Offal, you either love it or hate it. I love it. Every piece of it, sweetbreads, brain, liver, intestines, heart, testicles, tripe, trotter… When growing up I had the best of offal on my table; lamb brain salad with olive oil, lemon and parsley, pan grilled ram’s testicles, thick slices…
Döner kebab -for the beginners- is a meat dish consists of deboned meat layered on a vertical spit, roasted rotating on its axis, then cut -shaved- thin slices with a special long knife aka döner bıçağı… Served as pide sandwich, wrapped in lavaş, in half loaf of bread or plated on…
I love street food! Love it! Simit, chestnuts, çiğ köfte, döner, kokoreç… You name it, I love it! So I have my stops at various neighbourhoods for different bites depending the time of the day… They are dear to me with their food, with their Ustas and their personalities! Simit… You…
We were in need of good food and a bottle of wine, we did not have a reservation but lucky enough we got a table. By the time we settled down, the place gave us a sense of relief. We were at Yeni Lokanta, Civan Er’s new restaurant. The restaurant itself consists…
Finally the tomato season kicked off! All I want to eat is tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and olive oil! An easy task, after visiting the organic market held at Göztepe Özgürlük Parkı on Wednesdays, I got the first heirloom tomatoes of the season. All from Nar Çiftliği, from farm to table,…
I crave for lahmacun, all the time, every time! The abusive smell of the mincemeat mixture, the crispiness of the dough and the first bite! I love lahmacun! Who doesn’t?! But I don’t settle for any. Here are my four lahmacun restaurant in Istanbul! Halil Lahmacun at Kadıköy Balık Pazarı. Tiny shop with…
Artichoke chips, paté, zeytinyağlı enginar, sauteed artichokes…. Artichoke cooked every way, for all, from all. It may sound ridiculous to you but artichoke is the king and queen of the vegetables summoned, for me. Not a true vegetable, but belonging to a thistle family, is like a calling for its…
Long time waited (long enough for me and her fans) Kantin’s Dükkan was opened on Thursday, April 4th, 2013. A Şemsa Denizsel design deli – bakery, will be the new hang out place in the beautiful area, Bebek. Everything is Kantin-made. Her famous bread is playing the key role here. You…
One great surprise today was the kuzu sarma I came across at Çiya… It was the first of the season, cooked with orzo, it was a true delicacy! And have to admit it was one of the best things I had at Çiya for a long time. Ordered one portion and did…