Istanbul Research - 6/12/2012

Sunday, October 25, 2020

 

6/15/2012

 

 

Anthony Bourdaine - No Reservation – ISTANBUL, TURKEY

Asitane

This spot features recipes from the Ottoman Empire.

Kariye Camii Sokak No. 6, Edirnekapi, Istanbul, Turkey

Vefa Bozacisi

A local favorite, Vefa Bozacisi has been concoting a unique drink made with chickpeas for years.

Katip Celebi Caddesi No. 104/1 Vefa, Istanbul, Turkey

Kale Cafe

Tony sits down to a traditional Turkish breakfast on the Bosphorus River.

Yahya Kemal Caddesi No. 16 34470 Rumelihisan, Istanbul, Turkey

Roke Balik Restaurant

Roke sits on a breakwater overlooking both the Black Sea and the Bosphorus River and is known for its fresh fish.

Rumeli Feneri Liman ici No. 1 Rumelifeneri, Istanbul, Turkey

Sur Ocakbasi

Baby lamb cooked in an underground oven is on the menu for lunch at this favorite spot in the Fatih District of Istanbul.

Iftaiye Cad No. 27 Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey

Durumzade

A local chef takes Tony shopping for offal and then to a friend's restaurant to cook it up.

Kalyoncu Caddesi No. 58, Balikpazari Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey

Kalamar Restaurant

The place in the busy Nevizade district of Istanbul is where locals unwind with Raki and Mezzes.

Huseyin Aga Mahallesi Sahne Sokak No. 33, Balikpazari Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey

Kizilkayalar

Kizilkayalar serves up Doner kebab and Wet Hamburgers to bar-hopping Turks.

Siraselviler Caddesi No. 6 Taksim, Istanbul, Turkey

Tatbak

Lamachun is served at Tatbak and has been for several years. Tatbak is a popular lunch spot for business-minded Turks.

Akkavak Sokak 28/A Nisantasi, Istanbul, Turkey

Balkan Lokantasi

Tony tries the traditional lunch of the market workers in Istanbul at Balkan Lokantasi restaurant.

Hocapasa Mahallesi Hocapasa Sok No. 26, Sirkeci, Istanbul, Turkey


 


 

ISTANBUL EATS IN PRESS

Postcard from Tom: In Istanbul, a calorie-laden tour of Turkish delights

By Tom Sietsema, Published: July 15, 2011 | Updated: Saturday, July 16, 10:46 PM

Pickle juice for breakfast? Not exactly how I envisioned kicking off my tour of the food attractions starting near the popular Spice Market in Istanbul. But one of the early lessons of spending the day with tour guide Angelis Nannos — a wiry Greek native with a passion for Turkish traditions that’s shared by his American bosses, the authors of the clever restaurant guide “Istanbul Eats” — is keeping an open mind (and a willing stomach).

So here some pals and I find ourselves, sipping sour vegetable juices in the belly of a warehouse stacked high with bags of coffee beans and equipped with a small kitchen for brewing tea and coffee. Burly workers get up from a worn table to make space for Nannos, his new charges and his purchases from some choice stalls in the market: olives, cheese, that liquid eye-opener from the pickle vendor and simit, Turkey’s equivalent of a bagel, sprinkled with sesame seeds. Our impromptu picnic is served atop sheets of newspaper and accompanied by the comings and goings of the men, who ferry trays of steaming tea and thick coffee to the merchants outside. None of the regulars in this warren of offices and storage, or han, bats an eye when a doctor strolls in and takes the blood pressure of one of the senior characters.

The print and online versions of “Istanbul Eats,” written and photographed by Ansel Mullins and Yigal Schleifer, are smart, affectionate and sometimes irreverent looks at the food scene in this metropolis of more than 10 million. The live-action spinoff of the 2010 guide is a calorie-laden insider’s look that goes well beyond what regular tourists glimpse.

Hence our breakfast in the warehouse.

Our day with Nannos actually began at 9:30 a.m., in Eminonu Plaza in the Old City, with an introduction to the amazing nut, cheese, olive, fish and other vendors nearby, who distinguish themselves from their competition in, say, Paris and Beijing by encouraging — almost begging — shoppers to sample their goods.

