Join our mailing list!
Email :  


Posts Tagged ‘ Sephardic cuisine ’

Dec 11
Friday

Mari: The Cosmopolitan

Filed under Reviews (Eats)

Mekan, photo by Monique Jaques
In the great multicultural Anatolian kitchen, questions about the ethnic or national origins of foods are often cause for forks and knives to fly. A porridge called keşkek is a hot-button diplomatic issue between Turkey and Armenia, and we won’t even get started on the ongoing baklava debate. So what to make of this cuisine that draws influences from every corner of the former Ottoman lands, a territory stretching from the Balkans to North Africa? The answer might be in a simple term that’s becoming popular among Turkey’s minorities. The word Türkiyeli means “of Turkey” and differs significantly (and quite intentionally) from the word Türk, which often adds ethno-religious shades to nationality.

We find Türkiyeli to be an apt description of most things in this country, and certainly of the restaurant Mari, whose heritage is anything but simple: owned by Armenian and Jewish business partners, the venue is frequented by a diverse clientele that includes many Istanbul Armenians. Nevertheless, Mari wears its identity loosely and is not trying to be anything but a good restaurant with a kitchen turning out well-made, traditional favorites. Hold the culinary nationalism, and dig in.

Read the rest of the update review on Culinary Backstreets.

Culinary Backstreets
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!

All entries filed under this archive


Since You Asked: Jewish Istanbul?
no responses - Posted 03.11.11
Dear Istanbul Eats, For an upcoming trip, I’ve been searching for Jewish restaurants in Istanbul, but without any luck. I thought I would turn to a higher authority and ask what you can suggest? Thank you, N. Osher, Bethesda, Maryland While Istanbul has a sizable Jewish community (perhaps some 20,000) with a long ...continue
The Boyoz Are Back in Town: A Sephardic Treat Returns to the Izmir Street
3 responses - Posted 03.07.11
(Editor's Note: Intrepid traveler and eater Sherri Cohen recently gave us the goods on the Tekirdağ köfte scene. Today, once again on the road, she brings us news of the historic rebirth of an almost extinct street snack in Izmir.) The denizens of Izmir like to think of themselves as the ...continue
Mekan: The Cosmopolitan
8 responses - Posted 07.24.09
Sometimes billed as “that Armenian-Jewish restaurant in Beyoğlu,” Mekan harkens back to the neighborhood’s cosmopolitan past, when it was home to a large non-Muslim population. The food is sometimes Sephardic and Armenian, sometimes Turkish. But the important point here is the place’s authenticity. Mekan is not trying to be anything ...continue

© Copyright by Istanbul Eats 2009 - 2024 Istanbul Eats | Original theme by Zidalgo.