following a tip, we set out one morning to find Pamuk usta, a legend among the Antep-Birecik-Nizip diaspora of Istanbul. We panicked a bit at the sight of this massive Anatolian ploughman’s breakfast, so early in the morning. Should we not split one? Pamuk usta laughed at the idea. Just then a mailman in walked up to the stand, took a nibble of fresh greens from a plate on top of the stand and kept walking without a word.

Oh, to be the anonymous grazer! A quick handful of greens on the go seemed a much more suitable breakfast than what we were getting into with Pamuk usta. A breakfast like this would surely call for a midmorning nap, throwing off our mid afternoon siesta, not to mention totally screwing up lunch.

Over a generous portion of chickpeas laid on top of a freshly baked flatbread, our host spread chopped parsley, onions and hot peppers and sprinkled it with lemon salt. A car pulled up. Pamuk usta pulled a bag heavily laden with already-made wraps from his cart and passed it through the window with a nod. He finished wrapping our 2 lira durum and handed it over.

All anxiety disappeared after the first bite of soft nohut and warm bread. The spicy peppers hung around the lips for a moment but the tang of the greens cooled things off. As we made our way through the durum, we fondly recalled similar breakfasts in the streets of Antep, where such a feast on foot was absolutely normal. As we finished the durum, we looked around at the other men gathered getting their durum on.

“Where are you guys from?” we asked.
“Birecik,” One said through a mouth full of durum. “And you?”
“America.”
“Do you eat a breakfast like this in America?” Pamuk usta asked.
“Never.” We said.

Pamuk usta sets up his small stand outside of Huzur Kiraathanesi every morning (except Sunday) at 7AM after cooking the chickpeas over low heat overnight. He stocks the cart with fresh pide bread from a bakery around the corner. Tasty, filling and cheap, this is a breakfast on the go that anyone can get used to.

Address: Abdullah Cavus Sok. 17, Fatih (near the ISKI Genel Mudurlugu and in front of the Huzur Kiraathanesi)
(Note: Pamuk usta sets his cart up every day except Sunday, 7am – 11am)

(Photo by Ansel Mullins)

We were particularly intrigued by one of the places featured in the show, Kale Cafe, a cozy-looking spot in the Bosphorus-side Rumeli Hisari neighborhood, that specializes in serving up a bountiful Turkish breakfast. The images of kaymak – the Turkish clotted cream that is the crack cocaine of dairy products – being scooped up with pieces of steaming fresh lavash left us drooling in front of our TV set. A trip up the Bosphorus was certainly in order.

So, on a recent morning, we got over our fear of traffic jams along the narrow Bosphorus coastal road and of being drowned in a sea of Ugg boot wearers and made our way up to the swankier side of town. We knew we made the right decision as soon as we arrived in Rumeli Hisari and saw the sun reflecting off the waters of the Bosphorus, as an endless procession of ships and smaller boats sailed by.

Outside of Kale, located in a house-like building right on the coastal road overlooking the Bosphorus, we found a line of people waiting for the next available table (the popularity of the cafe, which started as a small bakery in 1982, has forced it to expand into the restaurant next door, while an annex is being opened some 200 meters away). Once we sat down, we ordered the upgraded serpme kahvalti (“breakfast spread”), which turned out to be a table-breaking bounty: along with the standard items – olives, tomato, cucumber, etc. – there was an assortment of cheeses, including fried helumi (a pleasantly rubbery and salty cheese from Cyprus), several types of börek and gozleme, fried eggs with sausage, and, of course, the very tasty kaymak, topped with honey.

Along with the food, one of the joys of Kale is the service, with a team of roving waiters who always seems to show up just at the right time with a fresh glass of tea. After finishing our leisurely breakfast, we repaired to one of the Bosphorus-side benches across the street, where one of the waiters graciously brought us a Turkish coffee.

Kale’s menu also features other items, including manti and the usual grill dishes like kofte and kebab. But it’s that breakfast, combined with the view of the Bosphorus, that just might get us out of that Beyoglu rut.

Address: Yahya Kemal Caddesi No: 16, Rumelihisari
Telephone: 212-265-0097
Web: www.kalecafe.com

(photo by Jonathan Lewis)

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.

