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Eating Kuşadası – Old Town Tanneries

Apr19

Location: Türkmen, DoubleTree by Hilton Kuşadası Arkası, 09350 Kuşadası/Aydın, Türkiye. +90 543 638 60 60

Date: June 20, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Turkish

Rating: Hotel restaurant, but good

Old Town Tanneries is a restaurant cluster installed in a group of restored tannery buildings. These were in use from the 1930-60s and have been lovingly restored. They are also part of the Hilton and were restored, owned, and operated by the same lovely people who manage Gio.

The net result is a very attractive “neighborhood” of charming stone structures.

Our big 12 person table. We ate here with a big group of family and friends.

Mezze, of course.

Bread.

These “Turkish Spring Rolls” were delicious with the dips.

Beans.

Yogurt with purslane.

Spinach.

Humus with Beef Speck. The crispy beef resembles bacon.

Feta and Walnuts in olive oil with basil. Quite delicious with a bit of a pesto-like tone.

Yoghurt with Spicy Oil. This was actually REALLY spicy, much to my (pleased) surprise. Seriously hot actually.

Asparagus with cheese.

Salad. A touch under-dressed for my taste.

Shrimp with Chili Peppers and Garlic Butter. Very tender shrimp and more or less like “gambas pil pil.”

Fried Calamari. Quite excellent seafood fry. The sauce was more or less like a yogurt version of tartar sauce.

Grilled Sea Bass. Fresh potatoes and baby vegetables.

This time we remembered to have it filleted.

Beef slices with garlic and cheese. I’m not sure exactly what was going on here but it was delicious.

Lamb. Very tender and flavorful.

Pistachio Creme with Ice Cream. This was pretty insanely good. The crepe was stuffed with chopped pistachios (and probably some form of sugar or syrup. The ice cream was made from goat cheese and is very dense.

Fruit.

Turkish Tea.

Overall, a great meal — in no small part because of good company. There were some various Turkish wines as well, fairly generic but quaffable Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc mostly.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Kuşadası, Eating Türkiye, Old Town Tanneries, Turkish

Eating Izmir – The Bazaar

Apr17

Restaurant: The Bazaar

Location: Izmir Turkiye

Date: June 20, 2023

Cuisine: Turkish street food

Rating: Hotel restaurant, but good

This meal consists of food from 3 different places in the Izmir Bazaar.

Pictured here is a Pide restaurant that provided the Cheese Pide below. Most of the savory food came from a homestyle place. The desserts from a third.

The homestyle place showed most of its dishes in casserole dishes for selection. They are then plated and heated. Or perhaps they are warm in the casaroles. This is very similar to what I saw in Greece in the late 1980s.

On the table were some peppers.

Artichoke, dill, potatoes etc. This must be the more old fasioned version of the dish we had the previous night.

Vegetables with yogurt.

Stuffed peppers and grape leaves with yogurt. Both were warm and stuffed with seasoned rice and vegetables.

Sour Meat Balls. Beef meat balls in a sour yogurt sauce with a light dill flavor. Quite delicious actually.

Mackerel Soup. This very yummy soup had a strong, but delicious, mackerel taste and a good hit of dill.

Lamb Shank. Doesn’t look like much but the tender and fatty meat was delicious. #Izmir #Turkey #lamb #shank

Chicken au Grfatin. While ugly as well, this “chicken casserole” was quite delicious. Mildly cheesy with a bit of a bechemel thing going on.

Cheese Pide.

This vendor sold what I think are various kinds of Revani (syrupy cake).

Walnut Cake. I believe this is a semolina flour cake with walnut and soaked in a honey-like syrup.

The Walnut Revani was served with a blob of “whipped cream” — more like clotted cream. It was pretty insanely delicious too. It has some taste and texture resemblance to Tres Leches Cake.

A different variant, maybe the one shown in the round pan.

A pistachio variety.

They have the dense Turkish ice cream as well.

A huge scoop of Chocolate Ice Cream.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Bazaar, Dessert, Eating Izmir, Eating Türkiye, Turkish

Eating Kuşadası – Gio

Apr15

Restaurant: Gio

Location: Türkmen, Double TREE Hilton, Atatürk Blv. No:5, 09400 Kuşadası/Aydın, Türkiye. +90 530 957 77 57

Date: June 19, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Turkish

Rating: Hotel restaurant, but good

On our first night in Kuşadası, within “striking range” of Ephesus, Aphrodisias and more we ate at the gorgeous rooftop restaurant atop the Hilton. P.s. it should be noted that the Aegean was named after Theseus’ father Aegeus.

Gio Rooftop Restaurant offers not only a splendid view of the Aegean but a hybrid of the fish and meat restaurant types with a bit of internationalism. Yes, they have the mezzes, but they aren’t displayed in hotel pans by the entrance and they have a more international style of appetizers and entrees.

The menu.

Bread — this is Turkey after all.

Muhammara. Pretty, with a bit of fresh cheese and olives. A touch dry and medium spicy.

Basically the local white wine choices are Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. There are some local grapes but they are hard to find.

Haloumi Cheese wrapped in Grape Leaves with Yogurt.

Yoghurt with Spicy Oil. This was actually REALLY spicy, much to my (pleased) surprise. Seriously hot actually.

Feta and Walnuts in olive oil with basil. Quite delicious with a bit of a pesto-like tone.

