Istanbul, Istanbul European Side, Istanbulfood's picks, KurtuluÅŸ, Sweet Tooth
One of the hottest days of Istanbul I hit the road to KurtuluÅŸ. For some ice cream and talk. The small, white, compact shop was my stop and I stayed there for hours chatting, eating ice cream and watching the locals, the kids of all age popping in for a treat. The kids run in, [...]
Continue ReadingFish & Seafood, Istanbul, Istanbul European Side, Istanbulfood's picks, Karaköy
If you feel like you are lost, and this place is so wrong for a fish restaurant, it means you are in the right place. Tarihi Karaköy Balık Lokantası is located in Karaköy, in a rumble place. This place was used to be a fish tradesman restaurant, in the good old days. At this small [...]
Continue ReadingFood and Culture, Istanbulfood's picks, Regional Turkish Food, Street food, Turkish Tastes, What's Cooking?
Many drink sodas to beat down the thirst. I prefer something salty rather than sweet. Usually I end up drinking a glass of herb ayran or şalgam suyu. Şalgam suyu is a local drink around Çukurova meaning, Adana, Mersin and even Hatay. Locals prepare şalgam suyu either for their consumption or for a meal ticket [...]
Continue ReadingBüyükada, Istanbul, Istanbulfood's picks, Turkish Tastes
In Büyükada, you supposed to eat fish, right? Wrong! The lining restaurants at the seaside, which apply different fees to different kinds of customers, you never know which one you are till you get the bill, you may end up paying an unexpected amount of money, to an unworthy meal. The annoying-greeter-employees, standing in front [...]
Continue ReadingBakery, Büyükada, Istanbul, Sweet Tooth
On a nice sunny morning we hopped on a ferry and began our trip to Büyükada. The sea is calm, a little breeze, seagulls literally crying…and hungry stomachs. By the time we finished our coffee in the travel mugs finished we approached Büyükada. It was about time for breakfast, so we hopped out! We almost [...]
Continue ReadingAntakya - Turkey, Istanbulfood's picks, Regional Turkish Food, Sweet Tooth, Turkey Tastes, Turkish Tastes
Künefe is made with kadayıf, butter, special unsalted cheese and syrup made from water and sugar. It is a very simple dessert, yet it is hard to maintain this simplicity. Yusuf Usta started his small künefe shop, because he wanted to eat a decent künefe in the land of künefe! Simple as künefe, right? He [...]
Continue ReadingIstanbul, Sorry, but no..., Turkish Coffee
Very sorry to say, but Kuru Kahveci Mehmet Efendi’s coffees are stale, not fresh, flat, odorless. Why not buy the high quality beans and process it? I would definitely pay more for decent Turkish coffee. I realized I stopped buying and recommending their coffee long time ago. The oldest establishment of an industry, the one [...]
Continue ReadingBostancı, Istanbul, Istanbul Asian Side, Istanbulfood's picks
You bite into the half lemon, catch that thought, then add sip of lemonade, there, you have the perfect tangy slurp of the lemon ice cream of Yaşar Usta. It is not a shy from lemon ice cream, it is old school. Like all his other fruit ice creams. When we met with Yaşar Usta [...]
Continue ReadingIstanbul, Istanbul Asian Side, Sorry, but no..., Tradesman restaurant, Üsküdar
I held myself so long for this entry. It makes me sad as I write because, Kanaat Lokantası is one of the oldest esnaf lokantası, tradesman restaurants in Istanbul. But the other day, again and again the same thing happened. Within the last years the quality of the ingredients, the service and the taste of [...]
Continue ReadingAntakya - Turkey, Döner, Istanbulfood's picks, Regional Turkish Food, Tradesman restaurant, Turkey Tastes, Turkish Tastes
If you want to eat local food of Antakya, cooked delicately,deliciously and properly, a must stop is Sultan Sofrası. Metin Tansal is a very demanding boss checking if everything is in order, you may see him in the kitchen or anywhere showing working like his staff. Osman Bey is working like a family member, keeps [...]
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