Friday

Güngör Büfe: Sultan of Sandwich

The büfe is a prominent part of the Istanbul streetscape, playing a vital role in the daily life of the city. These are corner stores where you can get a can of beer, a single cigarette, a lotto ticket and, often, a panini-like grilled cheese sandwich. At most büfes, food is an afterthought, but at Güngör, located in the waterfront Karaköy neighborhood, it’s their sandwiches that hold up traffic around lunchtime.

At first glance, Güngör looks like any other corner store, but stoop down to knee height and behold the sandwich-fixing smorgasbord that awaits. Inside a glass-lined cooler facing the sidewalk, little containers crowd for space – one holds a stack of thinly sliced tongue, while another a bright red, chunky eggplant sauce. In another part of the expansive cooler, small glass tubs filled with black olive paste, chopped green olives and an assortment of pickles lie beneath a block of white cow’s milk cheese. The number of combinations of all of the offerings could be accurately calculated, but, to the hungry customer, it seems infinite. Continue…

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