Spicy Feta with Tomatoes. Not particularly spicy but nice.

Green beans and Tomatoes. This is a classic.

Marinated Artichoke with peas, carrots, and potatoes. Very yummy.

Fried Calamari. Quite excellent seafood fry. The sauce was more or less like a yogurt version of tartar sauce.

Shrimp with Chili Peppers and Garlic Butter. Very tender shrimp and more or less like “gambas pil pil.”

Marinated Red Beet Carpaccio. Mediterranean Greens, Cottage Cheese (they mean literally, not UK/US style), walnuts and balsamic vinegar.

Penne with Red Sauce.

Porcini Mushroom Risotto with cream and Parmesan cheese. A bit heavy as I don’t think the rice was propper Italian short grain rice.

Grilles Sea Bass. Fresh potatoes and baby vegetables. We wish we had them filet it.

Some mixed seafood including octopus and more calimari.

Slow-Cooked Duck. Phyllo, hoisin sauce and plum sauce. Sort of a Turkish take on Peking Duck, The meat itself was a little closer to braised, but was marinated in a hoisinlike sauce and very sweet and tender. Real hoisin strips adorned the plates. Overall very enjoyable with and without pancakes.

The pancakes were Turkish-style lavash — but they worked.

The D menu.

Chocolate Dome Cake. Inside was a dense mouse with a biscuit layer underneath and a very strong raspberry-jelly-like sauce.

I’m normally a little wary of hotel restaurants in the United States as they tend to be corporate and generally awful, but abroad they can be a bit more modern and vibrant. This one was a lot of fun and quite delicious.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Kuşadası, Eating Türkiye, Gio, rooftop, Turkish

Eating Bergama – Babadan

Apr13

Restaurant: Babadan

Location: Zafer Mah. Ataturk Bulvari No: 24/A, Bergama 35725 Türkiye. +90 232 632 98 98

Date: June 19, 2023

Cuisine: Turkish

Rating: Casual lunch

After Cappadocia we headed west to the Coast for more ruins — in this case the ancient city of Pergamon.

Touristy but decent spot our guide brought us to in the city of Pergamon (aka modern Bergama). Many Turkish restaurants fall into the broad meat or fish format. This is a typical meat restauant.

They do have a wood fired oven and bake their own bread. A place at this level in the US would be highly unlikely to have an oven like this.

Fresh baked bread.

Mezzes. Chickpeas.

Yoghurt with spicy chili oil.

Spicy eggplant and tomato.

Cheese Pide.

Baked vegetables with cheese. This is a typical “vegetarian” entree option.

Cous cous. The orange tint is from a bit of paprika.

Spicy Kofte Plate. Beef/lamb kebob with lavash and a bit of cous cous. The meat itself was a blend of beef and lamb and fairly mild spices.

Baklava and Turkish Ice Cream. This is a traditional (and delicious) combo — if ridiculously sweet. Classic Baklava (of two types) with that dense style of goat cheese ice cream the Turks prefer. It has almost zero overun, a very gummy texture, and a high sugar level.

Overall, an enjoyable quick lunch.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Babadan, Bergama, Eating Bergama, Eating Türkiye

Eating Cappadocia – Nahita Dinner

Apr09

Restaurant: Nahita

Location: Tekelli, Kayabaş Sk. No: 23, 50240 Uçhisar/Nevşehir Merkez/Nevşehir, Türkiye. +90 384 219 31 30

Date: June 18, 2023

Cuisine: Turkish

Rating: Upscale traditional

We returned to Nahita for dinner.

Nahita is the more “traditional” of the two restaurants at the Argos Cappodocia.
Inspired and nourished by its Anatolian roots, respectful of its geography, history, and cultural continuity, Nahita, the new star of Anatolian cuisine, harbors the mindfulness that lacks in the new world. Nahita’s “good” sense and approach is reflected throughout its philosophy, narrative, service, and dishes.

Overall, I liked Nahita’s food slightly better than Seki as it’s more Anatolian and less international. We ate dinner outside at both and they both have nice views/terraces, but the immediacy of the Seki view is definitely superior. Service is great at both.

Emir is a nice local white grape, acidic and armomatic at the same time.

Lavash, farmer’s cheese, and flavored butter.

Bread.

Zucchini Fritters. Zucchini, halloumi, sesame, red basil, labneh,and strained toghurt. Great minty flavor.

Stuffed vine leaves with Sour Cherry. Leaves from Argos vineyqrds, caramelized onion, rice, currant cinnamon, dill and oilive oil

Shepherd’s Salad with Comlek Cheese, tomato, cucumber, red onion and homemade Nevshehir phyllo pastry.

Meat balls and fries.

Yogurt and tomato sauce for the meatballs.

Pan-fried liver. Charbroiled eggplant with yogurt and garlic, pickled red onion, dill, spring onion, thyme and chili flake. The onion and yogurt helped offset the “liver factor.”

Orzo with eggplant and olives.

Grilled lamb loin. Eggplant with garlic, Nahita pita bread and homemade tomato sauce with butter, Meat was again a touch over-cooked. Potatos were great.

