Nov 15
Monday
Rengahenk Café: Welcome Home
(Editor’s Note: This guest post was written by Asher Kohn, one of the creators of Istanbul Altı, a smart new blog that covers developments in Istanbul and Turkey.)
Istanbul has many restaurants promising home-cooked meals or something along the lines of what’s known as “ev yemekleri.” Specializing in various dolmas or pılavs, these places may offer decent food, but it is all too often served in a white, antiseptic-looking dining room. At Rengahenk, just off bustling Moda Caddesi on the Asian side, the mother-daughter team greets you from the kitchen. A real, live kitchen with a fridge, sink, wall clock and wooden paneling. This isn’t a home-style restaurant, but more like a home that serves food to the public. 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 this archive
Ali Usta’s Salep: Pure and Uncut
3 responses - Posted 10.25.10
Cemal Bey sits behind a desk in a small, bare office on the second floor of a decrepit building near the Egyptian Bazaar in the city’s old quarter. Three large burlap sacks filled with what look like jumbo-sized yellow raisins are all that adorn the room. That and a fax ...continue
3 responses - Posted 10.25.10
Cemal Bey sits behind a desk in a small, bare office on the second floor of a decrepit building near the Egyptian Bazaar in the city’s old quarter. Three large burlap sacks filled with what look like jumbo-sized yellow raisins are all that adorn the room. That and a fax ...continue
İnciraltı: Meyhane Time Machine
1 response - Posted 08.30.10
We like to think of İnciraltı, a laid-back meyhane in the sleepy Bosphorus-side Beylerbeyi neighborhood, as a destination restaurant – not so much because of the food, but because of the destination itself. Not that there’s anything wrong with the food here, which is reliably well made. The meze tray at ...continue
1 response - Posted 08.30.10
We like to think of İnciraltı, a laid-back meyhane in the sleepy Bosphorus-side Beylerbeyi neighborhood, as a destination restaurant – not so much because of the food, but because of the destination itself. Not that there’s anything wrong with the food here, which is reliably well made. The meze tray at ...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
All Aboard: Eating in Istanbul’s Haydarpaşa Rail Station
no responses - Posted 06.14.10
Today's Zaman has a great article today looking at the traditional Turkish restaurant in the lovely and historic Haydarpaşa rail station on Istanbul's Asian side, a kind of meyhane for those about to ride the rails. The article makes the restaurant sound like such a fun spot to eat that ...continue
no responses - Posted 06.14.10
Today's Zaman has a great article today looking at the traditional Turkish restaurant in the lovely and historic Haydarpaşa rail station on Istanbul's Asian side, a kind of meyhane for those about to ride the rails. The article makes the restaurant sound like such a fun spot to eat that ...continue
Antebi: Straight Outta Antep
8 responses - Posted 06.04.10
On Saturday afternoon, in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep, our baklava was neatly wrapped with plastic and then paper, tagged “Antebi, Istanbul” in black marker and escorted to the bus station by either Levent or Bülent of Zeki İnal Baklavacısı. While we slept that night, our baklava passed through ...continue
8 responses - Posted 06.04.10
On Saturday afternoon, in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep, our baklava was neatly wrapped with plastic and then paper, tagged “Antebi, Istanbul” in black marker and escorted to the bus station by either Levent or Bülent of Zeki İnal Baklavacısı. While we slept that night, our baklava passed through ...continue
Kandilli Suna’nin Yeri: Port of Call
3 responses - Posted 05.14.10
Boatspotting on the Bosphorus is a favorite pastime for those lucky enough to have windows with the right view. On any given weekend afternoon on the busy straits that divide this city, the ship and boat traffic unfolds like a caravan of the flags of the lesser-known countries of the ...continue
3 responses - Posted 05.14.10
Boatspotting on the Bosphorus is a favorite pastime for those lucky enough to have windows with the right view. On any given weekend afternoon on the busy straits that divide this city, the ship and boat traffic unfolds like a caravan of the flags of the lesser-known countries of the ...continue
48 Hours in Istanbul: An Eater’s Guide
12 responses - Posted 02.08.10
(Editor's Note: The New York Times' travel section recently ran a "36 Hours in Istanbul" feature that was low on good eating suggestions. Prompted by the Times piece, today's post is a food-centric "48 Hours in Istanbul" guide we prepared a few months ago for a local magazine.) Day One: Turkey’s ...continue
12 responses - Posted 02.08.10
(Editor's Note: The New York Times' travel section recently ran a "36 Hours in Istanbul" feature that was low on good eating suggestions. Prompted by the Times piece, today's post is a food-centric "48 Hours in Istanbul" guide we prepared a few months ago for a local magazine.) Day One: Turkey’s ...continue
Fauna: Let Them Eat Pasta
5 responses - Posted 01.14.10
Editor's note: Sadly, Fauna was recently forced to close after losing its lease. The owner/chef is looking for a new space. We will update this writeup as soon as we know more. Visitors to Turkey beware: in Turkish, the word “pasta” means cake or pastry. Go into a place advertising “pasta” ...continue
5 responses - Posted 01.14.10
Editor's note: Sadly, Fauna was recently forced to close after losing its lease. The owner/chef is looking for a new space. We will update this writeup as soon as we know more. Visitors to Turkey beware: in Turkish, the word “pasta” means cake or pastry. Go into a place advertising “pasta” ...continue
Beans: An Investigative Report
1 response - Posted 12.31.09
Editor's note: In honor of New Year's Day, we are rerunning this feature, which was originally posted in April of this year. Happy New Year to all our readers and keep coming back for more in 2010! Until we visited some of Istanbul’s shrines to the baked bean, we generally regarded ...continue
1 response - Posted 12.31.09
Editor's note: In honor of New Year's Day, we are rerunning this feature, which was originally posted in April of this year. Happy New Year to all our readers and keep coming back for more in 2010! Until we visited some of Istanbul’s shrines to the baked bean, we generally regarded ...continue
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