Mar 29
Monday
Kısmet Muhallebicisi: Funky Chicken
Ali Bey, the owner of a cubby-sized restaurant in Küçük Pazarı called Kısmet, sounded a bit like Bubba Gump listing the items on his menu: “Weve got chicken soup, fried chicken gizzards, shredded chicken breast, dark chicken meat too, chicken and rice, chicken with onions and peppers, and chicken breast pudding for something sweet.” There were other items on the menu, such as baked beans and scrambled eggs, but Ali Bey was clearly pushing the chicken.
Considering the type of restaurant we were in – a pudding shop – the menu’s concept became clear. Continue…
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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
Asuman: East of the Border
9 responses - Posted 03.19.10
Considering the fact that Iran is a next door neighbor to Turkey and that so many Iranians call Istanbul home, we’ve always found it more than a bit baffling that there are hardly any Iranian restaurants in the city. Imagine New York with all but a handful of Mexican restaurants? ...continue
9 responses - Posted 03.19.10
Considering the fact that Iran is a next door neighbor to Turkey and that so many Iranians call Istanbul home, we’ve always found it more than a bit baffling that there are hardly any Iranian restaurants in the city. Imagine New York with all but a handful of Mexican restaurants? ...continue
A Culinary Tour of Turkey – in Istanbul
no responses - Posted 03.14.10
The English-language daily Today's Zaman has an article up that takes a look at some of the restaurants in Istanbul serving food from other regions in Turkey. The article (addresses included, for a change), offers some good tips on where to find food from the Black Sea and southeast regions ...continue
no responses - Posted 03.14.10
The English-language daily Today's Zaman has an article up that takes a look at some of the restaurants in Istanbul serving food from other regions in Turkey. The article (addresses included, for a change), offers some good tips on where to find food from the Black Sea and southeast regions ...continue
Kelle Söğüş vs. Kelle Tandir: Face/Off
3 responses - Posted 03.01.10
Don’t people just love to fight about food? Punch-ups over which city makes the best pizza, brawls about what’s the right way to barbecue. Louis and Ella nearly called the whole thing off over the pronunciation of the word “tomato.” In this pugilistic spirit, we took our place at a couple ...continue
3 responses - Posted 03.01.10
Don’t people just love to fight about food? Punch-ups over which city makes the best pizza, brawls about what’s the right way to barbecue. Louis and Ella nearly called the whole thing off over the pronunciation of the word “tomato.” In this pugilistic spirit, we took our place at a couple ...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
Beans: An Investigative Report
1 response - Posted 12.31.09
Editor's note: In honor of New Year's Day, we are rerunning this feature, which was originally posted in April of this year. Happy New Year to all our readers and keep coming back for more in 2010! Until we visited some of Istanbul’s shrines to the baked bean, we generally regarded ...continue
1 response - Posted 12.31.09
Editor's note: In honor of New Year's Day, we are rerunning this feature, which was originally posted in April of this year. Happy New Year to all our readers and keep coming back for more in 2010! Until we visited some of Istanbul’s shrines to the baked bean, we generally regarded ...continue
Zinnet Restaurant: Silk Road Trip
1 response - Posted 11.17.09
There are those restaurants worth going to because of their out-of-the-way location – a fish shack at the end of a lonely beach, a fondue hut at the top of an Alpine ridge. Then there are those worth seeking out despite their location – that culinary gem stuck inside a ...continue
1 response - Posted 11.17.09
There are those restaurants worth going to because of their out-of-the-way location – a fish shack at the end of a lonely beach, a fondue hut at the top of an Alpine ridge. Then there are those worth seeking out despite their location – that culinary gem stuck inside a ...continue
Çiğ Köfte: The Raw Deal
no responses - Posted 10.12.09
It may not quite be up there with Japan’s fugu, blowfish meat that if prepared incorrectly can lead to death, but Turkey’s çiğ köfte is one of those foods that carries with it a certain frisson of danger. Literally translated as “raw meatballs,” the dish is made out of uncooked ...continue
no responses - Posted 10.12.09
It may not quite be up there with Japan’s fugu, blowfish meat that if prepared incorrectly can lead to death, but Turkey’s çiğ köfte is one of those foods that carries with it a certain frisson of danger. Literally translated as “raw meatballs,” the dish is made out of uncooked ...continue
Vefa Boza: Strange Brew
3 responses - Posted 10.07.09
After our first taste, we were not quite ready to sing the praises of boza, a thick, almost pudding-like drink made from fermented millet. But the experience stuck with us. What is that flavor? Something like cross between Russian kvass (a fermented drink made from rye bread) and applesauce may ...continue
3 responses - Posted 10.07.09
After our first taste, we were not quite ready to sing the praises of boza, a thick, almost pudding-like drink made from fermented millet. But the experience stuck with us. What is that flavor? Something like cross between Russian kvass (a fermented drink made from rye bread) and applesauce may ...continue
Sakarya Tatlıcısı: Just Dessert
6 responses - Posted 09.29.09
The arrival of fall usually finds us heading instinctively, like a salmon swimming towards its ancestral headwaters, to Beyoğlu’s Balık Pazarı, the neighborhood’s old fish market. Autumn is quince season in Turkey and that means the appearance – for a limited time only – of one of our favorite desserts, ...continue
6 responses - Posted 09.29.09
The arrival of fall usually finds us heading instinctively, like a salmon swimming towards its ancestral headwaters, to Beyoğlu’s Balık Pazarı, the neighborhood’s old fish market. Autumn is quince season in Turkey and that means the appearance – for a limited time only – of one of our favorite desserts, ...continue
Şehzade Erzurum Cağ Kebabı: Gaucho Kebab Rides Again
13 responses - Posted 09.21.09
We were alarmed to recently discover that one of our favorite spots, Erzurum Cağ Kebapçısı in Karaköy, had closed down. Turns out the owner returned to his former job – being an electrician. Istanbul has plenty of kebab joints, but places serving cağ are sadly hard to find. Originating in the ...continue
13 responses - Posted 09.21.09
We were alarmed to recently discover that one of our favorite spots, Erzurum Cağ Kebapçısı in Karaköy, had closed down. Turns out the owner returned to his former job – being an electrician. Istanbul has plenty of kebab joints, but places serving cağ are sadly hard to find. Originating in the ...continue
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