Jan 03
Monday
Best Bites of 2010: Our Take
(Editor’s Note: Although the new year is already upon us, we had so many memorable Istanbul dining experiences in 2010 that we wanted to take one last look at the past year’s culinary highlights. So, before we get to the work of further exploring Istanbul in 2011, here’s our top 10 bites of 2010.)
For us, the best bites are often the ones that are most reliable. Before we review a restaurant for this site, we try to return several times to make sure that that best bite wasn’t a fluke.
1. Pera Sisore was always a reliable favorite of ours. However, after a shakeup in management we’ve noticed a dip in quality and consistency. Luckily, half of the Sisore team, including the kitchen staff, recently opened a new place in Beyoğlu called Hayvore. We are happy to report that all of the Sisore favorites are on offer at Hayvore. Perhaps one of our last bites in 2010, Hayvore is definitely among the best.
2. Just down the street from Hayvore is another standard in our playbook, Çukur Meyhane. Continue…
In case you didn’t know, Istanbul Eats now lives over at Culinary Backstreets. Same great culinary walks, same great culinary writing. You’ll be redirected there in a few seconds!
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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
Best Bites of 2010: Iftar in Fatih
1 response - Posted 12.13.10
(Editor’s Note: As 2010 heads to an end, we are looking back at our “Best Bites” of the year and are asking our readers to do the same and share their best Istanbul eating moments with us. This submission (after the jump) comes from Budapest residents Bob Cohen and Fumie ...continue
1 response - Posted 12.13.10
(Editor’s Note: As 2010 heads to an end, we are looking back at our “Best Bites” of the year and are asking our readers to do the same and share their best Istanbul eating moments with us. This submission (after the jump) comes from Budapest residents Bob Cohen and Fumie ...continue
Best Bites of 2010: Getting Stuffed in the Grand Bazaar
no responses - Posted 12.10.10
(Editor’s Note: As 2010 heads to an end, we are looking back at our “Best Bites” of the year and are asking our readers to do the same and share their best Istanbul eating moments with us. This submission (after the jump) comes from Barcelona resident Hollis Duncan, who had ...continue
no responses - Posted 12.10.10
(Editor’s Note: As 2010 heads to an end, we are looking back at our “Best Bites” of the year and are asking our readers to do the same and share their best Istanbul eating moments with us. This submission (after the jump) comes from Barcelona resident Hollis Duncan, who had ...continue
Fatih Karadeniz Pidecisi: Crunch Time
2 responses - Posted 11.19.10
Inside Fatih Karadeniz Pidecisi nothing could be heard over the crunch and crackle of fresh pide being torn open and chomped down upon. Still, the man across the table from us spoke in a low, conspiratorial whisper, “There are some very well-known businessmen sitting at that table by the window. ...continue
2 responses - Posted 11.19.10
Inside Fatih Karadeniz Pidecisi nothing could be heard over the crunch and crackle of fresh pide being torn open and chomped down upon. Still, the man across the table from us spoke in a low, conspiratorial whisper, “There are some very well-known businessmen sitting at that table by the window. ...continue
Mihman: Plov and Happiness
3 responses - Posted 11.05.10
(Editor's Note: Since it turns out that "DTVAE," our favorite Uighur restaurant in town, is closed while the Ottoman-era building it is in is being restored, we thought it might be worthwhile to again run this review of another excellent Uighur spot -- which happens to be right around the ...continue
3 responses - Posted 11.05.10
(Editor's Note: Since it turns out that "DTVAE," our favorite Uighur restaurant in town, is closed while the Ottoman-era building it is in is being restored, we thought it might be worthwhile to again run this review of another excellent Uighur spot -- which happens to be right around the ...continue
Sesame Ring Circus
no responses - Posted 09.17.10
