A fabled city is a 45 minute flight away from my home, and I had never been. It is so close, you always figure you can go whenever you like, kind of like the Chrysler building for New Yorkers. So I finally did, to turn my Mother's connection to San Francisco into a little holiday in itself. We had 48 hours- just enough to have the loosest of plans, with room to try everything. We left our beautiful little jewel box of a hotel at 3:30. By the time we got home after midnight, by luck far more than by design, we had tried these ten street food classics, and nothing but these. This really added to the pleasure- nothing that was not characteristically expressly Istanbul diluted the experience.
1. Kestane Kebab (Roasted Chestnuts)-
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| The two Charlenes standing in front of Agia Sophia, the Blue Mosque in the background |
Agia Sophia closes at 5 in the wintertime- we don't like to rush, but we did not want to cram in everything the next day (given the next day's tragedy, we crammed in nothing at all but a reprieve so timeless it was surreal.). We were hungry enough it would prove distracting (I thought. In fact the Agia Sophia- curiously called "Hagia Sophia"- introduced to me first in my Smith College Art 100 survey, is so soaringly enormous that every sensation but sight is put on hold to take it all in, even then incompletely). Outside in the charming manicured plaza between Agia Sophia and the Blue Mosque are vendors with elaborate carts selling roasted chestnuts. Yes it could be Rockefeller center, or our own Aristotle Square, but as it turned out these are a truly Istanbul treat. In fact as time unfolded we saw roasted chestnuts everywhere, and always for the same price of 5 tl for the 200 g bag, just enough to stave the hunger of three. They were fat, sweet, easy to peel, As you see, the same stands sometime, but not always, sell roasted corn.
2. Dondurma (Ice Cream)-
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| Charlene getting faked out by the Dondourma guy |
Turkish ice cream is like no other. Gelato gets its body from cornstarch, French ice cream from egg yolks. Turkish ice cream is bound from the pounded root of a wild orchid- salep- it is dense, sticky, stretchy. Fun to eat, and,apparently, fun to serve. They do this thing- since it is sticky and elastic they can pull it and twirl it around and spin it and move it from cone to cone and do little magic tricks with it and fake you out. A small cone- little bit of every flavor- was 7 tl, more than the chestnuts, and absolutely worth the show. It's also delicious, fun to play within the mouth.
3. Balik Ekmek (Fish Sandwich)
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The man in black behind the cashier is actually on a boat-
that's where they grill the fish and make the sandwiches. |
These are famous. We read about them in the Lonely Planet. Our friend told us about them, and the charming floating restaurants tethered to the docks by the Galata bridge. He said it is fun to go for fish sandwiches- a piece of grilled mackerel with some onions and lettuce. I said "that doesn't sound so great," and he said "no, it's not." and it wasn't- kind of fishy, lots of bread. But he was certainly right- it was fun to eat there, a covered garish and cheerful place with little low tables, and the fish itself grilling on a boat pitching to and fro on the choppy Bosporus. The sandwich- quite large, certainly as large as you would like- is 6 tl. There were some other visitors, like us, but local couples and families made up most of the crowd. A hidden bonus- the big bready roll makes you really thirsty, thirsty enough to try a cup of şalgam.
4. Şalgam (Sour turnip juice)-
This bright red juice of fermented carrot or turnip or cabbage- we read different accounts- is sour, salty, a little piquant, and the plastic cup is jammed with pickles and crunchy leaves of pickled cabbage. Vendors outside the Balik Ekmek stalls sell it to the customers inside. The carts are elaborate and festive. Salgam seems like it would be an acquired taste and (salty and crunchy and sour, it's hardly a coca-cola) it is. But you acquire it right away- after that bracing first swallow you want more and more. We got another, and then later passing through on our way to the hammam, a third one to have as a post-sweat savory Anatolian gatorade. It was like nothing I'd ever, ever had. Şalgam redefines delicious and refreshing (2 tl).
5. Çay (tea)
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| That bowl in the foreground is filled with individually wrapped sugar cubes. |
We love the grace tea adds to any moment in our household. It adds grace to seemingly ever hour in Istanbul too. Adding to the charm? The beautiful little glasses, tiny spoon, and individually wrapped sugar cubes. Our first of many cups of tea was on a random commuter ferry we boarded at Eminönü. A man circulated with a tray of hot tea (1,5 tl) and Sahlep, and long thin toasted sandwiches- a genteel, fully catered commute.
6. Sahlep-
The thing that gives the ice cream its body and chew also makes a hot drink. We have sahlep (salepi) in Greece too- viscous, a little yellowish, a little clear. I have never been crazy about it. Everyone said the salepi is different here and it was! Creamy and gentle and completely opaque white. A soothing drink. The thickness keeps it ultra-hot for a long long time. We just held the cups to warm our hands as we watched the passing banks of the Bosporus aglow in the evening light, breathing in the sweet scent cinnamon, until it was cool enough to drink. I would take a commuter ferry just have it again.
7. Osmanli Lokmasi- Loukoumades (hot honey syrup drenched donuts)
A town outside of Thessaloniki is famous for two things- loukoumades, and racism. There was this really unpleasant incident where townspeople did not want the kid with the best grades to carry the flag at the parade because he was from Albania. One of the small minded women was actually making loukoumades during the tv interview. So: the fact that some Turkish kids beat her hands down at loukoumades made us smile. As if we weren't smiling enough already. And these were even cold! They usually aren't worth eating cold. We got another, asked for a hot one this time, and gave ourselves over to the pleasure of the moment, completely wrapped up in this little plastic cup (3 tl) of bliss in the chilly evening, by the greenish fluorescent lights of the stand. We thought of getting a third, but got another turnip juice instead, so we would not be overcome at the hammam. I passed by a loukoumades stand at the agricultural fair today and they turned my head, but I wouldn't risk tainting the recent memory of perfection. Besides, it would have been unfair.
8. Sirma Lemon Soda
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This was next to the soda- I didn't take a picture because I didn't know how delicious it would be. Here are some gorgeous '60's graphics,
and Aryan (like a buttermilk) in plastic foil-topped containers. |
The best lemon soda I have ever tried. That is saying a lot- Greece has many small family run soda-pop factories and they all turn out delicious, zingy lemon sodas with lots of natural lemon juice. This one, with something on the label that said vitamin C, was cloudy and so thick with fresh lemon it was almost, but not quite, too sour.
9. Döner kebab
We went to the hammam for the whole of the late evening. It closed at midnight, so we were happily hungry again. A few Döner places were still open.The man laid out one oblong thin bread and crossed it with another, added salad and a sauce of yogurt and mint that we could not get enough of, and wrapped it into a tidy cylinder where every bite has the right amount of everything. A dog followed us- we had to share it with him.
We got a box of this dreamy cotton-candy halva hybrid spun sugar toasted flour treat and ate it in bed in our hotel room after the hammam, washed down with sour turnip juice. We put balls of it in wine glasses and pulled off shreds with our fingers. From touch alone you would never think this is food- it feels like some gossamer insulation or packing material- dry, fluffy, delicate. You put wisps of it in your mouth and it melts on the tongue, leaving a lingering faint coating of richness from the roasted flour. Because of this flour, it is less sweet than cotton candy, so you can just keep eating wisp after wisp of it until you fall asleep, which is exactly what we did.
Istanbul's Urban Transportation is a delightful (and sometimes fully catered) adventure! More about that here.
