Offal minds in Istanbul
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…
Pideban, Butter and Old Radios
They all ordered kıymalı pide and a big jug of ayran, 5 workers in uniforms… Fortunately we had arrived before them and ordered our share of pide. With each order…
Where to eat the best döner kebab in Istanbul
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…
Turkish Coffee enters UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List
He was excited, Özgür, he has been my partner in coffee crime for more than 15 years, ‘I have some great news for you, about Turkish coffee…’ He has been working…
Introduction to Alancha of Kemal Demirasal
Actually I would have let the photos talk for themselves, but that would be unfair and incomplete… Last week Bade and Ayşe of MSA send me a notice stating Alancha…
Turkish Food Prononciations, Kokoreç!
The ultimate carnivorous street food, the one and only kokoreç, is an adventurous taste as well as the name! Watching usta prepping your order, chopping, placing it on the grill for the extra crispy sweetbread, then…
Faces of Turkey by The Perennial Plate!
It was a very hot summer day in Istanbul… Me, Daniel and Mirra of The Perennial Plate strolled all day long… I took them to my favorite places, introduced them…
Slow Fish Istanbul!
Good, clean and fair fish… As Fikir Sahibi Damaklar of Slow Food, we had started our well known campaign to save our Lüfer of Bosphorus for the next generations on…
Eating on the streets of Istanbul!
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…
Making Kars Gravyeri at Boğatepe Köyü
Have you travelled to East of Turkey? Do you know that particular blue that hangs above you? How crispy the mornings are… How bright the sun shines… How green the…
MAD Symposium Copenhagen, It Takes Guts!
ATTENTION! CONTAINS REALITY! Lined up at the entrance of the big red circus tent, the curtains opened as the loud music started, James Hetfield’s voice, ‘can’t remember anything, can’t tell…
On a Bayram morning…
When we were kids… The Bayram morning was always an early rise! The earlier, the more money you start collecting, oops, I mean sweets! After getting dressed and with our…
Istanbul Food on LA Times
And LA Times! Long time food critic and food writer S. Irene Virbila of LA Times visited Istanbul with her family. So I had the privilege to take her out on…