“You have the right to try,” instructs Nannos, who gave up a job as a civil engineer to teach and blog about food, music and other passions and joined Istanbul Eats just a year ago. “You’re not obliged to buy.” It was advice I used in Istanbul thereafter, but not before I’d shelled out $90 elsewhere for some pistachios and the marshmallow-like confection known as Turkish Delight after encountering a particularly persuasive dealer. I blame the transaction on jet lag.

Breakfast is behind us, but there’s baklava straight ahead, at the fragrant Tatlici Safa (the tour is arranged not based on your appetite at the moment, but on where the good stuff happens to be). Nannos is on such friendly terms with the crew behind the glass display cases that he dons a white hat and joins them to cut samples of baklava for us. There’s a lot to take in: baklava with walnuts, baklava with the more expensive pistachios, baklava in the shape of lips and baklava flavored with . . . chocolate? Nannos catches the frown on my face and says that it isn’t blasphemy but part of Istanbul’s charm to embrace “the new with the old.” The chocolate confection, which we eat with kaymak, similar to clotted cream and made from buffalo milk, is fabulous, and I don't even care that much for chocolate.

We rinse our hands of sugar and crumbs and stroll to a one-man show in a nearby alley. He’s tending sputtering bolsters of kokorec suspended horizontally over red-glowing charcoal. Translation, please? Sweetbreads bundled in lamb intestines. The grill master slices off a round the size of a saucer, chops the milky offal on a wooden surface that’s been worn into a well from all the pounding, and serves us the delicacy in the hollow of a crusty baguette. The mouth registers fat, funk, oregano, salt, chili pepper: pleasure. As he will do throughout our time together, Nannos pulls out a money purse and pays for everything we consume, no matter how much or (later into the tour) how little. Istanbul Eats’s $125 price per person becomes more of a bargain with each stop.

Nannos wants us to see a working-class restaurant that started out as a soup kitchen for the poor in the shadow of the Rustem Pasa Mosque, which dates back five centuries. So in we go to a plain room where a handful of men occupy a handful of tables and eat the kind of food their wives or mothers would make for them if the men could spend more time away from their jobs. (Part of the appeal of Istanbul Eats is its maximum of six guests per tour, which allows easier access to gems such as this; as Nannos says later, “We try not to spoil them.”) We try a few spoonfuls of red lentil soup bright with lemon and hot with red pepper, then follow that with some more time travel.

Altan Sekerleme has been selling candy and confections since 1865; photographs on a wall depict members of three of the four generations that have sweetened the days of customers with satiny hard candies (akide) and Turkish Delights (lokum), displayed in tall glass jars or cupboards that look as if they’ve been around since Day One. Again, a proprietor lets Nannos slip on a glove and hand out tastes of the treats, which are made on site, upstairs. The colors are straight out of cartoons; the flavors run to mint, cinnamon, orange, rose petal and a peach that suggests the actual ripe fruit was used.

The sweets call for tea, which we sip in the nearby courtyard of another han, this one animated by a blacksmith and dating to the 17th or 18th century. “We like to keep secrets for our guests,” says Nannos. This ancient setting is among them.

The pause in the action gives us a chance to get to know our guide on a more personal level. “I’m hooked on Istanbul,” he says, as if there were any doubt. “I don’t want to leave for one day. She will be jealous of me,” he half-jokes. Unlike the guide we had earlier in the week, who wanted to take us to late-night belly-dancing shows and a man-made island on the Bosporus with its own pool, Nannos wants us to see a side of his adopted city that few tourists experience. “I don’t want to be the star of the walk,” he says, and we believe him, even though “the walk” wouldn’t be nearly so entertaining without him.

At one point on our stroll from west to south, every third storefront appears to frame people having their hair cut inside. Nannos says there’s a saying: “Half the men in Istanbul are barbers, and the other half are customers.” A tip for gents: You can skip the Turkish baths here, but don’t even think about forgoing an old-fashioned shave featuring warm lather, a sharp blade and, depending on where you land, a head or shoulder massage.

None of us is the least bit hungry. But the sight of a man shaving lamb from a large spindle prompts us to rally. Besir Ete, the bald swordsman with the kindly mug at Bereket, brings to mind that “Top Chef” top gun, Tom Colicchio; the subject of his attention is not the ubiquitous trunk of meat that lesser purveyors buy frozen from factories, but lamb that he has put together himself, along with alternating layers of tomatoes, onions and bell peppers: sebzeli doner kebab (the first word means “with vegetables”). It is not a traditional doner kebab, Nannos says, but the combination of juicy meat and crisp vegetables (served over rice or with bread) gets a thumbs up for innovation. The striped tower takes the vendor two hours to assemble each morning, Nannos tells us; the secret to its succulence is marinating the lamb in shredded onion and onion juice the night before. We exit thanking Ete, who pats his hand over his heart.