In recent years this superb breakfast has been working its way westward, with several Van-style spots now open in Istanbul. Our favorite is Van Kahavaltı Evi (Van Breakfast House) in Beyoglu’s Cihangir neighborhood. The restaurant hasquickly become one of the area’s most popular, and it’s easy to see why. The people running the friendly place serve a mean breakfast, bringing in most of their ingredients, some of them organic, from back east.

The Van breakfast takes the traditional Turkish breakfast of cheese, tomato, cucumber and some bread and turns it up several notches. At Van Kahvalti Evi, along with the standards, your breakfast plate comes with an assortment of local Van cheeses (including a very tasty one that contains brined wild herbs), kaymak (clotted cream), tangy cacik (thick yogurt spread) and murtuğa, a heavy wheat flour porridge that looks almost like scrambled eggs. Butter, jams, olives and some of Van’s famous honey round all this out – along with endless glasses of strong tea.
Address: Defterdar Yokuşu No: 52.A, Cihangir
Telephone: 212-293-6437

Lunch: Hayvore
At first glance, with its steam table covered with pots of ready-made food, Hayvore may look like any one of those quickie lunch spots found throughout Turkey. But there’s a difference – someone here is cooking up some serious Black Sea magic in the kitchen.

The Black Sea area is Turkey’s culinary misfit – not really about kebabs or meze. It’s simple, filling, down-home food and Hayvore is a great spot to get acquainted with it.

This time of year, the restaurant – found on a side street off busy Istiklal boulevard – serves a very tasty version of hamsi (fresh anchovy) pilaf, the holy grail of Black Sea cooking. A kind of savory fish cake, the pilaf has small hamsi filets wrapped around a thick bed of rice infused with herbs, currants and pine nuts.

Everything else we’ve tried at Hayvore has been a winner. A rib sticking stew made with kale, beans and hominy was earthy and smoky. Hayvore also serves up a fine version of another Black Sea staple – creamy white beans (kuru fasulye) cooked up in a rich, buttery red sauce.

On any given day, Hayvore has more than a dozen items bubbling away on the steam table, some typical Black Sea dishes, some not. It’s worth trying a few – it’s the easiest way to visit the Black Sea without leaving Istanbul.
Address: Turnacibasi Sokak 4, Beyoglu
Telephone: 212-245-7501

Tea Time: Güllüoğlu
Baklava, the flaky, phyllo-dough based pastry, has long ago stopped being a Middle Eastern regional specialty. In America, for example, it is now a staple of dessertmenus at diners and falafel stands across the country. But these places miss the point: baklava is actually not a dessert, but rather an event in itself.

In Istanbul, Karaköy Güllüoğlu is one of our favorite places for an authentic baklava experience. Located a stone’s throw from the Bosphorus, this baklava emporium has been catering to Istanbul sweet tooths since 1949, serving than a dozen different kinds of phyllo-based sweets, none of them resembling the cardboard-like, past-its-prime version of baklava that is often dished out outside the Middle East. Along with the excellent classic baklava, we are also fans of a specialty called sutlu Nuriye, made of flaky layers of pastry drenched in a sweet, milky sauce. After ordering your baklava, sit down at a table outside and catch the Bosphorus breeze.
Address: Katli Otopark Alti (main store) or 171 Mumhane Cad. (factory store), Karaköy
Phone: 212-293-0910 (main store) or 212-243-1376 (factory store)
Web: www.karakoygulluoglubaklava.com

Dinner: Antiochia
We recently stumbled upon Antiochia – a small restaurant on a quiet Beyoglu backstreet that exudes cool without sacrificing flavor.

From its funky logo to the hipster waiters, Antiochia clearly has a different ambition (and clientele) than most restaurants serving the Middle Eastern-influenced foodfrom Turkey’s southern Hatay region, an area wedged between Syria and the Mediterranean Sea.

