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 the time of the day… They are dear to me with their food, with their Ustas and their personalities! Simit… You call is bagel, you call it pretzel… Simit is the ultimate timeless street food, loved by all and consumed. Although the city is scattered with that red simit carts, every neighbourhood has a simit bakery and from these bakeries the sellers fill their carts. Simit is a savoury ring shaped dough, roughly which is dipped in the molasses water mixture, then covered with local sesame seeds and baked. When you are walking down Beyoğlu, around Galatasaray Lisesi you are withdrawn to the dimly lit small cart… There lies a little army of içli köfte of Sabırtaşı. Sabırtaşı was known as Ali Topçuoğlu -we called him Ali Baba- içli köfte, of Kahramanmaraş. 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 long knife aka döner bıçağı… Served as pide sandwich, wrapped in lavaş, in half loaf of bread or plated on pilav, on pide… with a side of onions, pickles, tomatoes, pepper… the possibilities are endless, the result is always delicious!
These days, we are surrendered by back to back opening chain döner shops all around the city. The high end butchers and all big so and so’s getting knees deep into making döner somewhat what is not, even serving it with ketchup, mayo and other condiments… What a disgrace! My all time favorite döner stops consist of small places, great döner and lovely people, my great usta, who love what they do! Karadeniz Pide ve Döner Salonu; my all time favorite!
Asım Usta needs no introduction to Istanbul döner lovers! Çiya; definitely the best döner in Kadıköy! Food & Drink. It’s a fact that Bird’s flavours, bar and ambiance plays a part in this, in addition to the experience of two partners who know their business well.
The duo, tired of clichés, searched for a new concept when creating Bird, and as a result, the restaurant has a relaxed, chic feel. Bird’s got an exotic atmosphere with brick walls, a marble bar, wooden décor and greenery. The menu is that of a restaurant, but the space has more of a café feel. The grill and bar menus were created with this idea in mind, and they’re perfect for lunches, snacks or after-work drinks. 10 Best Turkish Street Foods. Istanbul might be a goldmine of culinary variety, but it’s no secret that dining at the city’s most fashionable restaurants can leave a hole in your wallet.
Whether you’re in a hurry to fill your stomach or your funds are running a bit low, Gizem Ünsalan’s list of the best street food is sure to come in handy the next time you’re looking around the corner to find a meal. (from our November issue, on stands now) 1. Simit It’s a well-known fact that even the most elite of Istanbulites have a hard time resisting the tantalising scent of this freshly baked, molasses-dipped and sesame-crusted dough. 2. The number two most popular street food in the city is indisputably balık-ekmek, better known as the fish sandwiches that are impossible to ignore anytime you’re near the Karaköy or Eminönü shore. 3. 4. Dürümis one of the most democratic Turkish culinary inventions. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Ever thought you’d eat chicken and rice on a street corner? 10. Kırık Tabak Ev Yemekleri. Kırık Tabak Ev Yemekleri lokanta in the Kabataş area May, 2013 by: Hollie Longmore photo by: Hollie Longmore This fantastic little lunchtime lokanta halfway between the Tophane and Fındıklı tram stops is Turkish home-cooking at its best.
Run by a staff of stout ladies in frilly aprons, it mainly serves hungry workers from the nearby insurance companies. Not your average burger joint. It started out as a simple hot-dog cart in Manhattan’s Madison Square Park in 2001.
Since then, Shake Shack has become what popular food blog Eater calls “New York’s cultishly beloved burger restaurant” – and now it’s poised to take over the world. Shake Shack’s menu of burgers, hot dogs, frozen custards, milkshakes and French fries can currently be found at 19 locations in the United States – including JFK Airport and the Citi Field ballpark in New York – and seven in the Middle East. Turkish & Ottoman. Cuma opened in the Çukurcuma neighborhood four months ago and is already a firm local favorite.
Located just a hundred meters from author Orhan Pamuk’s Museum of Innocence and behind a line of antique shops, its breezy terrace is transporting, creating an almost tropical vibe. Up the narrow stairs in the century-old building, visitors will find a small house-restaurant, complete with entrance area, kitchen, living room, dining hall with antique decor, even toys on the shelves – all adding up to a very homey, vintage feel. Owner Banu Tiryakioğulları graduated from the Culinary Arts Academy in Maslak and previously worked as a chef at the much-acclaimed restaurant Changa. She says that once she saw the space that is now Cuma, she knew it had to be a restaurant. (The name comes from old French maps of Çukurcuma, on which the area was called Djouma.)