agavin

Author Archive for agavin – Page 9

Eating Amsterdam – Dignita

May24

Restaurant: Dignita

Location: Amsterdam

Date: July 4, 2023

Cuisine: Cafe

Rating: Solid

On our final day in the Netherlands we shuffled west to Amsterdam.

We stopped at this hipster spot in central Amsterdam for a quick lunch.

Attractive outdoor space. For a country with far worse weather than LA, they sure have a lot more nice outside dining — boo on you LA regulators!

Salmon Benny — aka benedict but over hash browns. Cute!

Dutch pancake.

Avo Toast or similar.

Cilbir. Turkish eggs and yogurt with a side of bacon.

Bacon does make everything better.

Shakshouka with yellow tomatoes.

Cappuccino. Dignita would do well in LA — it has a similar hipster/international vibe going on and very good “all day brunch.”

For more Dutch dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Dutch cuisine, Eating Amsterdam, Eating Dutch, Eating Netherlands

Eating Grubbenvorst – Clevers

May22

Restaurant: Clevers

Location: Lottumseweg 1, 5971 BT Grubbenvorst, Netherlands. +31 77 366 1459

Date: July 2, 2023

Cuisine: Ice Cream Parlor

Rating: Over-the-top sundaes with awesome Ice-Cream

Clevers (pronounced Cleavers) is a local institution in this land of excellent dairy.

For a town of just a few hundred it’s huge!

They have a book-like menu, but here was just a relevant page. They serve a vast array of sundaes.

Mixed berry.

Strawberries and Cream.

Mango Sorbetto.

Pineapple (served in the special pineapple cup).

The backside.

A slightly different berry sundae.

Hazelnut Crunch.

Chocolate Fantasie. Mousse and brownies adorned with ice cream.

Another view.

Chocolate, Vanilla, and Straciatella ice creams.

The Punaise. Hazelnut, walnut, cookies, praline, chocolate, straciatella, truffles, whipped cream and more. This was being bad, really bad. The ice cream was excellent — not gelato — but very creamy soft regular style ice cream. Lots of good stuff in here.

This was a great ice cream place and while the flavors weren’t particularly exotic, the milk quality and soft creamy style of ice cream was first rate.

For more Dutch dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Dessert, Eating Dutch, Eating Grubbenvorst, Eating Netherlands, Ice cream

Eating Maastricht – Spice of India

May20

Restaurant: Spice of India

Location: Achter Het Vleeshuis 27, 6211 GR Maastricht, Netherlands. +31 43 321 6375

Date: July 1, 2023

Cuisine: Indian

Rating: Slow, and too much sugar

I was excited to get some Indian as I’ve had pretty much nothing but Turkish for 3 weeks. This place in Maastricht is a favorite of my friend Gus’.

The town of Maastricht is super cute and lively — it’s been a bustling trade city since Roman times.

Cute interior.

We had as huge table.

Perfectly pleasant petite chablis.

My cryptic notes.

Papadum. These were good.

The chutneys didn’t look like much but the raita was great and the red one had a nice complex sweet spice. There was also a super hot one (not pictured) that was the only really hot thing of the night.

Fried Shrimp. Very panko fry.

Samosas. We had veggie, chicken, and lamb. The shells was nice and thin and crispy, more phylo, but the interior was dry.

King Prawn Kashmiri. Very creamy and mild. VERY creamy as in about 50% heavy cream.

Chicken Tikka Masala. This was the palest creamiest CTM I’ve ever had. Flavor was nice, buit it was really sweet and very mild (and creamy).

Saag Paneer. This had a rougher texture which I liked.

Vegetable Korma. Again super mild and creamy.

Lamb Vindaloo. Supposedly spicy but it wasn’t. At least it wasn’t mostly cream.

Daal.

Fish Dhamask. Nice and garlicky. Fish was scarce.

Lamb Korma. You guessed it: mild and creamy (but nice).

Basmati Rice.

Naan.

Mixed Tandoori Grill. Not enough real meat here.

Ganesh supervises. The food was tasty but WAY WAY too creamy and sweet. Almost dessert like. Also, we had a massive service gap. The apps took awhile and then there was a 2 hour gap between the samosas and a sudden drop of every other item simultaneously. We ate all the papadum and chutneys during the wait! Still, it’s interesting to see Indian in different countries. Still, the company was so good we enjoyed ourselves.

I always find trying “3rd party” national cuisines abroad very interesting. By 3rd party I mean that this was Indian food (3rd party), in the Netherlands. Trying Dutch food in NL or Indian Food in India would of course be more direct, but here it’s Indian filtered through a Dutch lens: in this case a mild and creamy lens!

For more Dutch dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Dutch, Eating Maastricht, Eating Netherlands, Indian cuisine, Maastricht

Eating Maasbree – Gemeintehoës

May18

Restaurant: Gemeintehoës

Location: Dorpstraat 20, 5993 AN Maasbree, Netherlands. +31 77 850 9553

Date: June 30, 2023

Cuisine: Dutch gastropub

Rating: Solid

Our first night in the Netherlands we went to this local place in Maasbree. It’s basically contemporary dutch.

