The 38 Essential Istanbul Restaurants

From above, a table full of dishes including stuffed grape leaves, rice, meat, and chile sauce.
Dinner spread at Mahir Lokantası | Mahir Lokantası / official

From eggplant börek at a century-old spot that served Winston Churchill and Audrey Hepburn, to harissa lamb shank at a chic, modern oasis in the bustling city, here’s where to eat in Istanbul

Few cities rival the immense character of Istanbul. Over centuries, it has been the epicenter of nations and home to many ethnicities and cultures. It’s also a melting pot of people from around Turkey — from the Aegean coast to Eastern Turkey — as well as immigrants from abroad who bring their own cuisines and cultures to pockets across the city. Over the course of a day, visitors may find themselves wandering around kebab shops in an Anatolian-influenced area, perusing stores in a posh shopping district, relaxing with a cup of coffee at a laid back European-style cafe, or picking from the area’s freshest produce at a food market.

The dining options are nearly infinite, from fish restaurants among the villas along the Bosphorus to classic street carts to mind-blowing fine dining. Visitors can enjoy a strong cup of Turkish coffee or surprising Turkish wines, a humble simit or perfect meatballs. On weekdays, busy workers grab breakfast on the go and spend little time at lunch, but the pace slows on the weekends and in the evenings. Locals flock to leisurely weekend breakfasts and spend evenings eating, drinking rakı, and talking at favorite meyhanes (taverns) and restaurants.

French antiquarian Petrus Gyllius wrote of Constantinople in 1561, “It seems to me that while other cities may be mortal, this one will remain as long as there are men on earth.” Here are immortal Istanbul’s essential restaurants.

Tuba Şatana is a food writer focusing on its creators, artisans, the city’s food scene and the food culture of Turkey’s geography, living in Istanbul. She is also creator and founder of Istanbul Food and Sapor İstanbul Food Symposium.)



from Eater - All https://ift.tt/1fP0bLz

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Comforting Braised Pig Feet Recipe Perfect for Your Pressure Cooker

Image
Louiie Victa Chef Jenny Dorsey’s recipe is a testament to the trotter’s versatility When I go grocery shopping, I always look for pig feet. In the sea of unrecognizably standard-looking cuts of animal muscles at grocery stores — disk-shaped loins, round humps of pork butt — trotters are always the anomaly. They look most precisely as they were: feet, hooves, the tired bones and tissue that kept an animal upright its whole life. Unfortunately for pig feet, their look hasn’t exactly made them a popular part of the mainstream American diet. As Cecil Adams wrote back in 2016, one of the challenges in encouraging more Americans to consume offal and organ meat is that “organs resemble, well, body parts: any steak slapped on a plate looks like dinner, while a lovingly presented calf heart may suggest an autopsy.” And, Adams added, there’s the “socioeconomic stigma…that had a racial component too,” which is only exacerbated by “travelogue shows [like] Bizarre Foods .” Despite being mali...
Read more

Beyond Impossible: The Sanitarium and World War II Past of Meat Substitutes

Image
Photo by Tom Kelley/Getty Images We’ve come a long way from John Harvey Kellogg’s “protose cutlets” It’s no stretch to say that fake meat is having a moment . With the popularity of brands such as Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat joining fast-food menus and grocery store aisles alike, plant-based meats are no longer seen as a sad option for vegetarians long denied flavor with meat substitutes (though, as we know, plenty of vegetarian food is packed with flavor), but for anyone who enjoys a good burger, fried chicken, or nuggets. But are meat substitutes really the future of eating? Maybe by necessity as food resources run out, but not likely by choice. In fact, despite the big money raked in by Impossible and Beyond over the past few years, industrial meat consumption in America is actually on the rise. This week on Gastropod , Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley see how the not-sausage gets made, with visits to the Impossible Meat lab and Meati , a Colorado-based start-up that’...
Read more

Without Government Aid, Americans in Need Are Shoplifting Food Essentials

Image
Photo: Niloo /Shutterstock Plus, Colin Kaepernick gets his own Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor, and more news to start your day More people admit to shoplifting what they need to survive Since the pandemic began, Americans have called for relief for individuals and small businesses. Stimulus checks, rent and mortgage cancelation, and universal health care have all been on the table. But aside from $1,200 months ago, we’ve gotten none of that, and the latest stimulus package is woefully inadequate. So, as the Washington Post reports , more people than ever have resorted to stealing essentials like bread, baby formula, and diapers to survive. Honestly, what did the government expect? WaPo says there’s been a 45 percent increase in the number of Americans facing hunger this year, up to 54 million people. Lines at food banks have been miles long for months, with many saying that mutual aid groups and donations can’t keep up with demand . And with SNAP and WIC programs cut back,...
Read more