Turkish food is full of amazing flavor, and unsurprisingly in Turkey, it’s so much better than the Turkish restaurants you get in New York. A good way to get a taste of the best food is to ask your server what they recommend. On IK’s first restaurant stop the waitress recommended the traditional Turkish Shwarma which is usually pork with onions, peppers and a yogurt sauce wrapped in a flatbread – it makes for a great lunch. With every meal, you’re served tea which is often complimentary, along with bottled water.
Turkish food, although very recognizably Turkish, is a fusion cuisine as it takes influence from Central Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Spices are used lightly and delicately and often balanced out with yoghurt or creamy sauces and dressings. There are also some influences from the Mediterranean toward the west of Turkey but also in larger cities like Istanbul which brings in the use of olive oil, fish, and vegetable stews. It’s all divine.
Turkish breakfasts can either be rich or light depending on what you fancy. Plates usually include cheeses, eggs, tomatoes, jams, and honey but the specialty breakfast is lighter and consists of eggs, green peppers, tomatoes, and onion. You can of course still order bread and pastries as well as westernized cooked breakfasts but the Turkish breakfast is a must with which tea is always served. Turks tend to drink coffee as a mid-morning drink rather than as a wake-me-up and a fun fact on this is that the Turkish word for breakfast is kahvaltı, actually translates to mean ‘before coffee’ in English.
Whilst IK was around town she met an American who had been to Istanbul many times before so knew where the best spots were. They went to one of the street-side ice cream parlors where you’re not just simply served your ice cream, the servers really put on a show! They do all these twists and tricks (kind of like a cocktail waiter) with the ice creams and the cones – you must go and see them!
If you visit the Bazaars there’s an underpass that leads to the river where you can get the best lunch. The river bank is lined with little boats that are actually food kitchens – so they’re kind of like floating food trucks – and the serve the best fried fish sandwiches. The vendors catch the fish in the river behind their boats and fry them fresh for customers who line up and sit out on the river bank to eat.
“The food is amazing, do not go to Turkey and order food from another country. I had some amazing meals, everything I ate and drank was Turkish and it was delicious!”
