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Köfteci Arnavut: On the Good Ship Meatball Shop

Post a Comment October 8, 2012 – 8:00 am | Permalink |  Print This Post |

Perhaps it’s the proximity of the waters of the Golden Horn or the weathered wood interior, but we get a distinctly maritime feeling at Köfteci Arnavut, a tiny köfte joint in the historic Balat neighborhood. The members of the İştay family, who opened the place in 1947, seem to think the same thing, running the place with ship-shape efficiency.

Ali, the nearly-octogenarian father, constantly sweeps the floor and wipes down the Formica-topped tables, like a sailor dutifully swabbing the decks. Daughter Mine, meanwhile, stands by the front door, issuing clipped, urgent orders to the hustling grill master and waiters, as if she were the captain of a tanker navigating particularly treacherous waters.

The rest of this previously featured review can be found on CulinaryBackstreets.com, here.

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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