Nar eksili cevizli kozbiber, a divine relish of red and green peppers in a pomegranate dressing, was topped with crushed walnuts, adding a crunchy texture to this sweet and sour cold starter. Tasting the homemade yogurt with mint proved just how little we knew about what yogurt can be — pleasantly sour and almost as thick as butter. Muammara, a thick spread of walnuts, red pepper and spices is a Hatay signature and a fine choice. Our favorite, though, was the kekik salatasi, an intense meze of green olives, fresh thyme and olive oil.

Antiochia’s main courses are simple, recognizable dishes, yet set to a higher frequency. Şiş et is a plate of marinated cubes of beef skewered and grilled over a charcoal fire. On any given evening in Beyoglu, there have got to be thousands of skewers of şiş et coming off the grill, but none are quite as tender and succulent as the one at Antiochia. The minced meat wrap, an Istanbul street food favorite, with onions and tomatoes, was among the best we’ve had in the city.
Address: Minare Sokak, Asmalimesict
Phone: 212-292-1100
Web: www.antiochiaconcept.com

Day Two: Old and New Istanbul on the Bosphorus

Breakfast: Besiktas Kaymakci (AKA Kaymakci Pando)
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 the cardiologist.

Perhaps we’re getting carried away, but kaymak can do that to you. For our money, the classic Turkish combo of kaymak served with honey and crusty white bread is one of the finest breakfasts this side of paradise. And one of our favorite places to eat this breakfast is Besiktas Kaymakci.

This tiny shop/eatery has been in business since 1895, and it certainly shows its age. The marble counter is cracked and the paint on the walls peeling. But the kaymak, served up by the 84-year-old Pando, a Turk of Bulgarian origin and a living institution in Istanbul’s untouristed Besiktas bazaar, is out of this world. Prices here also seem unchanged since 1895: a plate of kaymak and honey, served with fresh bread and a glass of steaming hot milk, will set you back 4 lira.
Address: Koyici Meydanı Sokak, Besiktas
Telephone: 212-258-2616

Lunch: Ismet Baba
Most fish restaurants are mere caricatures of places like Ismet Baba, where traditions have been kept sacred for more than fifty years. This may not be the best restaurant in the city, but it’s got something most of the others have lost, keeping rhythm to an old school style of Istanbul charm and character.

At Ismet Baba, located in Kuzguncuk, a charming Bosphorus neighborhood on the Asian side, we like to lean back, hunker down into a long raki-laced lunch and really enjoy this special place and its classic mezes. Pilaki, beans in olive oil, and the cold octopus salad are unusually good. We also like the haydari, a thick, tangy spread of strained yogurt and dill and the fried eggplant with a garlicky yogurt drizzle. The catch of the day is posted on a small black board in the dining room, and we found the grilled bream, cupra, or a plate of blue fish, cinekop, perfectly prepared and just the right amount.
Address: Carsi Caddesi #1A, Kuzguncuk
Telephone: 216-553-1232

Dinner: Abracadabra
This funky informal restaurant, housed in an imposing Ottoman-era mansion located smack dab on the Bosporus in the swank Arnavutkoy neighborhood, serves some of Istanbul’s most creative riffs on traditional Turkish cuisine.

The four floors of the building each have a very different vibe, from bar-like to intimate, although we suggest a table in the dine-in kitchen, up close and personal with Abracadabra’s spunky owner-chef Dilara Erbay, a pioneer of Turkish fusion cuisine.

Through flaming woks, kitchen hustle and shouts, something smelling at once Thai, Turkish and Lebanese rushes past you for Dilara’s final touch. There’s a lot going on in this kitchen that you won’t want to miss. And when it’s time to order, we usually put ourselves at the tender mercy of Dilara, letting her guide us through the menu.

Dilara’s navigation of the appetizer menu includes her latest inspired creations, prepared with what’s fresh in the markets. Like a jazzman interpreting on an old standard, Dilara hints at classic Turkish cuisine sometimes in little more than name, for example tweaking the classic börek into a bouquet of matchstick skinny, 6-inch batons served upright in a shot glass of sweet and spicy sauce, both beautiful and fun to eat.
Address: 50/1 Arnavutkoy Cad. Arnavutkoy
Phone: (212) 358-6087
www.abracadabra-ist.com

(photo by Yigal Schleifer)