Veal shank. Carrot, celerey and potato. Like a family beef stew,

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Cappadocia, Eating Türkiye

Eating Cappadocia – Seki

Apr06

Restaurant: Seki Restaurant & Lounge

Location: Tekelli, Kayabaş Sk. No:23, 50240 Uçhisar/Nevşehir Merkez/Nevşehir, Türkiye. +90 384 219 31 30

Date: June 17, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Turkish

Rating: Hotel restaurant, but good – great view

Our first dinner in Cappadocia — since we came in during the middle of the night on the night prior.

Seki Restaurant, which takes its name (meaning “terraces on the slopes”) from the lush green terraces of our hotel, has been etched in the minds and taste buds of its guests with different layers of flavor that live up to its name. Located in one of the oldest and largest monasteries in the world, above the cellar, one of the prime locations of this area, Seki is the most awarded and most popular restaurant in the Cappadocia region.

My sludge.

Excellent bread.

A dip of breadcrumbs and fish roe and olives in oilive oil. Very addictive.

Peasant Salad. Cucumbers, tomatoes, walnuts etc.

Tomato Salad with Walnut. Red Onion, Green Onion, Pomegranate Syrup and
Sumac Sauce.

Penne with tomato sauce.

Homemade ‘İçli Köfte’. Strained Yoghurt and Butter Sauce. I do love these meat and yogurt balls.

The inside.

Our red wine. We had a white, but I forgot to get a photo.

Salmon. Mustard Potato, Sautéed Radish, Asparagus and
Beurre Blanc Sauce with Horseradish.

Beef Filet Marinated in Fenugreek for 28 Hours. Deglaze Sweetbread, Caramelized Brussels Sprout and Lake Sauce. Cabbage too.

Rack of Lamb. Artichoke Purée, Caramelized Pickled Shallot, Apricot Jam and Lamb Gravy Flavored with Licorice. The lamb was supposed to be medium rare, but was closer to medium well. Gravy was just gravy and the puree a bit bland. Not bad but not very exciting.

Tiramisu. Almond Biscuit and Strawberry. Not a bad tiramisu.

Crispy Pumpkin Dessert. Walnut, Clotted Cream and Tahini Sauce. Interesting. Very nice texture with the sugar-coated pumpkin and the cream. Pretty addictive.

Date Dessert with Figs. Coconut Milk Foam and Orange Sauce. Datey!

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Cappadocia, Eating Türkiye

Eating Cappadocia – Kosebasi

Apr04

Restaurant: Köşebaşı Kapadokya

Location: KARŞIBUCAK CADDESİ 50 GÖREME, 50180 Nevşehir, Türkiye. +90 549 132 50 00

Date: June 17, 2023

Cuisine: Turkish

Rating: Regular Turkish lunch

Out touring on now sleep, our guide brought us here.

This random (to us) restauarnt was selected by our tour guide.

The interior.

It does have a nice view of one of the beehive cave hills.

Bread.

A mezze of cream cheese, celery roots, garlic and yogurt. A little weird but pretty good.

Muhmmara. A touch dry.

Spinach.

Salad of carrots, beets, lettuce, and tomato.

Spicy eggplant.

Lentil soup.

Mini cheese pide (pita pizzas).

Full-sized cheese pide.

French fries.

Vegetarian kepob.

Spicy lamb lofte (ground meat kebob).

Plain yogurt to go with the meat.

Fruit for dessert.

Turkish coffee.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Cappadocia, Eating Türkiye

Eating Cappadocia – Nahita Breakfast

Apr01

Restaurant: Nahita

Location: Tekelli, Kayabaş Sk. No: 23, 50240 Uçhisar/Nevşehir Merkez/Nevşehir, Türkiye. +90 384 219 31 30

Date: June 17, 2023

Cuisine: Turkish Breakfast

Rating: Hotel restaurant, but good

By the time we made it to breakfast, we had been up all night and ballooned at dawn.

Nahita is the more “traditional” of the two restaurants at the Argos Cappodocia.

They have a delightful terrace.

And the inside.

Juices.

baked items.

Cereals.

T

Salads.

Eggs, etc.

Meats.

Cheeses.

Fruit.

Desserts.

Rolls.

You can also order off the menu, like these pancakes.

Or this “porridge.”

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Cappadocia, Eating Türkiye

Eating Istanbul – Pandeli

Mar31

Restaurant: Pandeli

Location: Rüstempaşa Mah. Balık Pazarı kapısı Sokağı Mısırçarşı İçi 1, D:2, 34110 Fatih/İstanbul, Türkiye. +90 212 527 39 09

Date: June 16, 2023

Cuisine: Traditional Turkish

Rating: Old fashioned and good

This is right inside one of the smaller, but nicer, spice bazaars.

The building is definitely ancient.

The menu.

Bread.

Cucumber tomato salad.

Charcoal grilled eggplant salad.

Artichoke in olive oil.

Okra with lemon and olive oil.

Overn-baked sea bass baked in crul paper.

Sultan’s delight. Stewed lamb with mashed eggplant.

Doner kebap and pilaf.

Rice pilaf.

Tea.

This wasn’t modern or novel, but I like to mix it up and they do a nice job with “classic” (early 20th century?) Turkish dishes. The setting is great too.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Türkiye, Istanbul, Pandeli, Turkish cusine

Eating Istanbul – Turk Fatih Tutak

Mar27

Restaurant: Turk Fatih Tutak

Location: Cumhuriyet Hacıahmet Silahşör Cad, Yeniyol Sk. No:2, 34440 Şişli/İstanbul, Türkiye. +90 212 709 56 79

Date: June 15, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Turkish

Rating: Awesome

This is Istanbul’s and Turkey’s long Michelin 2 star.

