All you need is in a single bite; comforting taste of the bread -tırnaklı ekmek- just baked at a local wood-burning oven, the velvety texture of the chickpeas, the crunchiness of onion, the hot Urfa pepper flakes and the fresh taste of parsley.
A bite of perfection…
All it takes is some flour, salt, water, kneading, time, fire. Then you have a bazlama, a flat bread, one of my favorite of all breads, especially if prepared by Yurdagül with that local flour mixture of hers, some whole wheat, some rye, some white flour. Eat it right out of fire with some butter and salt, a cup of tea. If there is any left, I prepare a sandwich, enjoy it with cold beer…
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5.00am, first buzz, snooze. 5.15am again then jumped out of bed around 5.30am remembering why! I was on my way to Ali Haydar for morning liver kebab! How could I forget! I took a taxi and at 6.00am and one … Continue reading
Pistachio, fıstık, is a true delicacy and one main ingredient for baklava, in Gaziantep. The pink smooth skin covers the shelled pistachio inside which still has a softer skin then the usual roasted one.
The ones which have already cracked, growing their way outside he skin, pressuring it to open its mouth, called çıtlak and preferred by the locals. There are many street seller in the city, walking around heaped carts, with the eye catching contrast of blue nylon and pink pistachios.
The fruit is hidden inside the pink skin, then the semi soft outer skin. It has a taste like any other, mellow, moist and a little fatty taste, but bursting you with its flavor, the fruit inside has all the tones of green. The more vivid green, the more it has a unique taste, yellower green the taste becomes lighter. As I told these are the fresh ones, not roasted, so they are not salted and I prefer this other than the roasted ones. The fıstık season has ended so, these are the last ones I could catch in Gaziantep.
Now, this particular gadget is for cracking open the pistachio shells rather then trying to break you teeth, trying to get the delicious fıstık out from its skin, if the shell is closed, or you do not want to ruin your nails. As seen, it has many kinds made from brass, metal and covered with hand decorated figures, motives…
Will be back for more delicious Gaziantep.
Quiet streets. Lunch time. Barely. Early lunch, late breakfast hour lets say. Avery modest, very local spot.
It all started with the pomegranate sprinkled ezme, then came haşlama içliköfte. Piping hot, one bite to tuck in, the taste of the meat, the spices, pistachio and of course cracked wheat, bulgur. I was about to order another round when I saw the tray approaching us. Our kaburga dolma came to the rescue.
The rib cage of the small animals especially kid or lamb, are filled with a very delicious rice pilav, iç pilav, and the meat is sewed together, then steamed and finished in the oven till it falls off the bone, literally. Served with pilav rimmed around the kaburga, the first look is amazing!
Watching the skillful waiter while he prepares the kaburga for you, you can not hold your saliva. He starts by cutting and removing the stitches then boning it and leaving you with a heaping portion of delicious meat and pilav in the middle of the table. A sight for sore eyes!
The meat is succulent, the fat is melting in your mouth, the pilav has the right spices and you just want to eat more and be merry!
A once in a lifetime experience for some, a delicious stop for others.
Address: Ali Emiri Caddesi No: 22/B, Diyarbakır
Phone: (412) 224 4447
Hop on the F cable car! We are going for breakfast.
To Chow at Church. A place to eat delicious, fresh, healthy food coming from the local farmers and producers.
You will thank me later!
Very polite and nice people greet you, immediately seated where you want.
Ordered coffee. Menu is eggs, pancakes, oatmeal, coffee, tea, fresh juices… hard to choose. But we had our eyes on the chicken apple sausage as side, a bacon scrambled eggs with mushrooms, spinach and a vegetable scramble with goat cheese, some OJ, we are good to go. Nice fresh filter coffee.
Our food arrived just as we started our second cup of coffee. Looking delicious, eggs taste great, yes the real egg taste -not he phony supermarket eggs- cooked just as I like, not dry, a little runny. Rye bread is lightly toasted, thin, you taste the grains and love it. Some brown mustard with the apple sausages. Done!
A morning treat, a great way to start a day.
A full tummy before you hit to Castro.
A sunny San Francisco morning.
Address: 215 Church Street, San Francisco, CA 94114
Phone: (415) 552 2469
Service Hours: Open everyday. Sun-Thurs 8.00am-11.00pm, Fri-Sat 8.00-12.ooam
Istanbulfood San Francisco maps
Two facts about lahmacun.
Must be thin.
Must be crispy.
And must be delicious.
Some with garlic, some with onion. Always good quality flour, meat and a know-how.
Tiny restaurant, Halil Lahmacun has been serving to Istanbul locals since 1980. Their success is the sustainability. The lahmacun is crisp, little burnt on the edges, as for the ingredients you can taste the onion, the meat, the dough, all at the same time, lovely. The smell of the cooked thin dough is homey.
Two chefs, usta, working busily, complementing each other. While one kneads and makes little balls of dough, and thins it with a rolling pin, passing on the other chef, who finishes it by spreading the meat mixture on the dough while stretching it with his fingers. Then the lahmacuns are laid on the long shovel and hop in the big burning oven.
Served with parsley and lemon on the side, believe me you do not need them. Just order spicy or plain. Or if you are not in your meat mood, try their peynirli pide, pide with typical Turkish cheese – beyaz peynir – parsley and eggs.
The menu is simple yet fulfilling your lahmacun hunger. That’s why you are at Halil Lahmacun.
Address: Güneşlibahçe Sk. No:26/A, Kadıköy Food Market, Kadıköy, Istanbul
Phone: (216) 337 0123
Service Hours: Open everyday from 11.00am – 11.30am till 9.00pm-9.30pm
In the good old days, when fathers or grandfathers took their sons or grandsons to a movie, they used to stop at Petek Büfe to grab a bite. But not any bite. The name was Artist! A hot dog sandwich, what made all the fuss.
As years passed they had to move their little shop twice, around Bahariye, Kadıköy. Still they are serving the same menu, adding couple of more items. They still make their own sausage, Russian salad and mustard. The Artist, formed by a sandwich bread toasted in the machine, 1 sausage and topped with Russian salad and pickles.
You ask for mustard, and the party begins. The sausage is very tasty and well accompanied with the rest of the ingredients, one bite, and another, then you have Russian salad all over your face. The best way to enjoy any sandwich is to get messy! You taste all of the ingredients, chumping on big bites, and order one more before you gulped down half of the sandwich. Since my love for mustard above any other, I help myself a generous amount. The mustard is brown, very very spicy, but worth every tear. The artist and the mustard!
They have couple of more toasted sandwiches, mostly named by their customers and having coolest and funniest names like Zamazingo, Anjelik, Kozmik, Hazgül.
Like their customers, this place is the complete father to son establishmentstanding bold since 1956. It is a loyalty to stop there and fill our hungry tummy with this delicious grub and remember the good old days, listen to some memories told by the customers.
Address: Bahariye Cad, Sakızgülü Sk No:31/A, Kadıköy, Istanbul
Phone: (216) 3487 0538
Service Hours: 7.00am till around 9.30pm everyday