The idea of fermented millet as a chaser doesn’t excite anyone but Nannos. But his enthusiasm for the Ottoman-era beverage called boza is infectious, and he knows just the spot to try it in Vefa, the neighborhood we have wandered into. Dressed with a handsome wood bar, pale yellow walls, mosaic tiles and a glass said to have been used by Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, in 1937, Vefa Bozacici looks like a cross between an espresso bar and a saloon. The house draw, made with yeast, water and sugar, is poured into tall glasses and sprinkled with cinnamon. Roasted chickpeas can be added at the table. The beige result is like a liquefied pudding, mildly sweet but also slightly salty. We are pleased to have drunk it.

It is after 3 p.m. when Nannos leads us through the Kurdish neighborhood of Kandinlar Pazari, and we collapse into the outdoor seats at Siirt Seref Buryan , a restaurant where the regulars include the prime minister and the specialty is whole lamb suspended on hooks and cooked in a dome-topped oven that goes more than eight feet into the ground. Again, we see today blending with eons ago: Half the table is facing skyscrapers and half has a view of the nearby ancient Roman aqueducts. I’m a grazer by profession, but like my fellow travelers, I’m suffering from stimulus overload and taste-bud fatigue. For a moment, I consider flagging a taxi to return to our hotel. But soon the table is crowded with some of that lamb, a rippled dip of red peppers, onion and tomatoes, and a wedding dish called “rice in curtains” (steaming pilaf beneath a crisp cover of pastry made with yogurt). And so we feast again.

We’ve only strolled a little more than a mile in the past six hours, but it feels as if we’ve canvassed the whole of Turkey. We are exhausted and exhilarated. And very, very full.

I returned to Washington with notebooks filled with names of places I’d love to visit again. The best place for a cup of Turkish coffee? Possibly the slip of a stall called Mandabatmaz, tucked away in an alley near the St. Antoine Church off Istikal Caddesi. Mullins introduced me to the father-and-son stand, the faded sign for which translates into English as “The Buffalo Won’t Sink,” because of the thickness of the coffee; the beans for the shop are roasted and ground fresh each day. We sat on wooden stools on a sloped sidewalk comparing the different strengths and came to the conclusion that “orta,” coffee with “a medium” amount of sugar, was best.

Fish lovers should take the time to seek out the inviting Kahraman, which was recommended to me by the Turkish ambassador to the United States, Namik Tan. The signature of the restaurant, the route to which hugs the Bosporus, is simply grilled, ugly but delicious spotted turbot preceded by tasty seafood salads and accompanied by extraordinary warmth (and lots of pantomime).

Serious food connoisseurs need to make time for Ciya Sofrasi , whose chef and owner, Musa Dagdeviren, has made it his mission to revive and reinvent Turkish cuisine. Aim for a perch outside, hopefully the yellow wooden table that is so close to the kitchen window that you might be greeted (as we were) with some charred bell pepper doled out by one of the smiling cooks. Some customers go inside to select their food, much of it on display in pots and platters; we let the servers make those decisions for us. What followed were a soft sail of sesame-seeded bread; exquisite kibbe fashioned from finely ground beef and pistachios; cigar-thin dolma filled with tart rice; tender meatballs the size of marbles; fish wrapped in grape leaves; a salad of figs and tomatoes; orbs of candied eggplant and a crescent of pumpkin draped with walnut sauce. There may be no finer food in the city. Part of the enchantment of dining at Ciya Sofrasi is reaching it via a short ferry ride to the Asian side of the Bosporus.

All those experiences made me grateful to have met Istanbul, yet the only place my friends and I sought out for a second meal was Bereket, that inexpensive doner kebab vendor in the Old City, which we returned to the very afternoon after our tour with Istanbul Eats.

This time, however, we took our guide’s initial advice: “Come with totally empty stomachs.”