The space.

pickle juice with plum. This welcome drink tasted like… well a shot of pickle juice. It was pretty sour. Excellent, as I like vinegar, but intense. The plum was lacto fermented so as to have no remaining sugar. Very interesting.

Wine pairings.

A bit of crispy bread with cheese and meat on it. Excellent.

Fresh baked sourdough Pide. Lovely little “pita” bun.

trabzon butter, bitlis hizan honey, 2000 meter. The butter and honeycomb combo (served in the bone) was pretty amazing.

Special Turkish olive oil.

TT mussels dolma. The oyster shell was not actually made of oyster shell and was completely edible. Basically this rice stuffed oyster tasted like Turkish paella. Delicious.

A “salad tart.”

Egg inside an egg.

egg, morel mushroom, thracian cheese. Mixed up this was a scrumptious yolky asparagus cheesy mess. The “sauce” tasted like a cacio e pepe emulsion.

mackerel, new potatoes, horseradish, tomato. Had an almost Jewish deli taste to it with the mackerel and horseradish. A good bit of kick too. Intense and delicious.

caviar, artichoke borek, pea, spring tarhana. Lovely little vegetable/fish tart.

Raki!

red mullet, cheese that wasn’t cheese, and crispy rice.

It was served with this whipped fish-bisque type sauce. Really quite delicious together. Paired very well with the raki too.

Bonus manti. Amazing meat dumpling bite with the yogurt and spicy oil/butter.

“Perfect” penne butter. For our son: perfectly al dente with a lovely butter flavor and a hint of cheese.

We got to choose our special knives.

charcoal thracian lamb. Beautiful roast lamb with pepper and sauce.

Beets and peppers.

potato, buffalo milk. A great starchy “side.”

Pistachio bomb.

with lime cream.

Cherry cordials.

Tour of the kitchen

fermenting.

Dry aging.

Neat containers.

The oven.

White chocolate bonbons.

A gooey Turkish candy.

Charcoal ice cream — they love charcoal.

Wild strawberries.

Take home gift of their EVOO.

Overall, a very precisely executed and delicious meal with great service and wine pairings. TT desserves the 2 stars even by European standards. We did have some issues with our gluten free guest — as we had not planned ahead or checked and there was relatively little on their single set menu that didn’t subtly have gluten. They dealt with it very gracefully and it was totally our fault. They even sent someone out to buy penne and then the main chef made the benne butter himsefl! Like “a great burger” from the menu, only less fatal.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Türkiye, Istanbul, Michelin 2 Star, Turkish cusine

Eating Istanbul – Aheste

Mar25

Restaurant: Aheste

Location: Asmalı Mescit, Meşrutiyet Cd. No:107 D:F, 34430 Beyoğlu/İstanbul, Türkiye. +90 212 243 26 33

Date: June 14, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Turkish

Rating: Great mezzes

This was our third dinner in Istanbul.

Turkish tapas in an ancient space.

The menu.

Bread.

Charcoal butter. Quite nice, actually.

A bit more sour than the similar wine the night before.

Tomato salad with grilled fennel. A bit of goat cheese. Nice tomatoes, even for a tomato hater.

Dudi Persian rice. Crunchy pilaf. I liked the crispy onions.

Topik crackers. Crispy crackers with white bean.

Calamarski. Warm calamari.

Vine leaves with cashew sauce.

Tuna kadayif with pomegranate sour mayo. On a thin dough noodle.

Shrimp with black cabbage.

Asparagus with nectarines. Whipped yougurt.

Red mullet with tomato bisque and corn bread. Very strong tomato sauce but mild mullet (which is good).

Lamb’s heart with baked potato. Chewy and medium warm.

Lamb neck meat with figs on aubergine puree. Nice. A bit like Sultan’s delight.

Carrots with za’atar and goat cheese. Good carrots.

Revani with melisa and boza. This semolina cake is a bit like tres leches.

Mint and ricotta cream profiterole. Tangy.

Solid and tasty meal. The flavor blends weren’t perfect, but it was quite good.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Aheste, Eating Türkiye, Istanbul, Turkish cusine

Eating Iznik – Nihat’ın Yeri

Mar23

Restaurant: Nihat’ın Yeri Balık Restaurant

Location: Selcuk Mah, Gol Sahil Yolu, Iznik 16860 Turkiye. +90 542 475 38 99

Date: June 14, 2023

Cuisine: Turkish Fish Restaurant

Rating: fried fish

Daytripping to Iznik / Nicaea we stopped at a lake restaurant.

This was an interesting local experience not far from where Constantine and crew haggled out the status of the father, the son, and the holy ghost…

Outside seating on the lake.

Local olives for sale.

Nap time.

Here are the local olives, which were good.

Olive oil and tomato sauce.

Bread.

Fries – found at nearly every Turkish lunch resteraunt.

Grilled lake fish.

Fried lake fish is what they are famous for. It was… well… fried fish.

Popular with the locals.

Really popular.

Turkish Tea.

