Thursday

Gülebru Kantin: Döner Redemption

We generally regard the Grand Bazaar as a place of punishment, a den of aggressive, wolf-like hustlers and innocent, lamb-like tourists wearing novelty fez hats. When we have to go, we like to think of ourselves as members of a prison SWAT team, sent in to search a cell for some specific item – Turkmen jewelry, hamam towels and, once, wedding rings.

But upon entering the gates, we end up feeling more like we’ve stepped into the starring role of a prison film in which our character is walking the line to his cell for the first time, trying not to break down and cry. We keep our eyes on the ground and walk with determination, trying to ignore the taunts and hoots that follow us down the corridor. This is not the sort of atmosphere that encourages culinary exploration and the Bazaar is not a place known for its food (with a few stellar exceptions), but on our last visit we followed a lunch tip from Istanbul Daily Secret to Gülebru Kantin, where we were promised an unusually good döner.

The rest of this review can be found on CulinaryBackstreets.com, here.

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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