A Tour of Istanbul's Street Food By Elizabeth Helman Minchilli

If you're like me, when you travel, you like to plan your trip around food. Seeing the sights is important, I know, but having an authentic food experience gives you insights into the local culture that no amount of church- and museum-going can provide. (And mind you, I started out life as an architectural historian.)

Today, with a bit of research on the Internet anyone can scope out the best restaurants, markets, and food sources. At least up to a certain point. What about the places that fall through the cracks? The place where the guys who sell fish take their coffee break. Or where spice vendors stop mid-morning for a bowl of lentil soup.

You can't walk two feet in Istanbul without being offered some lokum, or Turkish delight.

I don't usually sign up for tours of any kind; I always think I can figure things out on my own. But for a recent trip to Istanbul I felt help was in order. The culture is a mystery to me. So I signed up for a street food tour with a new company, Istanbul Eats.

The company was started by two expats who have lived in Istanbul for years, Ansel Mullins and Yigal Schleifer . They are intrepid explorers of the city's culinary byways and wanted to share their experiences. These are the places that no one has written about. Besides writing a nifty little book, also titled Istanbul Eats, they recently started offering
tours based on their unique itineraries, led by equally enthusiastic colleagues.

Our tour started at 9:30 and lasted until 3ish. I just did a count and we stopped for food and/or drink at no fewer than 12 places, not counting mini-stops at shops and market stands. It was as if we packed in a week's worth of eating into six hours. Here is our itinerary, but make sure you look at the slide show below. (Warning: It may make you hop on the next flight to Istanbul.)

9:30. We meet our guide, Angelis Nano, in front of the Spice Market. Angelis is a transplanted Greek who fell in love with Istanbul and started working as a guide to share his passion. His enthusiasm is immediately contagious. We bypass the Spice Market, which he says is a tourist trap, and head to the surrounding alleys filled with stands selling everything from sumac by the kilo to sheep's heads. We shop for our "breakfast": olives, cheese, simit (sesame-covered bread), and cheese.

9:40. We make our way into what looks like a coffee warehouse and is in fact where the market vendors store their goods. Tucked among the sacks of coffee is one small desk, next to a closet-sized tea and coffee shop. We lay down newspapers, and spread out our goods, while hot coffee and tea is prepared. Vendors wander in and out, chatting with us, although we don't understand a word. We share our breakfast, and have a lesson in how to brew Turkish coffee.

10:00. We continue our exploration of the back streets of the old city, stopping at a lotus root merchant, coffee roaster, and spice wholesaler. We visit the one remaining kosher restaurant left in the city (unfortunately closed at this hour).

10:05. Sweet time. A stop at a pastry shop that makes sugar-syrup drenched "sultan's lips," which we devour.

10:15. Tucked between the Rustem Pasa Mosque and the Spice Market is Halis Kardesler. This tiny restaurant has five Formica-topped tables and caters to the market workers. It's actually a bit late in the morning, so the crowds are gone. Most market vendors stop here at the crack of down for lentil soup, which we slurp up before moving on. We also manage to devour a plate of buttery pilaf.

10:40. What street food trek would be complete without a pide stop? We go to Mave Halic, and get a lesson in how to make classic pide. Which really is like an oval pizza, as far as I can tell. The lamb sausage on top, however, was a purely Turkish touch.

11:00. More wandering in and out of shops. Picked up a nifty set of brass and steel kebab spears, plus an engraved steel tray.

11:10. You can't walk two feet in Istanbul without being offered some lokum, or Turkish delight. Even though it all looks the same, it of course varies in quality. We head straight for one of the oldest workshops that still crafts its own, Altan. My favorites were the traditional rose and pistachio flavors. We also bought a package of pistachio halva in case we got hungry.

11:20. We got hungry. So, we stop in another closet-sized tea shop located in an abandoned han. This 17th-century building, Ali Pasa Han, is where traveling merchants would lock up their goods at night, before bringing them to the bazaar in the morning. While we explored the empty, haunting rooms, Ismet Sahin prepared tea for us, which we sipped while nibbling on our halva. He's been brewing coffee and tea here for more than 30 years.