Not exactly expensive.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

When I went hunting with my pet wolf.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Türkiye, fish, Iznik, Nihat'ın Yeri, Turkish

Eating Istanbul – Neolokal

Mar20

Restaurant: Neolokal

Location: Azapkapı, Mahı, Bankalar Cd. No:11, 34420, 34421 Beyoğlu/İstanbul, Türkiye. +90 551 447 45 45

Date: June 13, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Turkish

Rating: Very modern, but also very tasty

Our first dinner outside the hotel, braving the crazy Istanbul evening traffic.

Gorgeous views of the city.

The menu.

The boy.

Very nice bright, high acid, food white.

Neolokal’s sourdough. Very crunchy crust.

Gluten free version.

Parsley marbled butter, cep mushroom powder. Delicious.

Amuse Bouches. Sweet beans and baklava roll (right). Little bean tart. Fried bread dough with muhamara (left). Nice crispy little pocket. Sea bream and vine leaves (back). Nice contrast of tastes.

Penne Pomodoro.

Olive oil braised Artichoke. Fried crispy baby artichoke. Caramelized artichoke puree, artichoke emulsion, pea and carrot cream. A little bit more on the starchy side than I might have liked, but I did enjoy the cream.

Spring vegetables. Asparagus, green almonds, fava beans, peas and tahini tarator.

Raki marinated sea bream. Gambilya fava beans with safflower, lemon caviar and onion gelee. Nice textures.

Cabbage Rolls with Mardin Bulgut, caramelized cabbage cream, pomegranate molasses.

Icli Kofte Dumplings. Meat and pine nuts, salted yogurt foam, garlic parsley oil. I really enjoyed this meat and yougurt pastry. The yogurt was nitro whipped which made it pillowy soft.

Couscous with beetroot, Izmir talum cheese, fresh herbs and roasted pine nuts.

Shrimp and Collard Dolmade. Rice with light grilled red shrimp sauce. Good, but I would have liked a more intense bisque flavor.

Sorrel Sorbetto. I loved this savory (and probably pacojet) sorbetto.

Pear Sorbet.

Morel Dumplings, mushroom sauce and emulsion, sauteed morel and isot oil.

Lamb Neck. Belly, meatballs with sweet beans piyaz and freekeh pilaf. Lots of soft yummy meat.

A little boat of tasty spiced meat.

Gluten free cabbage roll.

Revani with Rose. Rose milk ice cream, rose delight, coconut meringue. Good thing I love rose.

Halva with Hazelnut Tahini. Sesame ice cream, bitter almond macaron.

Pear with Quince Compote, quince cream, pickled apples, rose gelee.

Diren Mahlep & Cherry Truffles. Mamul Cookies. Cookies were dry shortbread but the truffle was good.

Date Truffles and Crispy Pumpkin.

Overall, a lovely meal with Turkish tastes prepared in a modernist manner. Flavors were bright, aromatic, and deftly conveyed.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Eating Istanbul – Foodie-ist

Mar18

Restaurant: Foodie-ist Cafe and Brasserie

Location: Alemdar, Muhterem Efendi Sk. No:13 Zemin kat, 34122 Fatih/İstanbul, Türkiye. +90 212 522 44 21

Date: June 13, 2023

Cuisine: Turkish Cafe

Rating: solid

Just a quick — touring — lunch.

The menu.

Tea.

Imam bayildi. Eggplant with olive oil.

Zeytinyagli Yaprak Sarma. Grape leaves with olive oil.

Humus.

Diced tomato and cucumbe, pepper, parsley, olives, diced feta cheese, oil-lemon and pomegranate sauce.

Deniz Mahsulleri Salatasi. Seafood Salad. Mixed greens, shrimp, squid, mussels, olives, basil, cherry tomatoes, oil, lemon sauce.

Penne Pomodoro.

“Pepporoni” Pizza. (it’s not pork).

Fine but not particularly exciting lunch spot in central Istanbul.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Eating Istanbul – Manzara Breakfast

Mar15

Restaurant: Manzara

Location: Barbaros Blvd Besiktas, Istanbul 34353 Turkiye. +90 212 310 25 25

Date: June 13-17, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Turkish

Rating: Hotel restaurant, but good

The Conrad Hilton Istanbul has an extensive breakfast buffet…

Pretty much something for everyone… except the pork lover (it’s halal).

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Breakfast, Eating Türkiye, Türkiye

Eating Istanbul – Manzara

Mar12

Restaurant: Manzara

Location: Barbaros Blvd Besiktas, Istanbul 34353 Turkiye. +90 212 310 25 25

Date: June 12, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Turkish

Rating: Hotel restaurant, but good

This is the first meal in my new Eating Türkiye 2023 series.

Manzara is the main restaurant in the Conrad Hilton.

The menu.

Bread.

Garlic butter.

Olive oil.

Arugula Salad with Artichoke. Olive oil cooked artichoke, baby arugula, citrus, pomegranate, candied walnut, Biga goat cheese, raspberry sauce.

Lakerda. Salt water cured bonito, pickled red onion, seasonal greens, olive oil. Very nice. Salty with strong flavors.

“Kitel.” Siirt style kibbeh with beef and walnut, buffalo yogurt, parsley, sweet basil, spicy burnt butter. Like thick ravioli with a kind of beef “chili” inside and yogurt sauce. Quite delicious.

See the meat inside.

Simple pasta.

Grilled Sea Bass. Buckwheat tabbouleh, oyster mushroom, lettuce, fresh herbed lemon sauce.

