Aug 16
Sunday
Antiochia: Style and Taste
In Istanbul, we’ve noted an inverse relationship between a restaurant’s atmosphere and what’s coming out of the kitchen. In most cases, as furniture design goes slick, as bathrooms get properly lit and ventilated, as the wait staff becomes customer-savvy, the quality of the kitchen inevitably goes down. Presumably, there are those in Istanbul who go out to eat and those who go out to sit in chic restaurants, and never the two shall meet. But just when we thought this theory was watertight, we stumbled upon Antiochia – a small restaurant in Beyoğlu that exudes cool without sacrificing flavor. Continue…
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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 Reviews (Eats)
Can Ciğer: For the Liver Lover in You
1 response - Posted 08.10.09
We’ve written previously about Turkey’s passionate love affair with liver, one that can turn downright obsessive in some parts of the country. Edirne, an old Ottoman capital city about two hours out of Istanbul, is one of those places. Filled with restaurants selling the dish and nothing but, Edirne is ...continue
1 response - Posted 08.10.09
We’ve written previously about Turkey’s passionate love affair with liver, one that can turn downright obsessive in some parts of the country. Edirne, an old Ottoman capital city about two hours out of Istanbul, is one of those places. Filled with restaurants selling the dish and nothing but, Edirne is ...continue
Mehmet Ercik’s Sucuk Sandwich Stand: Top Dog
1 response - Posted 08.07.09
Just as London’s Savile Row is known for its tailors, and New York’s Canal Street for its cheap handbags, Kadırgalar Caddesi in Istanbul is surely known to all as sucuk central. On any given evening, in this street running between the hills of Maçka Parkı and the nearby Açıkhava Tiyatrosu, ...continue
1 response - Posted 08.07.09
Just as London’s Savile Row is known for its tailors, and New York’s Canal Street for its cheap handbags, Kadırgalar Caddesi in Istanbul is surely known to all as sucuk central. On any given evening, in this street running between the hills of Maçka Parkı and the nearby Açıkhava Tiyatrosu, ...continue
Doğu Türkistan Vakfı Aş Evi: East Meets East
19 responses - Posted 08.03.09
Editor's note: The Ottoman-era building that houses this restaurant is currently undergoing restoration, which means that the restaurant is closed for now. According to one of its owners, the restoration work will be completed next summer and the restaurant will reopen with a new and improved kitchen. With the particularly un-catchy ...continue
19 responses - Posted 08.03.09
Editor's note: The Ottoman-era building that houses this restaurant is currently undergoing restoration, which means that the restaurant is closed for now. According to one of its owners, the restoration work will be completed next summer and the restaurant will reopen with a new and improved kitchen. With the particularly un-catchy ...continue
Melengeç : Mean Greens
2 responses - Posted 07.31.09
They might as well have named Melengeç the “Solar Eclipse” or the “Dodo Bird,” because, in the handful of meals we’ve had at this cozy Arnavutköy restaurant, its namesake dish, melengeç, made from the green leaves of a tree from the Aegean shores, has not once made an appearance at the table. Luckily, there ...continue
2 responses - Posted 07.31.09
They might as well have named Melengeç the “Solar Eclipse” or the “Dodo Bird,” because, in the handful of meals we’ve had at this cozy Arnavutköy restaurant, its namesake dish, melengeç, made from the green leaves of a tree from the Aegean shores, has not once made an appearance at the table. Luckily, there ...continue
Kıyı: A Winning Island Castaway
6 responses - Posted 07.27.09
Editor's note, October 2015: Sadly, we have recently received reports that after a change in ownership at Kıyı, the quality of the food here has gone down significantly. Although the area around the ferry terminal on Büyükada, the largest of the Princes’ Islands, tends to get unbearably crowded during the summer, ...continue
6 responses - Posted 07.27.09
Editor's note, October 2015: Sadly, we have recently received reports that after a change in ownership at Kıyı, the quality of the food here has gone down significantly. Although the area around the ferry terminal on Büyükada, the largest of the Princes’ Islands, tends to get unbearably crowded during the summer, ...continue
Mekan: The Cosmopolitan
8 responses - Posted 07.24.09
Sometimes billed as “that Armenian-Jewish restaurant in Beyoğlu,” Mekan harkens back to the neighborhood’s cosmopolitan past, when it was home to a large non-Muslim population. The food is sometimes Sephardic and Armenian, sometimes Turkish. But the important point here is the place’s authenticity. Mekan is not trying to be anything ...continue
8 responses - Posted 07.24.09
Sometimes billed as “that Armenian-Jewish restaurant in Beyoğlu,” Mekan harkens back to the neighborhood’s cosmopolitan past, when it was home to a large non-Muslim population. The food is sometimes Sephardic and Armenian, sometimes Turkish. But the important point here is the place’s authenticity. Mekan is not trying to be anything ...continue
“Taste Routes” of Turkey
no responses - Posted 07.20.09
The English-language Today's Zaman newspaper has an article in today's edition that points travelers to culinary pit stops throughout Turkey. The suggestions are taken from a book called Lezzet Durakları (literally, "Taste Stops" in Turkish), sadly not available in English. The article has what seem like some very good suggestions ...continue
no responses - Posted 07.20.09
The English-language Today's Zaman newspaper has an article in today's edition that points travelers to culinary pit stops throughout Turkey. The suggestions are taken from a book called Lezzet Durakları (literally, "Taste Stops" in Turkish), sadly not available in English. The article has what seem like some very good suggestions ...continue
Altan Şekerleme: More than Just Eye Candy
1 response - Posted 07.17.09
Just up the Golden Horn from the Egyptian Spice Bazaar is Küçük Pazarı – a rarely explored warren of market streets and Ottoman-era caravanserais that are home to scissor sharpeners, saddle shops, vendors selling axle grease (by the vat) and purveyors of axes. From this potpourri of run-down, yet extremely ...continue
1 response - Posted 07.17.09
Just up the Golden Horn from the Egyptian Spice Bazaar is Küçük Pazarı – a rarely explored warren of market streets and Ottoman-era caravanserais that are home to scissor sharpeners, saddle shops, vendors selling axle grease (by the vat) and purveyors of axes. From this potpourri of run-down, yet extremely ...continue
The Grand Bazaar: Come for the Shopping, Stay for the Food
12 responses - Posted 07.15.09
We like to think of Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar – open since 1461 – as the world’s oldest shopping mall. If that’s the case, shouldn’t the Grand Bazaar be home to the world’s oldest food court? That may be taking the analogy too far, but for us, the Grand Bazaar can ...continue
12 responses - Posted 07.15.09
We like to think of Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar – open since 1461 – as the world’s oldest shopping mall. If that’s the case, shouldn’t the Grand Bazaar be home to the world’s oldest food court? That may be taking the analogy too far, but for us, the Grand Bazaar can ...continue
Adem Baba: Soleman
5 responses - Posted 07.10.09
It must have taken an entire fleet's worth of nets, harpoons, anchors, life preservers and buoys to decorate the dining rooms of Adem Baba. The decorations makes sense: the restaurant got its start as humble, boat-borne kitchen floating dockside in the Bosphorus neighborhood of Arnavutköy, although now it has transformed ...continue
5 responses - Posted 07.10.09
It must have taken an entire fleet's worth of nets, harpoons, anchors, life preservers and buoys to decorate the dining rooms of Adem Baba. The decorations makes sense: the restaurant got its start as humble, boat-borne kitchen floating dockside in the Bosphorus neighborhood of Arnavutköy, although now it has transformed ...continue
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