Rejans, a veteran Russian restaurant in Istanbul's Beyoglu district, is one of those institution's that over time has become less about the food (which get middling reviews) and more about the memories it evokes. Founded by Russian refugees nearly 80 years ago, the restaurant has played host to, among others, Agatha Christie and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, modern Turkey's secularizing founder. For many older Istanbulites, the name Rejans still evokes memories of a bygone era, when Istanbul was a truly a cosmopolitan city.
After all these years, though, it now seems that the restaurant's future is in jeopardy, with a legal battle brewing between Rejans's owner and the people who have the lease to run it whose end result could be the creation of a new restaurant in the place where Rejans today stands. The Hurriyet Daily News has the full (and very confusing) story here.
Turkish Airlines recently started flying between Istanbul and the Azeri enclave of Naxcivan, but now something else is linking the two places: both are cracking down on street food vendors.
As RFE/RL reports, authorities in the enclave have started giving a hard time to people selling food on the street, most of them poor farmers who can't afford to rent government certified stalls. More disturbingly, some of the vendors who have protested the crackdown have been sent to psychiatric hospitals in punishment. You can read the full report here.
Meanwhile, in Istanbul, it looks like municipal authorities in some parts of town are also going after some of the city's unlicensed -- but, let's face it, very appealing -- food carts. According to one official in the city's heavily-visited Beyoglu district, the only kinds of carts that will be licensed are those selling chestnuts, corn and simit (a sesame-encrusted bread ring). So much for showing off the diversity of Istanbul's street food. You can read an article about this travesty here.
For anyone who has visited Istanbul, the sight and smell of kokorec -- grilled lamb intestines -- are likely a lasting (if not haunting) memory. Late night revelers in the city swear by the stuff and Istanbul Eats recently tried three kokorec spots in Istanbul's Galata neighborhood and came away surprisingly satisfied. Their roundup is here.
A traditional spread at Pera Sisore, a Turkish restaurant in Istanbul
National Public Radio in America has made it official: Turkish cuisine is among the world's best, right up there with Chinese and French. That was the verdict made by Bonny Wolf, a well-known food writer and radio commentator who recently visited Turkey and ate her way around the country, in a recent piece on the Weekend Edition program.
You can listen to her radio piece or read a transcript here.
A new food and photo book called "Istanbul Eats: Exploring the Culinary Backstreets" hit the market mid July and breaks open the gastronomic mysteries of Turkey's largest city and biggest tourist destination. Co-written and shot by EurasiaNet contributor Yigal Schleifer and Ansel Mullins, the book is the first spin-off from the duo's successful blog Istanbuleats.com. Currently the English-language book is only for sale in Turkey -- in stores and through online Turkish book sellers -- but may be available soon on Amazon.com and other international book sites.
Yigal's "5 and 5" - five questions and five photos - will get your mouth watering and your tummy grumbling.
1. What inspired you to do this photo book? Istanbuleats.com was launched in April of last year, as a joint project between me and Ansel Mullins, another American living here, who works in the architectural restoration field. Although it started as a blog/website, we always felt like the subject -- Istanbul's best local and authentic restaurants -- would be ideal for a photo-rich book, since the people, places and food tell such a compelling visual story. We felt like a good would be a great way to celebrate some of the unsung heroes of Istanbul's culinary scene.
2. Aren't there already plenty of restaurant guides for Istanbul - so why another one?
As discussed in a previous post, about the Mongolian national dumpling buuz, every Turkic culture seem to have its own take on the process of stuffing a pocket of dough with minced meat (and the occasional other ingredient). In Turkey, of course, that national dumpling in manti. But even in Turkey manti comes in different shapes, sizes and cooking styles, depending on if the dumpling maker comes from Central Anatolia, Dagestan or other parts of the Caucasus.
For those interested in trying out manti in all its different guises, the English-language Today's Zaman has a good rundown of the best manti places in Istanbul. The article can be found here.
Akin Balik, a fish restaurant on Istanbul's Golden Horn
In response to the heat that has settled over Istanbul, Istanbul Eats is offering up their top five (plus one bonus) spots for eating outdoors in the city. Among the places recommended are a Uighur restaurant located inside the courtyard of a 16th-century religious school and a waterside fish restaurant where the beer is served surreptitiously wrapped inside a brown paper bag. Check all the recommendations out here.
A tomato seller in Istanbul's Tarlabasi Sunday bazaar
The Sunday open-air fruit and vegetable bazaar in Istanbul's scruffy Tarlabasi neighborhood is among the city's best markets, a rollicking, lively affair that seems to roll on endlessly through the area's streets. The neighborhood is currently slated to get Istanbul's notorious "urban transformation" gentrification treatment, and there is concern that the Sunday bazaar could find itself without a home.
EatingAsia's Robyn Eckhardt and David Hegerman recently visited the market and filed a wonderful report for the Daily Zester website. From their piece:
"Bir lira bir lira bir liraaa!"
From behind a table heaped with bunches of tere (a jagged-edged variety of cress) a vendor at the
weekly market in Istanbul's Tarlabasi(Tar-luh-BAH-shuh) neighborhood bids for the attention of passing
shoppers. His guttural bellows are loud enough to set the ears ringing. But
take two steps back and they're lost in the cacophony of those peddling cheese
and olives, nectarines and cherries, lamb and fish, cosmetics and household
goods. It's 4 in the afternoon on a sultry summer Sunday and the Tarlabasi pazari ("market" in Turkish) is in full swing.
EatingAsia is a thoroughly mouthwatering food blog written and photographed by a husband and wife team that is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They are currently in Turkey and recently went on a culinary road trip that took them through southeastern Turkey. Their wonderful reports and photos from the trip can be found here. Highly recommended reading.
Plov and happiness in Istanbul's Mihman restaurant
Good news for Istanbul's lovers of plov and other Central Asian delights. Mihman, an enticing restaurant run by an Uzbek from Kashgar, has recently opened its doors. Istanbul Eats checked it out and came back very satisfied. Their report is here.