Konya Oven Kebap. Braised lamb shoulder, pita breead, grilled spring onion, tomato, pepper, thyme. The meat was a little but dry but was very nice with the yogurt.

The dessert menu.

Manzara was quite pleasant. It’s a hotel restaurant, but the food quality was high and it wasn’t particularly expensive. Atmosphere was a touch stiff but there was great service and a lovely view.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Türkiye, Istanbul, Manzara, Türkiye

Brothers Dom

Mar10

Restaurant: The Brothers Sushi Santa Monica [1, 2, 3]

Location: 1008 Montana Ave #1, Santa Monica, CA 90403. (424) 330-0270

Date: June 6, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Sushi

Rating: Awesome (and close)!

Our Foodie Gang has been going to the incredible “The Brothers Sushi” in the valley for some time now, and it was with much glee that we welcomed in the brand new (and somewhat delayed) Montana Santa Monica location. Now it’s become a bit of a staple spot for us.

The space used to be the repulsive Louise’s Trattoria, serving not exactly Italian for decades. But Brother’s has given it a major new makeover.

The build out is gorgeous. Here the bar is for omakase only and the tables are for à la carte only.

More details.
Chef Mark Okuda on the left and his chef de cuisine Moriyuki Kanamaru.

Oyster with yuzu, shiso, and sea salt. Bright and lovely.

Firefly squid, basil udon, and tomato. The basil udon (more a spaghetti) was amazing.

Sea bream with transparent shrimp, lotus root. Steamed with seaweed dashi. Very light and delicate.

Smoked baby bluefin tuna with wasabi. Strong smoke flavor (which I like).

What is Larry learning?

Chawanmushi with hairy crab, Hokaido uni, shiso, and sweet corn. Soft and delectable.

Maryland soft shell crab. Very zesty and lovely miso dressing.

Saba. Nice and oily.

Cherry Salmon. Super soft and lightly smokey. Cured in kelp.

Fan clam with Hokaido uni and salt. Very unusual and delciious.

Tuna. Superb balance of soy and tuna flavors with a long briny finish.

Goldeneye snapper.

Dry aged o-toro. So good. Just incredible.

Wagyu truffle.

WOTN — haha.

Shima aji.

Uni risotto with sea perch, ikura, and wasabi. Unique and wonderful.

Another o-toro — had to do it!

Sea Eel.

Negi toro handroll. Incredible.

Clam miso.

Uni crab handroll. Lots of uni!

Strawberry Jam Gelato — an awesome dairly Strawberry base swirled with Strawberry Jam — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — sugar time! — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #strawberry #jam

Sweet milk strawberry gelato with Harry’s Berries and a jelly.

Roasted Tea.

Overall an incredible night of incredible eats and some really fabulous wine. Lots and lots of P2! These were all so young, even the 96s! The 2008 1996 had a little age on it, but still.

Overall, another perfect night of sushi and champagne!

Instantly Brother’s Santa Monica has leapt into the top tier of westside sushi bars along with Miyagi and Shunji. It’s combination of perfect nigri and very refined “other dishes” are really great. It’s slightly different from woodland hills in personality, with some dishes in common and some specific to each — just enough to keep things interesting.

For more Sushi dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Brothers Sushi, BYOG, Dom Pérignon (wine), Gelato, Montana, Santa Monica, Sushi, Wine

Another 71 Above

Feb29

Restaurant: 71Above [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14]

Location: 633 W 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071

Date: May 28, 2023

Cuisine: New American

Rating: Awesome in all ways

71Above is one of my favorite LA restaurants and I’ve been many times. In fact there are 10 previous write ups! Original Chef Vartan Abgaryan has moved on to his own new place, Yours Truly (which the pandemic has sadly done in), and 71Above is now seamlessly helmed by his disciple, Chef Javier Lopez. Today is another family birthday here.

Besides being located on the 71st floor (950 feet up!) of the US Bank building, being the highest restaurant west of the Mississippi, it’s owned and operated by my friend Emil Eyvazoff!

On one of these visits, Emil gave me a quick tour of their new “patio” on the 70th floor below where they are serving up Mezzes and drinks.

Gorgeous build out upstairs for the main event.

Look at the crazy view and the crazy fog on this weird spring night.
The pre-lunch crowd.

The room.

The menu.

Bread Service. Cultured Butter.

Amuse of “spicy” ginger soup.

Caviar Service. Kaluga, 28 Grams, Blini, Egg Yolk Jam, Chives.

On the house!

Hiramasa Crudo. Passion Fruit, Mandarin, Avocado, Jicama, Furikake, Cilantro, Habanero.

Spring Farm Salad. Lettuces, Market Vegetables, Seeds, Goat Cheese, Kumquat Vinaigrette.

Fingerling Potato. Trout Roe, Leek, Bonito Butter, Lemon, Sesame Bread Crumbs, Dill, Chives.

Simple pasta.

Casarecce Pasta. King Trumpet, Hazelnut, Truffle, Kale, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Green Garlic.

Ōra King Salmon. English Pea Ragù, Carrot, Yuzu Kosho, Citrus, Pine Nut, Green Garlic, Mint.

Heritage Pork Loin. Pork Fritter, Celery Root Purée, Escarole, Cherry Relish, Fennel, Meyer Lemon.

