Friday

Istanbul’s Top 5 Beaneries – #2: Husrev

(Editor’s Note: This week we are celebrating the white bean, that humble legume that reaches levels of incredible complexity and flavor when in the hands of Turkish cooks. Until visiting some of Istanbul’s shrines to the baked bean, we generally regarded the dish as something eaten out of a can beside railroad tracks. But Turkey takes this humble food (known as “kuru fasulye”) seriously; that means chefs in tall toques carefully ladling out golden beans in a rich red gravy onto monogrammed flatware, served by waiters wearing bowties and vests. Even in the least formal of Istanbul’s beaneries, the guy manning the pot has the air of a high priest knowing that his incantations alone conjure something unusually delicious out of a simple bean. This is no hobo fare. This week, to celebrate the bean, we are counting down our five favorite place in Istanbul to get “kuru fasulye.)

A severe man in a monogrammed blazer and slacks stands at the door of Husrev, greeting patrons with a nod and an open-palmed, sweeping gesture toward the dining room. Heels click across the polished marble floor as important men and women walk in and check their coats without pausing from their telephone conversations. Eavesdrop and you’ll probably overhear the finishing touches on a deal to build a Turkish spacecraft or the purchase of one of the Bosphorus bridges.

It’s easy to get caught up in the charged atmosphere of Husrev — overstuffed high-roller booths line the walls that lead out to a vast atrium where everyone appears in their prime and dressed for it — enough to make you forget that everyone has just ordered nothing more than a bowl of beans accompanied by a salty yogurt drink. But that is what’s so pleasurable about Husrev: it’s a familiar plot with an unusual Turkish twist. From Hong Kong to Houston, a high-powered business lunch is propelled by a big steak and stiff drinks, but not in Turkiye. Here, deals are sealed over beans. Continue…