11:45. We crossed into a much more conservative neighborhood, Kucuk Pazari, where my daughters and I were not just the only non-Muslim women, we were pretty much the only women on the street. This neighborhood is also called "Kantarcilar," which refers to the weights and measures sold here since Ottoman times. Our goal: to reach the next stop, which included our first taste of kebap on this trip. Kebap is everywhere you look in Istanbul, and has become more or less a symbol for junky touristy food. Our stop, however, was anything but touristy. We joined the all-male clientele to eat the kind of kebap they must eat in heaven: sebzeli doner. Thin layers of lamb alternated with tomatoes, lettuce, and onions and turned in front of a grill. Fresh rolls were sliced and filled with the juicy meat and vegetable combo. A glass of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice to wash it down.

12:15. After a mostly uphill trek through the hills of Fatih neighborhood, we arrived at an Istanbul institution: Vefa. Vefa has been mixing up boza since 1876. Never heard of boza? It's a thick, almost pudding-like drink that is made from fermented millet. Pale yellow and slightly sweet, but strongly sour, it's sprinkled with cinnamon and served in a glass, with a spoon. Angelis ran across the street, to a small shop, to buy a bag of roasted chickpeas, which we floated on top. The first sip was decidedly weird. By the end we were hooked, like most of the city's population.

12:45. Our walk continues through the Kurdish neighborhood of Kadinlar Pazari, which is full of butchers selling lamb everything, and cheese vendors hawking cave-aged goat cheese flecked with wild herbs from the highlands around Lake Van. We buy a container of candied pumpkin, for the road.

1:00. Believe it or not, we now finally arrive at lunch. And believe it or not, we are actually hungry. Siirt Seref is a Kurdish restaurant specializing in buryan kebap. Not just any kebap, but a full, mostly deboned lamb that has been lowered into a clay oven (kind of like a tandoor) and slow-roasted. The resulting meat was tender, fatty, and chopped into bite-sized pieces before being piled on a juice-soaked flatbread. Of course the main dish was preceded by an endless array of meze, the highlight of which were spiced raw lamb çiğ köfte, meatballs, which we doused in lemon juice and rolled up into lettuce leaves. The candied pumpkin was the last thing we managed to squeeze into our mouths before our final Turkish coffee.


 

à la mode

à la mode is the journal and creative outlet of Rick Poon, a Los Angeles photographer obsessed with food, travel, and design, though not necessarily in that order. Usually a man of few words, rick aspires to express himself through means other than pretty photos. Yes, that means writing!

To see more of Rick’s work, visit his Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rickpoon/

ARTICLES:

http://www.alamodejournals.com/index.php/2010/04/lost-in-istanbul/

http://www.alamodejournals.com/index.php/2010/06/lost-in-istanbul-part-ii/

http://www.alamodejournals.com/index.php/2010/09/lost-in-istanbul-portrait-of-a-city/


a la mode –eating in Istanbul

Food has become an ever-increasingly important facet of travel these days, and it’s hard to deny that a country’s or region’s cuisine has as much to say about itself as any historical site, museum, or tourist attraction. Istanbul is no exception; every restaurant, dish, and bite create a beautiful tapestry that illustrates the soul of the people, and the complex, intertwined history of immigrants, exotic trade and spice routes, and foreign conquests that have help shape the fabric of the city and its culture. So, it’s not difficult to imagine that discovering the food of Istanbul would be a important if not integral part of our visit. Given the size and sprawl of this metropolis, it’s easy to get lost among the sheer number of eateries and restaurants commanding your attention. But thanks to a stack of guide books, some great online sources, valuable advice from locals, and a little serendipity and luck, we were able to uncover some fabulous eats over the duration of our stay that made our trip to Turkey simply wonderful; probably one of the most memorable to date.

Our baptism into the world of Turkish food occurred shortly after arriving into Istanbul. Famished after the long journey from LA, we sought a quick, late-night fix to quell our growling stomachs and stumbled into the busiest establishment we could find. Within steps of the W Istanbul, Şampiyon Kokoreç looked like any other chain fast food joint: small, brightly-lit, staffed with neatly-uniformed employees, and filled with post-drinking revelers and hungry insomniacs. We soon found out the specialty, kokoreç, is the small and large intestines of lamb, layered on a spit and slowly roasted. The meat is pulled off the spit, chopped and grilled with tomatoes and red peppers, and dusted liberally with dried oregano. The hash is served as-is on a plate, or as I prefer it, scooped into flavor-sopping bun. The resulting sandwich, in my opinion, is one of the best contributions to Turkish late-night cuisine. The combination of charred and juicy bits, with intense lamb flavor (surprisingly devoid of the usual innards funk) would convert even the most offal averse. Greasy, filling, and absolutely delicious. Kokoreç was quite possibly the best (and unanticipated) introduction we could have hoped for, and the perfect late-night snack.