The building

The menu.

Vino.

Tuna carpaccio. I think this might have been beef with a tuna sauce. It was good regardless.

Beef Carpaccio.

Beet Carpaccio.

Burrata Salad.

Salmon and Shrimp.

Tom yum soup.

Tomato Soup.

Mustard soup. Yeah, cream and mustard!

Bread.

Simple pasta. Not simple enough for the boy.

Shrimp “Asian style.” Maybe Indonesian.

Shrimp chips.

Salmon.

Sea bass (crusted).

Bacon burger.

Beef short ribs.

BBQ ribs with mayo. These were pretty good, actyually. Covered in sauce.

Side salad.

Fries with mayo. The dutch way — but not drowned in mayo in this case.

Vlaai (pronouced closer to Fly) is the dutch word for pie — they have a lot of it. I suspect they brought it to American in the 18th century.

A chocolate flourless cake.

Some other dessert with a lot of ice cream and whipped cream.

The local specialty vlaai.

Basically custard tart with whipped cream and chocolate. Yummy!

Ice cream sundae.

With the chocolate sauce.

Coffee.

This wasn’t a highly specific cuisine but it was a very enjoyable meal.

For more Dutch dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Dutch cuisine, Eating Dutch, Eating Masbree, Eating Netherlands, Gemeintehoës, Holland

Eating Dalaman – Tao

May16

Restaurant: Tao

Location: Hilton Dalaman Sarigerme Resort & Spa. Sarıgerme, Tourism Center, 48610 Ortaca/Muğla, Türkiye

Date: June 29, 2023

Cuisine: Tepanyaki

Rating: Hmmm

Tao is the “Asian” restaurant at the Dalaman. They have this pan-Asian menu and a separate sub section for Teppan-Yaki which is what we did.

The menu.

Teppan-Yaki was outside at these grill tables.

Micro sushi-sahimi app.

Miso soup.

This Turkish white table wine was fine.

Our grill-master.

Prepping the grill.

Starting the egg fried rice with egg — and some various egg tricks.

T

Fried rice almost ready.

Fried Rice. They used Turkish long grain rice instead of Japanese rice. It was plesant, but a bit different.

Terrayaki sauce on the left and “yum yum” (sweet mayo) on the right.

Beef.

On the plate. Certainly not A5, but plesaant.

Veggie volcano. I didn’t photo these on the plate or the shrimp.

Terrayaki salmon.

Chicken.

Dessert flambe.

Banana, ice cream, and chocolate sauce.

This was a pretty basic “Japanese” meal by my standards, but it was clean and enjoyable.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Dalaman, Eating Türkiye, Tao, Tepanyaki

Eating Dalaman – Alize

May13

Restaurant: Alize

Location: Hilton Dalaman Sarigerme Resort & Spa. Sarıgerme, Tourism Center, 48610 Ortaca/Muğla, Türkiye

Date: June 28, 2023

Cuisine: Vaguely Italian restaurant

Rating: Great Hotel restaurant

Alize is the Italian restaurant at the Hilton. Over in the main part of the complex they have the big buffet restaurant, Sarigeme and a number of more specific cuisines.The format at the non-buffet restaurants is a bit more gentile. There is a very small “supplemental” charge (beyond the baseline all-inclusive rate), and you order off the menu instead, but they are also AYCE. So they have a format a bit like a cruise ship where you could just keep ordering stuff. In practice, you would become quickly full.

The menu.

Lovely patio.

Bread.

Amuse plate.

Another amuse of bruschetta, Turkish style. No pork, of course.

Buratta Cheese. Truffle, Warm Tomato Pestil.

Summer Breeze Salad. Stracciatella Cheese, Peach, Strawberry, Colourful Baby Tomatoes Basil and Pomegranate Seeds with Olive Oil Vinaigrette.

Caesar Salad. Shaved Parmesan Cheese, Caesar Dressing and Focaccia Croutons.

Pumpkin Ravioli. Sage, Pumpkin, Cream, Parmesan Cheese and Roasted Peanuts. Very cheesy! Couldn’t really taste the pumpkin, but I liked the goopy sauce so it was nice.

Pomegranite sorbet.

Plain pasta.

French fries.

Pan Seared John Dory. Potato Gnocchi, Spinach, Marjoram and Porcini Mushroom Ragout.

Mushroom Risotto. Porcini Mushrooms, Heavy Cream and Parmesan Cheese.

Osso Buco alla Milanese. Milanese Style Osso Bucco with Saffron Risotto. Not bad, although the risotto wasn’t perfect and was perhaps undersalted.

Tea.

Chocolate ice cream.

Tiramisu. Baileys Syrup and Tiramisu Cream, Lady Fingers, with Coffee and Cantucci Biscuits.

