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Posts Tagged ‘ kaymak ’

Apr 16
Monday

Farewell, Pando: An Istanbul Culinary Legend Passes On

Filed under Features

Pandelli Şestakof, more commonly referred to as Pando Amca (Uncle Pando), the beloved kaymakçı, photo by Yigal Schleifer

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 waiting in line, however, it’s impossible to ignore the scaffolding-covered building just across the way. Though the scaffolding masks most of the historic building, it’s still possible to make out strips of the distinctive baby blue color of what was one of Istanbul’s most beloved eateries: Pando’s kaymak shop.

Read the rest of this feature on Culinary Backstreets.

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All entries filed under this archive


Best Bites of 2015
no responses - Posted 12.15.15
Editor’s note: To give 2015 a proper send-off, we’re taking a look back at all our favorite eating experiences this year. Hamo’nun Yeri The nohut dürüm, a simple wrap of mashed chickpeas, peppers, parsley and spices, may be a popular breakfast choice in certain districts of the southeastern province of Gaziantep, but ...continue
Save Pando: Eviction Threat for Istanbul’s Iconic Kaymak Shop
no responses - Posted 08.08.14
It was at a dinner at Mikla, one of Istanbul’s fanciest restaurants, that we identified a turning point in this city’s restaurant culture, one which might finally favor the informal, traditional and often overlooked local eateries that are the heart, soul and lovely underbelly of this city. In one brief ...continue
Last of the Milkmen: Fehmi Özsüt’s Kaymak, from Buffalo to Table
no responses - Posted 06.19.14
Charming and surprising, Fehmi Özsüt has an easy, no-worries smile that belies a life full of unbelievable stories and intense work. Every day, even on weekends, he wakes up at 3 a.m. in order to run his kaymak business. A quivery clotted cream made from water buffalo milk, kaymak is served with honey ...continue
Istanbul Eats On the Road: Athens’ Culinary Museum of Innocence
no responses - Posted 03.01.13
Editor’s note: This guest post was written by Nicolas Nicolaides, an Istanbul-born Greek who moved to Athens in 1988. Nicolaides is a Ph.D. student in history at the University of Athens whose research focuses on the Karamanlılar (Greeks from Central Anatolia). Once a resort town on the outskirts of the Greek ...continue
Çakmak: Breakfast of Şampiyons
no responses - Posted 01.21.13
When it comes to the first meal of the day in Beşiktaş, it’s hard to pass up the institution that Pando’s lovely old kaymak shop has become. Yet as much as Pando is the neighborhood’s culinary standard-bearer, there is another side of breakfast in Beşiktaş that feels more contemporary, more ...continue
Advice: Flyby Dining in Istanbul?
no responses - Posted 01.07.13
Dear Istanbul Eats, I’ll have an eight-hour layover in Istanbul and was wondering if you have any suggestions for places to go for a good Turkish breakfast and lunch. I love to eat at small, local places serving authentic food. I would prefer restaurants in the Yeşilköy area, as I have ...continue
Sakarya Tatlıcısı: Just Dessert
1 response - Posted 10.29.12
The arrival of fall always finds us heading instinctively, like salmon swimming towards their ancestral headwaters, to the Balık Pazarı, Beyoğlu’s historic fish market. Autumn is quince season in Turkey and that means the appearance – for a limited time only – of one of our favorite desserts, ayva tatlısı ...continue
Özkonak: The Real Pudding Shop
no responses - Posted 04.25.11
(Editor's Note: This review originally appeared on June 12, 2009.) Regulars at Özkonak, a well-loved fixture in Cihangir’s ever-changing restaurant scene, must cluck in disapproval at the sight of a new generation of customers who walk right past the pudding display at the front and head for the steam table and ...continue
Merkez Şekercisi: Through Rose-Flavored Gum Drops
3 responses - Posted 12.28.10
(Editor's note: We are sad to report that after more than a century in business, Merkez Şekercisi has closed.) Despite the surroundings, working as a candyman in Istanbul is apparently not all sweetness. Take, for example, Mustafa Bey, who inherited the 132-year-old traditional Turkish candy shop, Merkez Şekercisi, from his grandfather. ...continue
Since you Asked: Flyby Dining
2 responses - Posted 12.17.10
(Editor's Note: This post is part of our occasional "Since You Asked..." advice column. We welcome our readers' questions, so feel free to send any you might have to istanbuleats@gmail.com) Hi! I'll have an 8-hour layover in Istanbul in a couple of weeks. I was wondering if you have any suggestions for ...continue

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