I have to admit the thought of getting around Istanbul was initially quite intimidating. All the books, articles, and travel shows could only do so much to paint a picture of this vast and exotic city. It can be overwhelming the first day or so, but the expanse quickly shrinks down to a more manageable size. When it comes to the food scene in Istanbul, One resource that was invaluable in plotting out the culinary landscape was istanbuleats.com. This English language website contains a wealth of restaurant reviews and hand-picked recommendations, uncovering hidden gems passed up in the usual guide books.

One of the many choice finds suggested by istanbuleats was the lovely Van Kahavaltı Evi. Specializing in regional fare, with a focus on local and organic products, this lively hotspot in the Cihangir neighborhood serves up a wonderful Turkish breakfast. We enjoyed a leisurely morning street side, sampling regional cheeses with tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, and crusty bread, and sipping hot tea elbow to elbow with young Turks. Not to be missed is the sucuklu menemen, fluffy scrambled eggs with spicy sausage, tomatoes, onions, and peppers, and the indulgent bal kaymak, Turkey’s version of clotted cream, adorned with beautifully golden honeycomb. If there was a better way to start the day, we didn’t know it.

Another great suggestion from istanbuleats was the wonderful Zübeyir. Just off Istiklal Caddesi (the main walking drag in Beyoğlu), this quaint kabob house is a must try for the ubiquitous grilled skewers found throughout Istanbul. We grabbed prime seats next to the ocakbaşı (a long hearth with a beautiful, hand-hammered copper hood), and had a fabulous evening watching a variety of meats sizzle and smoke over crackling hardwood coals, and finding their way onto our plates and into our happy stomachs. Along with perfectly grilled skewers like the spicy adana kabob, lamb chops, and the amazingly succulent lamb ribs, we also selected a few plates from their tray of mezze (appetizers), like a creamy pumpkin mash with tart pomegranate molasses, and black-eyed peas with parsley, dill, and lemon. We toasted a night of great food and good cheer with a few glasses of anise-y raki, the Turkish spirit not unlike the Greek ouzo.

Any visit to Istanbul will inevitably lead you to the Galata bridge, the link between the new and old city, and the busy southside waterfront of Eminönü. It is here at the mouth of the Golden Horn where you will find throngs of people rushing to and from the ferries that shuttle locals and visitors alike to various stops up and down the Bosphorus. This whole area seems to be teeming with fish; those who seek to catch them, as evident from the scores of locals with their poles angled off the sides of the bridge, and the restaurants and vendors who aim to cook and sell you some. Many of the restaurants that occupy the lower level of Galata will attempt to lure you in with a sales pitch and some Turkish charm, but the real action occurs adjacent to the ferry landing, where gilded and ornately decorated floating kitchens will sell you balik ekmek. There’s something more fun watching your fish sandwich, which is simply grilled and served with shredded lettuce and onions in a baguette, being made on a boat, and then deftly handed off as swells lull the package within the vendor’s grasp on terra firma. Balik ekmek is typically consumed with an alarmingly rosy-tinged cup of briny salgam, or pickle juice (I tried a pickle but refrained from drinking the juice). However you wish to eat it, a worthwhile experience nonetheless.

If there was one thing we couldn’t get enough of in Istanbul, it was kaymak. Luscious, creamy, and never too rich, this indulgent treat became a part of our morning ritual. Luckily for us, just a short stroll from our hotel was Beşiktaş Kaymakçi, where charismatic owner Pando serves his kaymak traditionally with a spoonful of Turkish honey, accompanied with a light and crisp baguette. Show any interest, and he will proudly gesture to old photos on the wall, of ancestors that have run this old shop since 1895, and of water buffaloes from which kaymak is made (from the milk that is). Beşiktaş Kaymakci is a charming piece of living Istanbul history, well off the beaten tourist path. If you’re in the neighborhood, pay old Pando a visit.