Grilled Ribeye. Charred Broccolini, Crispy Shallot, Date Purée, Macadamia, Ju.

My son’s favorite — Triple Chocolate Cloud Gelato – The base is made this time with Valrhona 70% Guanaja Chocolate and then layered with Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Ganache, and chopped Oreos! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #Valrhona #chocolate #oreos #ganache #icing

Coconut Crunch Gelato — Coconut dairy custard base with Strawberry Wafers and house-made White Chocolate Coated Crunch Berries — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #coconut #crunch #crunchBerries #WhiteChocolate

Guava Granita. Cream Cheese Cremeux, Kataifi, Strawberry Gel & Sorbet.

Chocolate Cremeux. Peanut Butter Crumble, Graham Cracker, Marshmallow Fluff & Ice Cream.

Cheese Plate. Pecora Nocciola, Briana, Tea Rose, Shabby Shoe, Reverie, Seasonal Accompaniments.

Rose Water Pavlova. Orange-Saffron Curd, Whipped Mascarpone.

Petite Fours.

Heading down!

Overall, 71Above is just a seriously well conceived and executed one-of-a-kind restaurant. Really, it’s more like a NY, Singapore, or Tokyo kind of concept. First of all, the view is just awesome. I can’t wait to come back on a really clear day. Particularly once they begin brunch service, a nice winter day will offer an observation deck like panorama.

But then Emil and crew built out such a lovely space to capture the drama. It’s modern, but welcoming. Not too loud, you can hear the conversation and the music both. And from when you enter off the double elevator ascent it folds from one experience to another: lounge, dining room, more intimate corridors, chef table, quiet and romantic view areas in the back, and a series of two adjustable private dining rooms. The attention to architectural detail is amazing.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: 71above, birthday, Wine

Spanish Sauvages 2023

Feb23

Restaurant: Teresa Montana [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Location: Flintridge

Date: May 26, 2023

Cuisine: New American

Today’s Sauvages lunch is a lunch in honor of late Co-Poobah Steve Levin. It’s graciously hosted by Paul at at his beautiful home in Flintridge. This event is held outdoors in memory of the Zinfandel barbecues that Steve would hold for our group every summer at his home (it being Paul’s idea to maintain this fine tradition). To that end, we always enjoy a few Zinfandels at this lunch in addition to the theme wines for the lunch. The annual lunches at Paul’s home always rate very high on the scales for ambiance, camaraderie and food quality.

The main wine theme has evolved to a tour of some of the best Spanish wines to go along with Spanish food by chef Teresa Montana.
This California style building isn’t the house itself, but the amazing top of the integrated cellar.

Trying to give you a sense of the mid century space.

This year (2023), we sat on the other side of the main house at a single large table.

Here the chef can be seem working the kitchen.

Starting with some champ.

Our special menu.

The chef gives the speil.

Spanish whites.

Sicilian Crudo. Yellowfin tuna, fluke, pugliese olive oil, olives, lemon, flowers, caviar. This generous crudo was flavored strongly by the grassy (and lovely) olive oil from Southern Italy and the hefty dose of sea salt. Very pleasant.

Riojas.

Chicharro y Tonnato. Charred snap peas, tonnato sauce, garrotxa cheese, bonito. These fresh veggies tasted great with what was essentially a thick “lemon-less” cesar dressing. Very rich, savory, umami sauce and ridiculously delicious.

Unico!

Pizza al Pistachio. Stracciatella, pistachio, parmesan, mortadella. The toppings were great. The dough was a touch heavy. It was still a very nice pizza, but it wasn’t the super light and chewy dough of the very best pizzas. Still good though and the mortadella and added pistachio was great.

Priorats.

Txuletas de Iberico. Grilled montaraz Iberico pork chops, charred spring vegetables, xato sauce. Really yummy pork chop with bone and great meaty flavor. The romesco-like sauce was awesome as well.

Older Riojas.

Chef’s Special Cheeses. Selection of handpicked cheeses, fruit and honey, with housemade walnut raisin sourdough.

Pretty!

Bread.

My son’s favorite — Triple Chocolate Cloud Gelato – The base is made this time with Valrhona 70% Guanaja Chocolate and then layered with Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Ganache, and chopped Oreos! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #Valrhona #chocolate #oreos #ganache #icing

Baileys Irish Gream Gelato — Stabilized 13% Bailys Irish Cream recipe, with a touch of seasonal coloring! — I have trouble resisting these once a year flavors — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #expresso #whiskey #baileys #StPatricksDay #cream #green

A bit of wine!

Overall, a delicious afternoon — food and wine both! An awesome range of Spanish wines and some great Spanish food.

We did have WAY too much wine for the number of courses. We could have used an easy 2 or 3 more courses to stage it out. A couple years ago we had one more course and we could really use that as there is that extra Zin flight.

The setting really is magnificent. The weather was perfect, if a little cloudy. Just an ideal afternoon in the yard!

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Gelato, lunch, Paul Wools, Sauvages, Spanish, Teresa Montana

No Funk at Funke

Feb18

Restaurant: Funke

Location: 9388 S Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. (424) 279-9796

Date: May 23, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Italian

Rating: Great pasta. Salty!

Funke is the latest from the pasta master at Felix and Motherwolf.

Funke is located on Little Santa Monica right near Il Pastaio.

Fancy Beverly Hills frontage.