We've previously sung the praises of the humble but mighty simit, naming it one of our "Top 5" street foods and marveling at its ability to take on the bagel on its home turf. It looks like Istanbul municipal officials have gotten wise to the bread ring's rise. Yesterday marked the ...continue
no responses - Posted 09.17.10
We've previously sung the praises of the humble but mighty simit, naming it one of our "Top 5" street foods and marveling at its ability to take on the bagel on its home turf. It looks like Istanbul municipal officials have gotten wise to the bread ring's rise. Yesterday marked the ...continue
Urfali Haci Usta: In the Bosom of Abraham
2 responses - Posted 08.09.10
Like Turkish foreign policy, we could easily be accused of “tilting east” these days. Just after making our way to Fatih’s Öz Kilis, we soon found ourselves trawling the streets of the nearby Aksaray neighborhood in search of food from another southeastern Turkish city near the Syrian border, in this ...continue
2 responses - Posted 08.09.10
Like Turkish foreign policy, we could easily be accused of “tilting east” these days. Just after making our way to Fatih’s Öz Kilis, we soon found ourselves trawling the streets of the nearby Aksaray neighborhood in search of food from another southeastern Turkish city near the Syrian border, in this ...continue
Fight For Your Right to Eat on the Street
no responses - Posted 08.05.10
A disturbing article in today's Hurriyet Daily News reports on efforts by the Beyoglu and Fatih municipalities to crack down on "unlicensed" street food vendors. As increasingly hassled vendors tell HDN's reporter, licenses are almost impossible to get. Meanwhile, a Beyoglu municipal official tells HDN that the only street food they ...continue
no responses - Posted 08.05.10
A disturbing article in today's Hurriyet Daily News reports on efforts by the Beyoglu and Fatih municipalities to crack down on "unlicensed" street food vendors. As increasingly hassled vendors tell HDN's reporter, licenses are almost impossible to get. Meanwhile, a Beyoglu municipal official tells HDN that the only street food they ...continue
Öz Kilis: Kebab That Deserves to Be Panned
4 responses - Posted 08.02.10
In Turkish popular lore, the denizens of Kilis, a town in southeastern Turkey right near the Syrian border, are known for two things: kebab-making and smuggling. We haven’t been to Kilis, so we can’t vouch for the smuggling bit. But we did recently have lunch at Öz Kilis, a wonderful ...continue
4 responses - Posted 08.02.10
In Turkish popular lore, the denizens of Kilis, a town in southeastern Turkey right near the Syrian border, are known for two things: kebab-making and smuggling. We haven’t been to Kilis, so we can’t vouch for the smuggling bit. But we did recently have lunch at Öz Kilis, a wonderful ...continue
Pamuk Usta’s Nohut Dürüm: Garbanzo Gone Gonzo
3 responses - Posted 06.21.10
In previous posts, we’ve reported on the unusual eating habits in Turkey’s hot and dusty Southeast. In Gaziantep, we noted the “wake and flake” baklava breakfast. In Urfa it was a morning dose of grilled liver. But in the town of Nizip (and elsewhere in the area), the favored first ...continue
3 responses - Posted 06.21.10
In previous posts, we’ve reported on the unusual eating habits in Turkey’s hot and dusty Southeast. In Gaziantep, we noted the “wake and flake” baklava breakfast. In Urfa it was a morning dose of grilled liver. But in the town of Nizip (and elsewhere in the area), the favored first ...continue
Eski Kafa: New-Age Old-Fashioned
3 responses - Posted 01.05.10
An ironic wink and nudge come with the restaurant name Eski Kafa, which is also a Turkish term for “old-fashioned to the hilt.” This little eatery, with its Zen lodge décor and signage boasting “all natural,” “organic” and “without hormones,” is also decidedly new-age – to the hilt. Previously an ...continue
3 responses - Posted 01.05.10
An ironic wink and nudge come with the restaurant name Eski Kafa, which is also a Turkish term for “old-fashioned to the hilt.” This little eatery, with its Zen lodge décor and signage boasting “all natural,” “organic” and “without hormones,” is also decidedly new-age – to the hilt. Previously an ...continue
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