If traditional establishments reflect the cuisine of Istanbul’s past, a good handful of restaurants also point to the city’s modern and chic present. At the sleek Mikla restaurant, star chef Mehmet Gürs displays the creative fusion of his Turkish and Scandinavian roots. Local fish like grouper is sliced raw and presented simply with dill, chives, lemon, and jewels of caviar. Flavorful Kıvırcık lamb, sourced from the Trakya region in Northern Turkey, is offered in various preparations, each accompanied with modern takes on familiar ingredients. The food is only topped by the killer, panoramic view of the city that is alone worth the price of entry.

Though upscale, posh places weren’t really part of our focus, we also stopped into the Ortaköy branch of the House Café for a little bite to eat. With multiple locations throughout Istanbul, this cafe offers casual, contemporary plates like mini lahmacun ‘pizzas’ (flatbread with minced meat), paninis, and Italian coffee in trendy interiors individually designed by local firm Autoban.

There’s still more food to come in a future entry. I just wanted to spare everyone the crazy single post with a thousand photos. Hopefully this time it won’t take another month or so to post it.

Şampiyon Kokoreç
Balik Pazari Sahne Sokak No. 3/B-C, Beyoğlu
+90 (212) 251-2511

Dolmabahçe Caddesi No. 3A, Beşiktaş
+90 (212) 259-6268

Van Kahavaltı Evi
Defterdar Yokuşu No. 52A, Cihangir
+90 (212) 293-6437

Zübeyir
Bekar Sokak No. 28, Beyoğlu
+90 (212) 293-3951

Beşiktaş Kaymakçi
Koyici Meydani Sokak, Beşiktaş
+90 (212) 258-2616

Mikla
Marmara Pera Hotel
Meşrutiyet Caddesi 15, Beyoğlu
+90 (212) 293-5656

The House Café
Salhane Sokak No. 1, Ortaköy
+90 (212) 227-2699

 


 

EATING IN ISTANBUL PART II

Just about a year has passed since my visit to Istanbul and I’m finally getting around to posting the last of the photographs from the trip. As I look at the images, reminiscing about the neighborhoods we explored, the names of restaurants and dishes we consumed, a lot of the details are hard to recall without referring to my written notes. One thing that did however leave a lasting impression was how wonderfully gracious and hospitable the Turkish people were during our stay. There was a genuine warmth and generosity in just about everyone we came across. Just beautiful people, period. I had such a great time in this amazing city, and along with the remaining food bits I wanted to share a little more of the people I captured with my lens.

One of my most memorable experiences was meeting up with Angelis Nannos of Istanbul Eats, our culinary and cultural guide for the good part of a morning during our week-long stay. The restaurant reviews from Istanbul Eats were so invaluable during our research and planning, that we made arrangements to be one of the first to participate in one of their walking food tours. Quirky but instantly lovable, Angelis led us through a labyrinth of narrow alleyways and crowded markets, showing us a breadth of foodstuffs from the ubiquitous to the more obscure. Visits to some off-the-beaten-path historical sites during the tour kept things interesting and well balanced. If you love food and culture, there isn’t a better way to get acquainted with the city.

More like a good friend than guide, Angelis was always more than happy to answer our barrage of questions about Turkey, its food and random minutia. Since we were the only ones in the group, he was also able to tailor the tour to our preferences (less touristy stuff, more food!). Along the way we met some incredibly beautiful and down-to-earth people; humble, proud, and always eager to oblige in my portrait requests.

I realized in documenting the things we ate on our trip, I found myself too focused on the plates in front of me. What was really grabbing my attention were the people behind the food (and the people of Istanbul in general), and I was really beginning to enjoy capturing their expressions. Their warm smiles and easy demeanor say it all.

Along our stroll we ran into a curious little vendor frying anchovies street-side. “Oh that’s hamsi”, Angelis exclaimed. I told Angelis we must try some.

These little anchovies were lightly dusted in cornmeal and fried crisp on the outside. A simple spritz of lemon was all that was needed. I have to say that this impromptu snack ranked as one of the best things I tasted in Istanbul. Delightfully fresh, briny, and piping hot on the inside. What I wouldn’t do to have a tray of that right now with an ice cold Turkish Pilsner.

We took a break in a hidden courtyard for a cup of çay (tea) and Türk kahvesi (Turkish coffee) to go along with some pastries we bought along the way.

Life in Istanbul can be quite leisurely. Let me rephrase that, people take time to enjoy themselves (unlike our fast paced culture at home). The men do enjoy their tea, and at all times of the day you can see runners with trays full of tea delivering hot amber glasses from storefront to storefront.