Lots of good wine, and not a crazy markup, maybe 2-3X. Of course, this is painful with a Gaja or something. And they have the really annoying 2 bottle limit. As usual this made us spend LESS money than if they hadn’t had the limit. We just drank less wine.

Downstairs bar. There is also a big roof bar.

Special pasta room.

Stuffed pasta!

The empty main dining room. The place is huge as there are several.

The big kitchen (empty now).

We took the elevator upstairs.

Big upstairs area and more bars!

Private dining room with this huge table. We were tucked in the corner here. Nice and quiet, the way we like it.

The menu. Lots of overlap with Felix and Mother Wolf.

From their list. High acid with nice minerality.

Fiori di Zucca. Squash Blossom, ricotta fresca, parmigiano reggiano, sea salt. Quite good, and very delicate, but odd without any kind of sauce.

Polpette della Maestra Alessandra. Sugo di pomodoro, english peas, parmigiano reggiano. Solid meatballs, great sauce. The balls were salty. Hey, everything at Funke is really salty. They were a bit chewier too then I like, but the meaty flavor was great.

Frisella Pugliese. Burrata pugliese, psring vegetables, extra virgin olive oil. This was a weird burrata dish. It was on a crispy bread/pizza/thing. It was tasty, but who needed more carbs? Burrata was great. Spring veggies were great. Herbs (like mint) were fabulous. The whole thing was messy though, fell all over the table as we tried to cut it.

Misticanza. Lettuces, wild and cultivated greens, herbs, flowers, condimento di lambrusco. Very lovely salad. Felt fresh and healthy.

Pizza Boscaiola. Wild mushrooms, l’avarizia, salsiccia, parmigiano reggiano, finocchietto. The dough wasn’t that exciting. It was good, but not nearly as good as Bar Monette or anything. The mushrooms + sausage on a pizza, however, great!

Troffie, Sori, Liguria, Sofia. Pesto Genovese, parmigiano reggiano, basil. Perfect classical rendition of this. Just like in Liguria except no potato or long beans. Great chew to the pasta and super bright basil flavor.

Agnolotti dal Plin, Roddino, Piemonte, Gemma. Sugo di Arrosto, erbette chard, parmigiano reggiano. Perfect. Super salty butter pasta water emulsion sauce and delicate little “porky” pockets. Perfect.

Orecchiette, Bari Vecchia, Puglia, Nunzia. Salsiccia, broccoletti, sugo di pomodoro, ‘nduja, pecorino pugliese. Great chew to the Orecchiette and a nice acidity and good sausage flavor. Very very salty again.

Linguine alle Vongole. Aglio, olio, peperoncino, manila clams, vino bianco, parsley. Clams are much bigger than in Italy but the flavor was spot on, parsley forward, quite lovely. Extremely salty again.

Mezze Maniche alla Gricia. Guanciale, black pepper, pecorino romano DOP. My favorite pasta as it was basically salty bacon, pecorino, and pork fat flavored. Increidbly salty. Like salty for salt. All those ingredients are salt forward.

Scottadita di Agnello. New Zealand Lamb Rib Chops, cicoria bruciata, english peas, spring onions, green garlic, mint. Interesting prep covered in herbs. It was nice to have some more fresh herbs. This gave me a bit of Vietnamese vibe. The lamb itself was well cooked and delicious.

The dessert menu.

Mandorle Siciliano Gelato. Sicilian Almonds. I ordered this because at Sweet Milk Gelato several of my signature flavors are based on Sicilian Almonds. I have to say this wasn’t that exciting — i.e. mine are much better. I think they just used Mandorle Dolce (sweet almond). It’s pleasant and subtle, but I prefer Mandorle Tostate (toasted almonds) which just have more flavor.

Cannoli Siciliani. Murray farm cherries, pistacchi di bronte. Madagascar chocolate. These were okay, but not amazing. I’m not sure I felt about the cherry thing, although it is in season. And the pistachios were rubbery and chewy intead of crunchy — pistachio foul!

Crostata di Mirtilli. Puff pastry, sicilian almonds, crema di bergamotto. This was nice, although it tended to explode all over the place like any classic puff pastry.

The trio of desserts.

Some chocolate expresso truffles and almond “cakes.” The almond things were good, actually.

Emotional Damage!

Overall, Funke was quite good. Service was very nice and professional, and they certainly knew their menu. The wine director was very knowledgable and nice too — although I’m no fan of the 2 bottle limit (but I’m sure that comes from high on up). The wine list is small, nearly all Italian, and excellent. Prices aren’t bad. But having to buy from the list somewhat means we would buy less, and buy interesting cheaper wines instead of the kind of older big wines we often collect. They don’t even really have those older wines, only a few places like Capo do in LA. Food was excellent. It is VERY SALTY. I know all restaurants are pretty salty but they, like Felix and Mother Wolf, go to town with it. Very salty. It tastes good, but you can feel it. It’s also very carb forward, almost gratuitous. And while the menu is slightly bigger than either Felix or Mother Wolf, it’s essentially very similar. A big percentage, perhaps 50-70% of all dishes duplicate with the other restaurants. So to that effect you could eat at any one of the three and have essentially a very similar meal. At current, all three reservations aren’t so easy to get, very difficult for Funke and pretty darn hard for Mother Wolf — and these are large spaces — so they are clearly doing “something” right.