Cynthia wrote:. . . That said, Le Titi de Paris here in Arlington Heights got bulldozed because the city wanted a strip mall with a Qdoba, a Great Clips, and a coffee shop. So I guess it's pandemic. Pity.

Condolences to Arlington Heights. The old Maxwell Street Market comes to mind as an unfortunate erasure of Chicago's past. Since I moved to St. Louis, I have learned that much of the old small "b" "bohemian" restaurant area and St. Louis' Chinatown were razed for urban renewal and the construction of the Cardinals' stadium. Another reason to remain a Twins fan, I guess. Who needs a Qdoba anyway?

As regards the US, I feel cheered by the likelihood that once the mall you refer to is replaced by a newer, glitzier mall, the Qdoba will leave there and a little, family-run joint will open. That is what has happened in the close-in suburbs around St. Louis. Olivette is home to the "new" Chinatown, and Creve Coeur is the new Korean enclave, it seems. Two old Taco Bells have new identities, one as a taqueria and one as a Korean fusion fast food spot called KimCheese. An old IHOP is a good sushi spot, and an old Pizza Hut is a Bosnian family restaurant.

The thing it's hard to replace once it's gone is green space. That's what the Turks are protesting about, in part.

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Josephine wrote:It's been a long time since I visited Istanbul - more than 20 years - but I remember the cuisine as being one of the high points of a 5 month trip. Those of you who are following the news of events in Istanbul might be interested in the views of Ansel Mullins and Yigal Schleifer, who write about Istanbul street food. (I am acquainted with their work through Kyle Long and Jamie Barys of UnTours Shanghai and Culinary Backstreets, Shanghai, with whom I've done several explorations of Shanghai's street food.) The impact of development on Shanghai seems to parallel that of Istanbul in some ways, removing traditional lane houses and food streets in favor of mall construction. Hopefully, there are some in power who will respect the need to preserve these humble neighborhoods and institutions from extinction.

"All the Old Familiar Places, RIP" - Istanbul edition, from Culinary Backstreets:

Read here and here for a food reporter's view of recent events and the impact of development that erases establishments such as this one, an esnaf lokantası, or tradesmen's restaurant.
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Not sure if anyone caught the NY Times Dining section feature yesterday, Folllow Them To the Food, which discusses the emergence of micro food tours. The article profiles Culinary Backstreets contributors from Istanbul Eats and other "insider" guides to the world's great food cities. I was disappointed that they did not mention my favorites, Kyle Long and Jamie Barys, of UnTours Shanghai. who also contribute to Culinary Backstreets.

Any ordering tips for non-Turkish-speaking vegans? Not me, but we are joining a friend in Istanbul in a couple of weeks, and it's him. (I will eat most things, and aside from the whole vegan thing, he's not terribly picky.) Point and pray, I guess?

Many, if not most, people in Istanbul speak some English. Turkish cuisine is very healthful, with many vegetarian dishes. I'm not certain about vegan, but you can easily avoid fish and meat altogether and eat very well.

Yeah, I have been to Turkey before, but wasn't paying attention to vegan options that include some level of protein. I think vegetarian would be relatively easy, but a semi-balanced vegan diet is going to be somewhat more difficult - I recall lots of cheese and yogurt. Yay for Google Translate and smartphones, I guess...I just hope it doesn't limit where we can eat too terribly much, because food is a large part of the fun of traveling!

There are a lot of bean dishes too, and plenty of dishes without cheese or dairy. Most restaurants should have a variety of meze from which to choose, of which many will be totally vegetable.

small bump to solicit updates from anyone? going in a couple weeks. i'll be combing through istanbul eats later tonight.

Some updates from a recent trip to Istanbul.

Turks love their organ meats and on this visit I was able to really dig in.



There are two famous lamb liver preparations in Turkish cuisine. Arnavut cigeri, which is cubed liver, cubed potatoes, and onions all shallow fried, is often served as a bar snack. The other is Edirne cigeri, sometimes called yaprak (leaf) cigeri, which is served at specialists like Ciger Ricco in the Bakirkoy neighborhood near the airport. The liver is sliced thin, lightly breaded, and fried till crispy. At this particular joint they ask you to call out just how crispy you like it. The picture above is their normal level.





The area around the Sutluce boat terminal is famous for their offal offerings, in particular sweetbreads which is called uykuluk. So much so that when I directed a cab driver to take me to Sutluce, he knowingly exclaimed "uykuluk" which he apparently hadn't had in ages but used to get all the time. The sweetbreads are quickly fried so they're still moist but with a nice crust. You're expected to amp them up to your liking with the classic Turkish table condiments, oregano, cumin, and hot pepper. We also ordered a similarly prepared plate of fried intestines that they called kokorec, though I more typically know kokorec as a spinning kebab that is shaved to order, much like doner kebab. I visited Liman Iskembe ve Uykuluk (I can't find the address but google can find it) but there are at least a half dozen such places offering up similar menus.



Terbiye is a sauce made with tempered egg yolks and lemon that serves as the base for many different Turkish soups (in the US it is best known as by the Greek word avgolemono). Perhaps most famous are iskembe (tripe) and kellepaca (head and trotters). These offal soups are often served late after a night of drinking or early as a hangover cure. The soup is enhanced by a splash of garlic water or vinegar which are served as condiments. This particular soup was served at Kimyon in the Kadikoy district on the Asian side, though there's no reason to cross the Bosphorous since there are countless shops specializing in offal soup around town.

Turks also love their ground meat, usually lamb. I can't think of another cuisine that uses ground meat so many different ways.



The most common is the classic kofte which is simply finely ground lamb mixed with onions. The kofte gets its shape from being formed in the palm of the chef's hand. The word kofte is used for many different variations of ground meat kebabs, but the small disks is the original that is a common home food or quick lunch stop. This one was from Ciger Ricco, though the versions I have had from kofte specialists are definitely a step up.





Icli kofte and cig kofte are often sold together, though I'm not sure why. Icli kofte is ground meat surrounded by a bulgur crust that is fried and cig kofte is spiced raw ground meat. It is rare to find cig kofte that is actually made from raw meat anymore, for health reasons, and the rendition shown above is actually the more common vegetarian version made from ground bulgur. These were from Kimyon, but my favorites are from street vendors.



Lahmacun is a Turkish pizza that is topped with ground lamb, tomatoes, onions, and peppers. This version is from the very famous Halil Lahmacun in Kadikoy. What sets this one apart is the perfectly crispy bottom layer that somehow remains pliable enough to roll up like a burrito.



Manti are small dumplings that are stuffed with ground lamb and boiled and served with garlic yogurt. Honestly, I've never had a version in a restaurant that I thought stood up to the homemade versions I've had countless times, but I can see why people seek it out as a comfort food. This one was from Sayla Manti in Kadikoy.



Another classic use for ground meat is wrapped up in a dolma. Ground meat (often a mix of lamb and beef) is mixed with onions and uncooked rice, stuffed into your choice of wrapper (peppers, tomatoes, grape leaves, zucchini, or cabbage as pictured above), then boiled until the rice is soft. Ground meat dolmas, called kiymali, are almost always served with yogurt. Dolmas stuffed with just rice are sometimes called yalanci, which means fake. These wonderful dolmas were served at the very famous Kanaat Lokantasi in Uskudar.