In a city that’s as modern and forward as Istanbul, it’s great to see shops that still specialize hand craftsmanship and individual trades.

As we ventured away from the throngs of tourists to a curiously quieter part of town, we arrived at a unique little shop. Vefa Bozacisi specializes in boza, a thick, slightly sour drink (popular during the Ottoman Empire) made from fermented millet seed. With a dash of cinnamon and a handful of roasted chickpeas on top, it’s an odd drink you consume with a spoon. Acquired taste aside, I can appreciate the little piece of history and tradition that’s being preserved and carried on.

The ever energetic Angelis took us next to another neat find, again less frequented by tourists. Kadinlar Pazari in the Fatih neighborhood is Istanbul’s Kurdish district. There’s a quaint pedestrian square is flanked by butcher shops and markets selling all types of meats, cheeses, and produce from Turkey’s eastern region.

Our little journey (and tour) ended at one of the square’s many restaurants for a leisurely afternoon meal.

Siirt Şeref Büryan Kebap Salonu specializes in regional Arabic dishes from the eastern part of Turkey that borders Syria and Iraq. The eponymous dish, büryan, is a slab of succulent roasted lamb that’s carved up and served atop freshly-baked pide bread.

We had a great time chatting over juicy pork bits and another Siirt specialty, perde pilaf, a cone of fragrant rice studded with shreds of chicken, almonds, and currants baked inside a crispy shell.

If you ever make it out to Istanbul… I mean when you do, make sure to hit these guys up. And ask for Angelis, you won’t be disappointed.

Spend any time in Istanbul and it’s highly likely you’ll end up in the Tünel/Asmalımescit area of Beyoğlu. The narrow cobblestone streets are home to outdoor cafes and pubs called meyhanes, which is like Turkey’s version of a tapas bar. It’s a great late night option when you want a little something to eat, and get your drink on too.

Black Sea comfort food at Pera Sisore in the Asmalımescit neighborhood

Another great place to explore at night is Istiklal Caddesi, the popular pedestrian avenue in the Beyoğlu district, and the adjacent Taksim Square. Besides people (locals and tourists alike), it’s chocked full of boutiques, stores, and food options of every imaginable kind.

Just off Istiklal Caddesi by the Beyoğlu fish market is Durumzade, a tiny wrap shop made famous by a particular travel show host (and it’s not the one that likes to eat grubs and iguanas). These handheld lavash wraps (durum) of minced chicken or beef kabobs are the perfect answer to the munchies after a long night hitting the bars. Good thing they’re open 24 hours.

In our conversations with our new friend Angelis, we asked him what he would recommend us to try. “Iskender” was his answer. I’m not sure we ended up at the restaurant he suggested (we walked back and forth on the Istiklal Caddesi trying to find a particular distinguishing landmark), but the iskender at Bursa Kebapçisi was spectacular enough.

iskender at Bursa Kebapçisi

This dish reminds me of a Turkish version of our American sports bar nachos. Cubes of pide bread, slathered with melted butter and a tangy tomato sauce, is heaped high with döner (thinly shaved lamb), köfte (ground meat), and filet, drizzled with yogurt, and garnished with tomatoes and green peppers. Guilt-inducingly decadent. I’m salivating just thinking of it.

At this point I think a little dessert would be nice. You can find baklava in small shops all over town, but I have to admit that the giant Costco-sized Karaköy Güllüoğlu was one of the best I tried. There’s almost 20 varieties of baklava (including my favorite, chocolate!), plus a handful of other decadent treats.

We shared an assortment with a few glasses of tea; a fittingly sweet end to our beautiful trip to Istanbul and to this series of posts. Chapter closed.

Vefa Bozacisi
Katip Çelebi Caddesi No. 104/1, Vefa
+90 (212) 519-4922

Siirt Şeref Büryan Kebap Salonu
Itfaiye Caddesi No. 4, Fatih
+90 (212) 635-8085

Durumzade
Kalyoncu Kulluk Caddesi 26/A, Beyoğlu
+90 (212) 249-0147

Bursa Kebapcisi
Atif Yilmaz Caddesi 8, Beyoğlu
+90 (212) 249-9742

Karaköy Güllüoğlu
Katli Otopark Alti, Karaköy
+90 (212) 293-0910

 

 

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