Traveling to Istanbul? Pack your Sweettooth

My memories of Turkish cuisine were none too fond. Basically I had an enduring image of a steaming clay pot full of grease and lamb. Yuck. We sat down to our first meal in Sultanahmet and I ordered mousaka. We'd just come from Greece, where the mousaka was a highlight, and in my mind a non-Turkish cuisine was the safest bet. Guess what mousaka means in Turkisk? A steaming clay pot full of grease, lamb, and eggplant, that's what. Double Yuck.

But that turned out to be the worst of it. After that night we stuck to cafeteria-style venues in the less touristy neighborhoods, where we could visually inspect our options before choosing a meal. There's great rice here, cooked in chicken broth and mixed with chick peas and pinenuts. And the kebabs are a safe bet.

Better still, we quickly realized that what the local cusine lacked in savory options it more than made up for in sweets. First of all, the baklavas here are head and shoulders above anything we had in Bosnia and Greece. The selections at Güllüglou were the best.

Perhaps even better was my reintroduction to Turkish puddings. Our favorites were Muhallebici (rice pudding with chocolate sauce) and plain chocolate at Saray on Istikal Caddessi:

Other dietary discoveries that warrant mention (though not consumption): kokorec - rotisserie lamb intestines - so gross.

And these fish restaurants along the waterfront - the kitchen is on the boat and the tables are on shore. Better to watch than to eat though.



So that was the best and the worst of eating in Istanbul. Now we know the ropes, so hopefully our return trip will be more successful.

xoxo Jessie