Feb 18
Monday
Istanbul’s Burger Battle Goes International
As we’ve previously chronicled, the Tünel end of Istanbul’s famed İstiklal Caddesi was some two years ago the site of a heated burger war. It all started when a former Turkish basketball-player-turned-restaurateur who had spent time studying in California opened up Mano Burger, a mostly successful recreation of the kind of burger joints the owner frequented in the United States. Mano was only in business for a few months when a rival emerged a few doors down in the form of the more upscale Dükkan Burger, part of a mini-chain that was affiliated with what was at the time Istanbul’s trendiest butcher.
For a while the rivalry burned white hot, but then, suddenly, it flamed out. Mano, squeezed between a problematic landlord and Beyoğlu municipal inspectors unhappy about burger smoke wafting over Tünel Square, threw in the towel and closed down. Meanwhile, Dükkan’s business model of charging high prices while continually lowering the quality of the meat it served finally did it in. Tünel had suddenly turned from a sizzling burger battleground into a burger graveyard.
The rest of this new post can be found on CulinaryBackstreets.com, here.
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Recent Posts
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no responses - Posted 05.08.18
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no responses - Posted 04.09.18
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Hanging On to History: Edible Nostalgia in Samatya
All entries filed under this archive
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8 responses - Posted 04.23.12
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8 responses - Posted 04.23.12
Six months ago we were very concerned to see one of our favorite burger joints, Mano Burger, closed down. The workers gutting the place told us there was financial trouble. Someone else said they’d opened up shop on the Asian side, in Bostancı. For six months, Mano seemed to go ...continue
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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
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2 responses - Posted 07.28.10
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2 responses - Posted 07.28.10
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2 responses - Posted 05.20.10
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2 responses - Posted 05.20.10
Yesterday, a New York Times article, titled “Marijuana Fuels a New Kitchen Culture,” reported that some “chefs are unabashedly open about marijuana’s role in their creative and recreational lives and its effect on their restaurants.” With dishes like poutine of foie grois, cereal milk flavored soft-serve ice cream and deep-fried ...continue
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4 responses - Posted 04.14.10
(Editor’s Note: We've been looking this week at some of the new burger places that have recently opened up in Istanbul. After trying out some of these new joints, our thoughts kept drifting back to the classic "Wet Burger" served by Kizilkayalar in Taksim. A true Turkish original, the "Wet ...continue
4 responses - Posted 04.14.10
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11 responses - Posted 04.13.10
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11 responses - Posted 04.13.10
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9 responses - Posted 04.12.10
(Editor’s Note: Turkey is not unfamiliar with cooking ground meat – it is the home of köfte and kebab, after all – but hamburgers (at least the kind we’re used to) have never really been part of the landscape. That seems to be changing, though. Recently, a whole new crop ...continue
9 responses - Posted 04.12.10
(Editor’s Note: Turkey is not unfamiliar with cooking ground meat – it is the home of köfte and kebab, after all – but hamburgers (at least the kind we’re used to) have never really been part of the landscape. That seems to be changing, though. Recently, a whole new crop ...continue
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3 responses - Posted 01.21.10
Editor's note: Along with Dürümzade, Istanbul Eats favorite Kızılkayalar was also featured in the recent episode of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations." The Taksim veteran's famous "wet burgers" - which Bourdain seemed to enjoy immensely - came in 3rd place in our recent "Top 5 Istanbul Street Foods" competition. For those ...continue
3 responses - Posted 01.21.10
Editor's note: Along with Dürümzade, Istanbul Eats favorite Kızılkayalar was also featured in the recent episode of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations." The Taksim veteran's famous "wet burgers" - which Bourdain seemed to enjoy immensely - came in 3rd place in our recent "Top 5 Istanbul Street Foods" competition. For those ...continue
Istanbul’s Top 5 Street Foods: #3 – Kızılkayalar’s Wet Burger
8 responses - Posted 12.02.09
Editor’s note: This is the third installment in our look at Istanbul’s top five street foods. The sign may read “Wet Burger” (“Islak Burger” in Turkish), but there’s a lot more to say about Kızılkayalar’s moist mini-patties than that. How about “Heavenly Slider,” “Binge Drinker’s Delight,” or “The Best 2 Lira ...continue
8 responses - Posted 12.02.09
Editor’s note: This is the third installment in our look at Istanbul’s top five street foods. The sign may read “Wet Burger” (“Islak Burger” in Turkish), but there’s a lot more to say about Kızılkayalar’s moist mini-patties than that. How about “Heavenly Slider,” “Binge Drinker’s Delight,” or “The Best 2 Lira ...continue
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