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Best Bites of 2014

Küçük Yıldız in Van, photo by Dave Hagerman [1]

Editor’s note: To cap off our annual review of the year’s best eating experiences, we’ve unleashed our imaginations to create the Turkish food court of our dreams.

After a period of protest, we finally broke down and visited the Zorlu Center, a new, high-profile shopping mall in Istanbul and a showcase of international brand names, from Fendi to Jamie Oliver. Our initial attraction was the promise of a particularly well-kept playground, but while we were there, we visited Eataly, the all-Italian culinary emporium.

Sitting there in the Eataly food court munching on something Italian that looked like a gözleme and that our waiter described as similar to the Turkish flatbread, we were surrounded by shelves lined with beautifully packaged Italian foodstuffs. The place seemed to go on forever – was that an upstairs? Huge wheels of cheese were parked right there by a gelato stand, and beyond that was a pasta section that you’d want to clear a Sunday afternoon out for, just to browse. It was a stimulating experience that got us thinking, what would a Turkish version of Eataly, or – if we were charged with naming it – “Eaturkey,” look like?

Read the rest of the story at Culinary Backstreets [2].

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