Aug 20
Friday
Istanbul Eats on the Road: Breakfast in Bursa
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 bounty of traditional syrupy sweets, fresh fruits and berries, farm cheeses and hulking loaves of village bread. The mighty İskender might have conquered Bursa in name, but, thankfully, Bursa’s culinary backstreets, the verdant farming villages that encircle the city, are keeping the region’s larder stocked with a wide array of delicious food. The untold culinary story of Bursa unfolds around the breakfast table in serene, leafy village gardens, before the döner even hits the spit over at Kebapçı İskender. Continue…
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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 Reviews (Eats)
Ramadan’s Iftar: The Break Fast of Champions
no responses - Posted 08.16.10
Think of Ramadan as a kind of month-long biathalon that consists of an all-day race to beat back the hunger and thirst of fasting, followed by an all-night marathon of eating and drinking in order to fortify the body for the next day’s fast. In recent years in Turkey, iftar, ...continue
no responses - Posted 08.16.10
Think of Ramadan as a kind of month-long biathalon that consists of an all-day race to beat back the hunger and thirst of fasting, followed by an all-night marathon of eating and drinking in order to fortify the body for the next day’s fast. In recent years in Turkey, iftar, ...continue
Urfali Haci Usta: In the Bosom of Abraham
2 responses - Posted 08.09.10
Like Turkish foreign policy, we could easily be accused of “tilting east” these days. Just after making our way to Fatih’s Öz Kilis, we soon found ourselves trawling the streets of the nearby Aksaray neighborhood in search of food from another southeastern Turkish city near the Syrian border, in this ...continue
2 responses - Posted 08.09.10
Like Turkish foreign policy, we could easily be accused of “tilting east” these days. Just after making our way to Fatih’s Öz Kilis, we soon found ourselves trawling the streets of the nearby Aksaray neighborhood in search of food from another southeastern Turkish city near the Syrian border, in this ...continue
The Kokoreç Trifecta of Galata: Smoke, Guts and Glory
8 responses - Posted 08.06.10
In Istanbul, offal-eating traditions run deep. In the wee hours, the horde heads out for tripe and trotter soup. Some butcher shops, like exclusive boutiques, sell nothing but organs, hanging them proudly in the glass vitrine like so many Fendi handbags. We’ve written at length about finer points of kelle, ...continue
8 responses - Posted 08.06.10
In Istanbul, offal-eating traditions run deep. In the wee hours, the horde heads out for tripe and trotter soup. Some butcher shops, like exclusive boutiques, sell nothing but organs, hanging them proudly in the glass vitrine like so many Fendi handbags. We’ve written at length about finer points of kelle, ...continue
Öz Kilis: Kebab That Deserves to Be Panned
4 responses - Posted 08.02.10
In Turkish popular lore, the denizens of Kilis, a town in southeastern Turkey right near the Syrian border, are known for two things: kebab-making and smuggling. We haven’t been to Kilis, so we can’t vouch for the smuggling bit. But we did recently have lunch at Öz Kilis, a wonderful ...continue
4 responses - Posted 08.02.10
In Turkish popular lore, the denizens of Kilis, a town in southeastern Turkey right near the Syrian border, are known for two things: kebab-making and smuggling. We haven’t been to Kilis, so we can’t vouch for the smuggling bit. But we did recently have lunch at Öz Kilis, a wonderful ...continue
Read Between the Buns 4: Egg & Burger
10 responses - Posted 07.29.10
(Editor's Note: After previous installments of our "Read Between the Buns" series -- a look at Istanbul's burgeoning burger scene -- we received complaints that we failed to consider a spot called Egg & Burger. We recently had a chance to try things out there and now return with a ...continue
10 responses - Posted 07.29.10
(Editor's Note: After previous installments of our "Read Between the Buns" series -- a look at Istanbul's burgeoning burger scene -- we received complaints that we failed to consider a spot called Egg & Burger. We recently had a chance to try things out there and now return with a ...continue
Baylan Pastanesi: A Slice of History
5 responses - Posted 07.23.10
The roaring '20s: 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 Atatürk’s drum. This was the backdrop to which two Istanbul bakers, Filip and Yorgi, opened a ...continue
5 responses - Posted 07.23.10
The roaring '20s: 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 Atatürk’s drum. This was the backdrop to which two Istanbul bakers, Filip and Yorgi, opened a ...continue
Büyükada Hi-Lo
11 responses - Posted 07.19.10
If it’s because of showing visitors around or simply a desire to get away from the city for the day, we can usually count on at least one visit a summer to Büyükada, the largest of the Princes’ Islands. But as much as we like looking at the car-free island’s Victorian ...continue
11 responses - Posted 07.19.10
If it’s because of showing visitors around or simply a desire to get away from the city for the day, we can usually count on at least one visit a summer to Büyükada, the largest of the Princes’ Islands. But as much as we like looking at the car-free island’s Victorian ...continue
Gözleme Organik: Don’t Call it a Pancake
no responses - Posted 07.16.10
“You’re going to make mine thin,” said an old man with Coke-bottle glasses. “Not too thin, it will break. We load these full of stuff, sir, and it’s all organic!” replied Hacer Hanım. “Whatever, just make mine thin and put some cheese in there,” the man grumbled. Hacer Hanım turned her back on ...continue
no responses - Posted 07.16.10
“You’re going to make mine thin,” said an old man with Coke-bottle glasses. “Not too thin, it will break. We load these full of stuff, sir, and it’s all organic!” replied Hacer Hanım. “Whatever, just make mine thin and put some cheese in there,” the man grumbled. Hacer Hanım turned her back on ...continue
Fish: Mmmm…Meze!
8 responses - Posted 07.09.10
“D’oh!” we said with a wince when we spotted the Ferrari parked in front of Fish, the restaurant we were heading to for dinner. It may have been the lucky day for the valet parkers who crowded around snapping pictures with their cell phones, but for us it meant certain ...continue
8 responses - Posted 07.09.10
“D’oh!” we said with a wince when we spotted the Ferrari parked in front of Fish, the restaurant we were heading to for dinner. It may have been the lucky day for the valet parkers who crowded around snapping pictures with their cell phones, but for us it meant certain ...continue
Kebapçı Enver Usta: Underground Favorite
7 responses - Posted 07.07.10
(Editor's Note: We are proud to announce that an Istanbul Eats guidebook to dining in Istanbul will soon be available in Turkey, published in English by Boyut Publishers. In the course of preparing the book, we went back to some of our favorite haunts and took some new photos. One ...continue
7 responses - Posted 07.07.10
(Editor's Note: We are proud to announce that an Istanbul Eats guidebook to dining in Istanbul will soon be available in Turkey, published in English by Boyut Publishers. In the course of preparing the book, we went back to some of our favorite haunts and took some new photos. One ...continue
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