Nov 22
Monday
Lades 2: A Beyoglu Greasy Spoon

(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.
All entries filed under this archive
Istanbul Culinary Institute: Letting the Inmates Run the Asylum
no responses - Posted 09.08.10
We recently wrote about the emergence of the “esnaf nouveau,” a new class of restaurant in Istanbul that puts a more sophisticated spin on the classic esnaf lokanta (or “tradesmen’s restaurant”), the place where working stiffs come to get their daily fix of traditional Turkish comfort food. To the list of ...continue
no responses - Posted 09.08.10
We recently wrote about the emergence of the “esnaf nouveau,” a new class of restaurant in Istanbul that puts a more sophisticated spin on the classic esnaf lokanta (or “tradesmen’s restaurant”), the place where working stiffs come to get their daily fix of traditional Turkish comfort food. To the list of ...continue
Baylan Pastanesi: A Slice of History
5 responses - Posted 07.23.10
The roaring twenties: flappers in the Pera Palas Hotel were dancing the can-can, Art Deco was all the rage, the Turkish Republic was born. Hope, progress and newness double stepped to the beat of Kemal Ataturk’s drum. This was the backdrop to which two Istanbul bakers, Filip and Yorgi, opened ...continue
5 responses - Posted 07.23.10
The roaring twenties: flappers in the Pera Palas Hotel were dancing the can-can, Art Deco was all the rage, the Turkish Republic was born. Hope, progress and newness double stepped to the beat of Kemal Ataturk’s drum. This was the backdrop to which two Istanbul bakers, Filip and Yorgi, opened ...continue
Inci Pastanesi: Cream Puff vs. Wrecking Ball
6 responses - Posted 06.16.10
We’d like to like the profiterole at Inci Pastanesi on Istiklal. And we’d like to believe their claim that the profiterole was invented on the premises in the 1940’s. But we like Inci for non-culinary reasons. This old school Beyoglu pastry shop has been spooning out cream puffs covered in ...continue
6 responses - Posted 06.16.10
We’d like to like the profiterole at Inci Pastanesi on Istiklal. And we’d like to believe their claim that the profiterole was invented on the premises in the 1940’s. But we like Inci for non-culinary reasons. This old school Beyoglu pastry shop has been spooning out cream puffs covered in ...continue
Kismet Muhallebecisi: Funky Chicken
1 response - Posted 03.29.10
Ali Bey, the owner of a cubby-sized restaurant in Kucuk Pazari called Kismet, sounded a bit like Bubba Gump listing the items on his menu, “Weve got chicken soup, fried chicken gizzards, shredded chicken breast, dark chicken meat too, chicken and rice, chicken with onions and peppers and, chicken breast ...continue
1 response - Posted 03.29.10
Ali Bey, the owner of a cubby-sized restaurant in Kucuk Pazari called Kismet, sounded a bit like Bubba Gump listing the items on his menu, “Weve got chicken soup, fried chicken gizzards, shredded chicken breast, dark chicken meat too, chicken and rice, chicken with onions and peppers and, chicken breast ...continue
Şahin Lokantasi: Edible Complex
4 responses - Posted 03.26.10
For Turks, mealtime is often a complicated emotional drama, one that revolves around a lifelong effort to return to the culinary womb – in other words, their mother’s kitchen. In Turkey, mom’s cooking sets the standard by which all others are judged and, truth be told, some of the finest ...continue
4 responses - Posted 03.26.10
For Turks, mealtime is often a complicated emotional drama, one that revolves around a lifelong effort to return to the culinary womb – in other words, their mother’s kitchen. In Turkey, mom’s cooking sets the standard by which all others are judged and, truth be told, some of the finest ...continue
Lades: Old Faithful
5 responses - Posted 02.19.10
If Lades, which means “wishbone” in Turkish, provided an actual wishbone alongside the usual post-meal wet wipe and toothpick, we’d close our eyes and make a wish that we could eat their tandir (oven-roasted baby lamb) seven days a week. These large knots of tender, fragrant meat lined with a ...continue
5 responses - Posted 02.19.10
If Lades, which means “wishbone” in Turkish, provided an actual wishbone alongside the usual post-meal wet wipe and toothpick, we’d close our eyes and make a wish that we could eat their tandir (oven-roasted baby lamb) seven days a week. These large knots of tender, fragrant meat lined with a ...continue
Özkonak: The Real Pudding Shop
1 response - Posted 06.12.09
Regulars at Özkonak, a well-loved fixture in Cihangir’s ever-changing restaurant scene, must cluck in disapproval at the sight of a new generation of customers who walk right past the pudding display at the front and head for the steam table and its selection of prepared savory dishes in back. Though ...continue
1 response - Posted 06.12.09
Regulars at Özkonak, a well-loved fixture in Cihangir’s ever-changing restaurant scene, must cluck in disapproval at the sight of a new generation of customers who walk right past the pudding display at the front and head for the steam table and its selection of prepared savory dishes in back. Though ...continue




