Mar 08
Monday
Istiridye Balik Lokantasi: The Business of Lunch
Just as we thought we had managed to break out of our Beyoglu dining rut, we found ourselves once again trawling the neighborhood’s streets for places to eat. To be more specific, we found ourselves walking along Mumhane Caddesi, a street in the waterfront Karakoy area that has so many good restaurants along it that it acts as a kind of culinary vortex, radiating a magnetic pull that we find hard to resist.
This time around, the street’s siren call was Istiridye Balik Lokantasi, an old-fashioned fish restaurant that caters to a lunchtime crowd of local office workers and executives. Continue…
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48 Hours in Istanbul: An Eater’s Guide
7 responses - Posted 02.08.10
(Editor's Note: The New York Times' travel section recently ran a "36 Hours in Istanbul" feature that was low on good eating suggestions. Prompted by the Times piece, today's post is a food-centric "48 Hours in Istanbul" guide we prepared a few months ago for a local magazine.) Day One: Turkey’s ...continue
7 responses - Posted 02.08.10
(Editor's Note: The New York Times' travel section recently ran a "36 Hours in Istanbul" feature that was low on good eating suggestions. Prompted by the Times piece, today's post is a food-centric "48 Hours in Istanbul" guide we prepared a few months ago for a local magazine.) Day One: Turkey’s ...continue
Istanbul’s Top 5 Street Foods: #2 – Çitir Simit Bakery
no responses - Posted 12.03.09
Let’s hear it for the (deceptively simple) simit. With only a few ingredients to its name, this sesame-encrusted bread ring has gone on to become the most ubiquitous snack in Istanbul, the undisputed heavyweight champ of the city’s street food scene. In fact, in recent years, the plucky simit has ...continue
no responses - Posted 12.03.09
Let’s hear it for the (deceptively simple) simit. With only a few ingredients to its name, this sesame-encrusted bread ring has gone on to become the most ubiquitous snack in Istanbul, the undisputed heavyweight champ of the city’s street food scene. In fact, in recent years, the plucky simit has ...continue
Grifin: Seafood Oasis
no responses - Posted 10.23.09
In Karaköy’s Persembe Pazari, a historic commercial district on the shores of the Golden Horn, the dining scene is decidedly no-frills. Simple lunch spots thrive by day on the business of hungry and busy people buying and selling hardware – a meat and potatoes crowd. Any white tablecloth in these ...continue
no responses - Posted 10.23.09
In Karaköy’s Persembe Pazari, a historic commercial district on the shores of the Golden Horn, the dining scene is decidedly no-frills. Simple lunch spots thrive by day on the business of hungry and busy people buying and selling hardware – a meat and potatoes crowd. Any white tablecloth in these ...continue
Güngör Büfe: Sultan of Sandwich
no responses - Posted 09.25.09
The büfe is a prominent part of the Istanbul streetscape, playing a vital role in the daily life of the city. These are corner stores, where you can get a can of beer, a single cigarette, a lotto ticket and, often, a panini-like grilled cheese sandwich. At most büfe, food ...continue
no responses - Posted 09.25.09
The büfe is a prominent part of the Istanbul streetscape, playing a vital role in the daily life of the city. These are corner stores, where you can get a can of beer, a single cigarette, a lotto ticket and, often, a panini-like grilled cheese sandwich. At most büfe, food ...continue
Mutfak Dili: Tradesmens’ Paradise
no responses - Posted 09.18.09
Istanbul Eats lunch hunting tip #1: Wander into one of Istanbul’s numerous districts of small commerce and find yourself on a small street with a shoe cobbler, a knife sharpener, and hardware shops. #2: Enter one of those shops, preferably one where two old men are sitting at the counter looking at the ...continue
no responses - Posted 09.18.09
Istanbul Eats lunch hunting tip #1: Wander into one of Istanbul’s numerous districts of small commerce and find yourself on a small street with a shoe cobbler, a knife sharpener, and hardware shops. #2: Enter one of those shops, preferably one where two old men are sitting at the counter looking at the ...continue
Erzurum Cağ Kebapcisi: Turkish Gaucho Grub
2 responses - Posted 05.22.09
(UPDATE -- Unfortunately, we recently discovered that this place has closed down, the kebab maker having returned to his former job as an electrician. In the meantime, you can try cağ kebab at a place called Sehzade Erzurum Cağ Kebab, which is near Kasap Osman on Hocapasa Sokak in Sirkeci.) If ...continue
2 responses - Posted 05.22.09
(UPDATE -- Unfortunately, we recently discovered that this place has closed down, the kebab maker having returned to his former job as an electrician. In the meantime, you can try cağ kebab at a place called Sehzade Erzurum Cağ Kebab, which is near Kasap Osman on Hocapasa Sokak in Sirkeci.) If ...continue
Akın Balık: (the other) Karaköy Fish House
4 responses - Posted 05.15.09
For good reason, there is a well-beaten path to Karaköy Balıkcısı, an excellent fish restaurant in Perşembe Pazarı, a district near the Golden Horn filled with small shops selling power tools and bathroom fixtures. The fish there is superb; as it should be for a lunch that can cost $40 ...continue
4 responses - Posted 05.15.09
For good reason, there is a well-beaten path to Karaköy Balıkcısı, an excellent fish restaurant in Perşembe Pazarı, a district near the Golden Horn filled with small shops selling power tools and bathroom fixtures. The fish there is superb; as it should be for a lunch that can cost $40 ...continue
Karaköy Güllüoğlu: Still Flaky After All These Years
3 responses - Posted 05.11.09
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 dessert menus at diners and falafel stands across the country. But these places miss the point: baklava is actually not a dessert, but rather ...continue
3 responses - Posted 05.11.09
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 dessert menus at diners and falafel stands across the country. But these places miss the point: baklava is actually not a dessert, but rather ...continue
Besaltı Kirvem Tantuni: Turkish for “Taqueria”?
no responses - Posted 05.04.09
One of the big downsides to Istanbul’s otherwise great food scene is the lack of a credible Mexican option. We’re not asking for anything special, just a place that serves simple, tasty tacos or burritos. But when the craving for Mexican gets strong, we don’t despair – we just head ...continue
no responses - Posted 05.04.09
One of the big downsides to Istanbul’s otherwise great food scene is the lack of a credible Mexican option. We’re not asking for anything special, just a place that serves simple, tasty tacos or burritos. But when the craving for Mexican gets strong, we don’t despair – we just head ...continue
Karaköy Lokantasi: A Dockside Winner
3 responses - Posted 04.17.09
Tucked into the street behind the yet-to-be gentrified docks at Karaköy, among shops advertising boat tickets to Odessa and cubby-sized import & export offices, is the neighborhood’s culinary port of call, Karaköy Lokantasi. With great food, personable service and tasteful décor, this family-operated eatery defiantly proves that a good dining ...continue
3 responses - Posted 04.17.09
Tucked into the street behind the yet-to-be gentrified docks at Karaköy, among shops advertising boat tickets to Odessa and cubby-sized import & export offices, is the neighborhood’s culinary port of call, Karaköy Lokantasi. With great food, personable service and tasteful décor, this family-operated eatery defiantly proves that a good dining ...continue
Kaymak: The Heavenly Cream
7 responses - Posted 04.01.09
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 ...continue
7 responses - Posted 04.01.09
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 ...continue
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