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Posts Tagged ‘ Fish ’

Apr 25
Wednesday

Island — and Table — Hopping in Istanbul

Filed under Features, Reviews (Eats)


Istanbul’s Princes’ Islands, a lovely archipelago just off the city’s Asian shore, offer what we believe to be the best travel bargain anywhere in the world. Whenever we’re in need of a vacation but can’t afford the airfare, a ferry awaits to take us to the islands. For the price of  just a few liras, we’re transported to a small slice of traffic-free paradise where, if we manage to get away from the crowds and explore some of the islands’ quiet backstreets, we feel as if we’ve found our way back to the late 19th century and  an Istanbul that no longer exists on the mainland.

We’re especially fond of the islands in springtime, when their Judas, Mimosa and wild plum trees are starting to bloom and a walk along one of their tranquil trails serves as the perfect cure for the lingering effects of the Istanbul winter blues. Of course, a good meal is essential any time of the year and we’ve been lucky enough to find a few spots on the islands that are worthy destinations in and of themselves. For those planning a visit to the Princes’ Islands, some suggestions below: Continue…

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All entries filed under this archive


Hamsi for Hipsters!
no responses - Posted 04.18.12
Turns out New Yorkers are only now discovering what Turks have known for eons: that the humble anchovy is absolutely delicious (particularly when lightly coated in flour or cornmeal and fried). As an article in today's New York Times explains, anchovies -- known as "hamsi" in Turkish -- are being ...continue
If You Insist: Pandeli?
3 responses - Posted 01.11.12
Dear Istanbul Eats, I've heard and read so much about the historic Pandeli restaurant in Eminonu's Spice Bazaar, including that it's nothing more than an overpriced tourist trap. Have you been there recently? Is it worth going to? Concerned in Cincinnati  Dear Concerned, Thanks for the great question. Pandeli is indeed a venerable spot ...continue
Hamsi – Six Favorite Spots to Eat the Little Fish
4 responses - Posted 10.31.11
The arrival of fall in Istanbul for us usually means just one thing: hamsi season is about to begin.  Hamsi, of course, are the minuscule fish (Black Sea anchovies) that Istanbulites are mad for, and the coming of fall and the further cooling of the Black Sea’s waters mark the beginning ...continue
Hayri Balik: Fishy Business
no responses - Posted 09.12.11
We always feel a bit like a cheating spouse when we walk past our longtime favorite – albeit dry – fish spot, Arnavutkoy’s Adem Baba, toward Hayri Balik, a lovely little fish shack up the street. But sometimes, well after the brunching hour, we like to have something a little ...continue
Heyamola Ada Lokantasi: Island Time
no responses - Posted 08.08.11
(Editor’s Note: This guest post was written by “Meliz,” an intrepid explorer of Istanbul's culinary backstreets who would like to keep her anonymity.) While the Princes’ Islands make for a great escape from the city, it’s been hard to think of them as a culinary destination. Until now. The new-offshore-kid-in-town, Heyamola ...continue
Lokanta Maya: Subtle Surprises
no responses - Posted 05.30.11
(Editor’s Note: This guest post is by Jennifer Hattam, an American journalist living in Beyoğlu whose personal blog can be found here.) My first encounters with Turkish fish menus were nothing short of perplexing, and not because levrek (seabass), çupra (seabream), kalkan (turbot), and the like were such unfamiliar names. Spoiled ...continue
Hamsi: Catch Them While You Can?
no responses - Posted 05.08.11
Things may be going from bad to worse for Istanbul fish lovers. The other day, we learned from The Atlantic the sad story of how mackerel became so overfished in the waters around Istanbul that local fish mongers had to start importing the stuff from Norway so that the city's ...continue
May Day Special: Eat Union!
3 responses - Posted 05.01.11
(Editor's Note: In honor of the May Day workers' holiday, we are rerunning last year's post that takes a look at the dining possibilities at two union halls, Istanbul style. Happy May 1!) Gazeteciler Lokali-Beyoglu: The Write Stuff Journalists in Turkey are notoriously overworked and underpaid (at least that’s what Turkish journalists ...continue
Mohti: All That Laz
3 responses - Posted 02.28.11
“My heart starts pounding when a pregnant lady enters the room,” said Huseyin, the artist turned owner/operator of Mohti, a new “Laz Meyhane” in the back of the backstreets of the Asmalimescit area. While this might sound to some like the unsavory confession of a man with an exotic fetish, ...continue
Istanbul Eats Cooks: Klemuri’s Hamsili Pilav
1 response - Posted 02.25.11
The Laz, an ethnic minority in the northeast of Turkey, live in the verdant Kackar mountains that seem to crash right down into the Black Sea. “Mas mavi, yem yesil,” is how that part of the country is often described – bluest blue, greenest green. There is not much in the ...continue

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