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Posts Tagged ‘ Asian side ’

Feb 01
Monday

Korkmaz Büfe: Poetry in Rotation

Filed under Reviews (Eats)

Korkmaz Büfe, photo by Paul Osterlund

Istanbul’s Kadıköy district on the city’s Asian side has long been billed as a calmer, more laid-back alternative to some of its swarming, chaotic European counterparts, and it seems everyone’s figured that out by now. Though the rocks that straddle a long stretch of winding, serene shoreline still make for one of the most relaxing hangout places in the city, the pedestrian Mühürdar Caddesi running through the heart of Kadıköy is choked with foot traffic on the weekends, while a staggering number of bars and coffee shops have appeared on the scene within the past two to three years.

In the district’s affluent, picturesque borough of Moda, where rents get higher as one approaches the Marmara Sea coast, these new establishments are rapidly altering the classic character of the neighborhood, as espresso bars replace tuhafiyeler (haberdasheries) and sahaflar (used bookstores) close down to make way for Irish pubs and burger joints.

But on the neighborhood’s main street, which snakes its way to the shore, a tiny restaurant bustles with customers hell-bent on getting their hands on excellent döner. Open since 1991, Korkmaz Büfe serves what some insist is the city’s best, and it tends to run out quickly.

Read the rest of this review at Culinary Backstreets.

Culinary Backstreets
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All entries filed under this archive


Bizim Ev: The Stash House
no responses - Posted 07.30.13
Editor’s note: This post was written by “Meliz,” an intrepid explorer of Istanbul’s culinary backstreets and frequent guest contributor who would like to keep her anonymity. It all started with Laz böreği. It was not just any Laz böreği that showed up at the dinner party that evening, but perfect Laz ...continue
İsmet Baba: Great Fish for Goodfellas
no responses - Posted 10.15.12
Diners in Istanbul are spoiled with options for fresh seafood. But most venues are mere caricatures of places like İsmet Baba, where traditions have been kept sacred for more than 50 years. While many other such restaurants are kitschy, İsmet is gritty and authentic. Located in Kuzguncuk, a charming neighborhood ...continue
Kebapçı İskender: Delicious, By Law
no responses - Posted 09.24.12
A visit to Bursa İskender Kebabı®feels as if you’ve stepped right into the war room of the İskenderoğlu family’s never-ending quest to establish ownership over the İskender kebab, a plate of dönerlaying on a bed of cut flatbread doused with tomato sauce and butter and served with a scoop of cool ...continue
Hıngal Mantı: Dumplings in Exile
4 responses - Posted 07.02.12
(Editor’s Note: This guest post was written by Jeff Gibbs, a denizen of Istanbul’s Asian side and author of the very engaging blog “Istanbul and Beyond.”) It seems like every İstanbullu I meet has a secret ethnicity lurking in their past. One cousin’s father is a refugee from Bulgaria, a Kurdish ...continue
The Sultans’ Spread: Brunching in Ottoman Splendor
3 responses - Posted 06.22.12
On a hot summer day, the thought of sitting in a cramped kahvaltı salonu does not whet the appetite, nor does the prospect of paying a hefty hesap to eat breakfast at one of the swanky hotels that line the Bosphorus. It sometimes seems that you have to travel to ...continue
Fazıl Bey Kahvesi: Fad Proof
8 responses - Posted 05.18.12
Two young men stood about 15 feet apart on a sunny narrow street in the Kadıköy market, chafing in their brown lab coats. The one tending to a handful of white marble tables barked “buyrun!” (roughly, “come and get it!”) at passersby; the other quietly wiped down seven or eight ...continue
Island – and Table – Hopping in Istanbul
1 response - Posted 04.25.12
Istanbul's Princes' Islands, a lovely archipelago just off the city's Asian shore, offer what we believe to be the best travel bargain anywhere in the world. Whenever we're in need of a vacation but can't afford the airfare, a ferry awaits to take us to the islands. For the price ...continue
Semolina: Convivial in Kadıköy
18 responses - Posted 02.17.12
(Editor's Note: This guest post was written by Jeff Gibbs, a denizen of Istanbul's Asian side and author of the very engaging blog "Istanbul and Beyond.") On a dark and deserted street in January covered in swirls and swirls of snow, a bright pool of light shines from a ground-level window. ...continue
Bizim Ev: The Stash House
4 responses - Posted 12.06.11
(Editor’s Note: This guest post was written by “Meliz,” an intrepid explorer of Istanbul’s culinary backstreets and a frequent contributor to these pages who would like to keep her anonymity.) It all started with Laz böreği. It was not just any Laz böreği that showed up at the dinner party that evening, ...continue
Yanyalı Fehmi Lokantası: The Culinary Memory Bank
no responses - Posted 09.02.11
For a hungry person in search of the culinary backstreets, an initial look at Yanyalı Fehmi Lokantası, a restaurant at the mouth of the Kadıköy market, does not inspire much confidence. By the door stands a chintzy plaster statue of a chef in a poofy hat holding his paunch. A ...continue

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