Best and Worst of RTW Eats: Turkey edition
Turkey was so full of new eating adventures. Sure, there were the endless variations of meat: meat balls, meat logs, meat patties, meat strips... but at the same time there was such a diverse range of foods I'd never heard about before. With that, this edition of "Best and Worst of RTW Eats" is expanded to include not just overall best and worst, but also highlights of the more unique dishes I'd tried.
The Best
This meal at Urfalim (on Muradiye Cad. in Sirkeci) brought to mind the phrase "simple pleasures," in the I-would-eat-this-at-home-everyday sort of way. The Ezogelin çorbası was satisfyingly sour with great depth of flavor (I posted the recipe for this from my cooking class here). Lahmacun is a super thin pizza with minced meat and tomatoes on top. I wrapped the little pile of herbs to the left and made a little wrap out of it. Carbs, protein, and veggies all in a crunchy wood fired crust - what more could you want?
The Worst
On my first day in Istanbul, I didn't know where to go so I just got a döner kebap from an open-to-the-sidewalk restaurant close to the Blue Mosque. I saw a huge crowd of people outside, so I figured it should be decent. Well, the crowd turned out to be tourists who didn't know any better either and were probably following each other just like I had. What was handed to me was a loaf of bread with the most meager slices of dry and greasy meat strips and a couple cold and greasy french fries on top.
Most Unusual - in a good way
You can see people eating kumpir all over Turkey. First a baked potato is cut open, and filled with butter and cheese. This is all mixed up quickly by hand. On top of this mashed potato is a variety of toppings. I tried a classic version, with salami cubes, olives, pickles, corn, chili paste, and the best topping for a stuffed potato of all: potato salad. This all is then topped with ketchup and mayonnaise. I really liked the mix of textures and flavors, and of course the rib sticking goodness of mashed potato on the bottom. Half way through I was happy and satiated. After I finished it all, I was ready for a nap. I had my kumpir at Otantik Kumpir in the Cevahir mall.
Most Unusual - in a not so good way
This was a tie between Tavuk Göğsü, the pudding dessert made with chicken breast meat, which I'd already written about here, and the dish below called Hemsin Mihlana. I'd eaten at this restaurant Fasuli (several locations, including one on Muradiye Cad. close to Urfalim) before where I tried their namesake dish of "famous bean and lamb stew." I liked the restaurant a lot - clean and brightly lit, with a menu full of dishes I'd never heard of. I returned and tried "famous Hemsin style corn with butter and special cheese." If it says "famous" in the menu, it must be good!
They really weren't kidding about the butter and cheese part. Imagine one part corn meal, one part white cubes of cheese, and two parts butter. I tried to scoop out the cheese bits because those were actually the least greasy part of the dish.
Maybe I was supposed order some other accompaniment (besides bread), or maybe there's some other method of consuming this. If someone who is more familiar with Turkish food knows, please let me know!
