Sep 24
Friday
Istanbul Eats on the Road: Viva Van Breakfast!
For breakfast lovers, the experience of arriving in the eastern Turkish city of Van is akin to what a gambler might feel upon showing up in Las Vegas – overwhelmed by the options and the promise of a serious payout.
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. Continue…
In case you didn’t know, Istanbul Eats now lives over at Culinary Backstreets. Same great culinary walks, same great culinary writing. You’ll be redirected there in a few seconds!
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Quick Look
Recent Posts
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Hanging On to History: Edible Nostalgia in Samatya
no responses - Posted 05.08.18
That much of the past seems to stick to Samatya is a marvel in Istanbul, a city being rebuilt and “restored” at an alarming pace. First, there’s the question of its name. Occupying a stretch of the Marmara Sea and squeezed between the old city walls and Kumkapı, an area home to a rotating cast of eclectic restaurants, the neighborhood still ... continue -
Spring Surprises: Skewering the First Fruits in Istanbul
no responses - Posted 04.25.18
It was the first of April and an absolutely pristine Istanbul spring day, the kind where one can break a slight sweat walking up a hill then catch a cool breeze in a nearby patch of shade. Returning to the city from a lovely weekend on Büyükada, we were smitten with spring and wanted to indulge in its finest offerings. In ... continue -
Farewell, Pando: An Istanbul Culinary Legend Passes On
no responses - Posted 04.16.18
It’s Saturday around lunchtime and business as usual in the bustling Beşiktaş Çarşı neighborhood, as crowds of mostly younger people fill the narrow streets. Down on Mumcu Bakkal Sokak, a pedestrian-only street lined with miniscule shops, a line around the block has been formed by those eager to get into one of the city’s best döner spots. For many of those ... continue -
Bağdat Ocakbaşı: Licensed to Grill
no responses - Posted 04.09.18
Istanbul’s T1 tramway is relatively pleasant if you can find a seat, but borders on unbearable if you are on your feet. Back in 2015, we wrote about a trip we took from the line’s first stop all the way to one of its last, which lies way out in the district of Güngören. By the time the tram has made ... continue -
Dose & Istos Café: Greek Revival
no responses - Posted 03.30.18
A café at its best is so much more than the sum of its parts: it’s a place where people can easily mingle, share ideas, and dertleşmek, or commiserate over their troubles, all while imbibing caffeine. At the same time, it’s a place where visitors might feel an invisible thread of common beliefs connecting them, an unspoken camaraderie, even if ... continue -
Back to the Land: Urban Turks Tackle Rural Life
no responses - Posted 03.23.18
When Buket Ulukut first moved from Istanbul to a rural plot of land in the foothills of the Taurus Mountains in southern Turkey, she was leading a double life. “I’d be taking calls from clients in Europe while out amidst the rows of peppers and eggplants, hoping they didn’t hear the rooster crowing in the background,” says Ulukut, who worked in ... continue -
Semt Pazarları, Civic Life Perfected
no responses - Posted 03.09.18
“Two kilos five liraaa! Two kilos five liraaa!” bellowed a young and exuberant vendor of tomatoes to the ongoing stream of frugal-minded shoppers making their way through the snaking Tarlabaşı Sunday Market. Hundreds of sellers of fresh produce, dairy, seafood, kitchenware, clothing, smuggled tobacco, jewelry, fresh baked goods and numerous other items set up side by side in the central Istanbul ... continue
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Hanging On to History: Edible Nostalgia in Samatya
All entries filed under this archive
Istanbul Eats on the Road: Breakfast in Bursa
no responses - Posted 08.20.10
With all of the hype around Bursa’s claim to fame, the İskender kebab, you’d think Bursans persisted on a diet of thinly sliced döner, pide, tomato sauce and frothy melted butter. But in between the spinning meat-sicles, the very icon of Turkish fast food, the markets of Bursa offer a ...continue
no responses - Posted 08.20.10
With all of the hype around Bursa’s claim to fame, the İskender kebab, you’d think Bursans persisted on a diet of thinly sliced döner, pide, tomato sauce and frothy melted butter. But in between the spinning meat-sicles, the very icon of Turkish fast food, the markets of Bursa offer a ...continue
EatingAsia Hits Southeast Turkey!
2 responses - Posted 06.30.10
The folks behind EatingAsia, the web's most mouthwatering food blog, are in Turkey and recently made a long journey through the country's southeast region. The blog has several posts up reporting on their finds in the region and are well worth checking out. You can find EatingAsia here. continue
2 responses - Posted 06.30.10
The folks behind EatingAsia, the web's most mouthwatering food blog, are in Turkey and recently made a long journey through the country's southeast region. The blog has several posts up reporting on their finds in the region and are well worth checking out. You can find EatingAsia here. continue
Istanbul Eats on the Road: In the Republic of Köfte
1 response - Posted 06.18.10
(Editor’s Note: This guest post – from the far reaches of the former Ottoman Empire – came to us courtesy of Sevin Turan, an Istanbul-based journalist and translator and a member of the Istanbul Eats team.) “Welcome the youngest republic of the world!” This is how we were greeted when our ...continue
1 response - Posted 06.18.10
(Editor’s Note: This guest post – from the far reaches of the former Ottoman Empire – came to us courtesy of Sevin Turan, an Istanbul-based journalist and translator and a member of the Istanbul Eats team.) “Welcome the youngest republic of the world!” This is how we were greeted when our ...continue
Istanbul Eats on the Road: Bahce Balik in Kaş
1 response - Posted 06.11.10
The sign on the glass cooler at the Kaş Fisherman’s Cooperative reads like a huge Bible passage on a billboard beside an interstate promising salvation, “Balik var!” We’ve got fish. It was a promise of false hope. Inside that glass-fronted case there were no fish. Nor were there any at the fishmonger ...continue
1 response - Posted 06.11.10
The sign on the glass cooler at the Kaş Fisherman’s Cooperative reads like a huge Bible passage on a billboard beside an interstate promising salvation, “Balik var!” We’ve got fish. It was a promise of false hope. Inside that glass-fronted case there were no fish. Nor were there any at the fishmonger ...continue
Istanbul Eats on the Road: Antakya’s Sultan Sofrasi
1 response - Posted 04.06.10
(Editor's Note: This guest post came to us courtesy of Katie Parla, a Rome-based food writer whose blog, Parla Food, is a great resource regarding eating in both Italy and Turkey. Katie's is the first post in a new feature called "Istanbul Eats on the Road," in which we plan ...continue
1 response - Posted 04.06.10
(Editor's Note: This guest post came to us courtesy of Katie Parla, a Rome-based food writer whose blog, Parla Food, is a great resource regarding eating in both Italy and Turkey. Katie's is the first post in a new feature called "Istanbul Eats on the Road," in which we plan ...continue
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