Crème Brûlée. Thyme and Basil, Milk, Cream, and French Merengue.

Alize was a substantial cut above the dinner buffet. And to start with, the buffet food was actually quite good, with tons of options, but a have my particular “beef” with the buffet forma. It’s not about food quality or taste, but about the pacing of the meal. They are great for breakfast, but particularly on a vacation, buffets aren’t very fun for dinner. The pacing is way too fast — after a quick trip you are stuffed — and half the time half your table is up and away so any attempts are conversation are foiled. Everyone seems to be on their own pacing.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Alize, Eating Dalaman, Eating Türkiye, Turkish cusine

Eating Göcek – Güverte

May11

Restaurant: Güverte

Location: Göcek, Turgut Özal Cd. No:13, 48310 Fethiye/Muğla, Türkiye. +90 530 626 17 25

Date: June 27, 2023

Cuisine: Turkish Fish restaurant

Rating: Cats!

This was a recommended fish restaurant in Göcek Turkey.

Outside patio by the water of course. It was “plagued” by kittens.

Yacht club view.

Usual giant cabinet of mezze.

Olives.

Yogurt with tomatoes and eggplant.

This yogurt had tahini in it. I’m not as big a fan of it that way. It can be hard to tell all the yogurt platters apart by visual inspection.

Marinated anchovies are always great.

Artichokes.

Eggplant baked with shrimp and seafood with cheese. Quite good, if slightly over baked. A kitchen may have shared this dish with me.

Red Snapper. Meatier than the usual sea bass.

Fish restaurants have a very “tried and true” formula — and they really sort of get you on the price of the fish.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Dalaman, Eating Göcek, Eating Türkiye, fish, Turkish cusine

Eating Dalaman – Sarigeme

May09

Restaurant: Sarigeme

Location: Hilton Dalaman Sarigerme Resort & Spa. Sarıgerme, Tourism Center, 48610 Ortaca/Muğla, Türkiye

Date: June 26-30, 2023

Cuisine: Giant buffet

Rating: Bigger than a Vegas buffet!

Sarigeme is the massive full service 3 meals a day buffet at the Hilton Dalaman — and the go to spot for breakfast.

Breads.

Pastries.

Savory pastries.

Gluten free.

Sandwich station.

Cheese.

Cold cuts and fish.

Fried donut like things and accompaniments.

Fries and other fried pastries.

Honeycomb station.

Olives.

Salads and mezze.

Beans, mushrooms, tomatoes etc. Aka hot breakfast veggies.

Salad greens.

Yogurts.

Toppings, perhaps for yogurt.

Even more toppings. The Turks sure have a sweet tooth.

Cereals.

Oatmeal and other similar hot cereals.

Omelet station.

Eggs.

More eggs.

Egg’s Benedict station.

Compared to everything else, the meats were scarce.

Chicken nuggets (presumably for kids).

Fruit.

Dried and canned fruit.

The desserts and pastries were epic. I didn’t photo all of them.

Some desserts. I missed photoing many of the desserts.

Turkish delights.

This was a vast buffet and certainly had about 20 somethings for everyone. Quality was medium high and it was very strong in the carbohydrate department. Given its size it was extremely well run and efficient with constrant replenishment.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Breakfast, Eating Dalaman, Eating Türkiye, Turkish cusine

Eating Dalaman – Vela

May07

Restaurant: Vela

Location: Hilton Dalaman Sarigerme Resort & Spa. Sarıgerme, Tourism Center, 48610 Ortaca/Muğla, Türkiye

Date: June 25, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Turkish Fish restaurant

Rating: Great Hotel restaurant

On the final phase of our Türkiye trip we stayed at the Dalaman Hilton Resort, which is owned by friends of ours.

It’s is a true gem nestled in the heart of Turkey’s breathtaking landscape. With its luxurious accommodations offering panoramic views of the majestic mountains and the serene Aegean Sea, it’s a paradise for those seeking relaxation and adventure alike. Its close proximity to some of the most stunning beaches in the region adds to its allure. The resort’s world-class amenities, coupled with the vibrant local culture and cuisine, make it a perfect getaway for creating unforgettable memories. It truly encapsulates the magic and beauty of Turkey.

On our first night at Dalaman we went to a big group dinner with our friends at the hotel’s fish restaurant, Vela. This is an updated take on the familiar — if you’ve been reading these posts — “fish restaurant formula.”

Bread.

Humus, yogurt. starting out a monster wave of mezze.

Artichoke.

Yogurt with tomatoes, peppers, and onions.

Sea Bass. Avocado and Salsa, Mustard, Truffle Oil, Lemon and Basil.

Marinated Shrimp and Roasted Aubergine. Strained Yogurt with Tomato and Tapenade.

This was some kind of unusual “meat.” I can’t remember what, but it was good.

Fried Calamari.

Shepard’s Salad. Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and Walnuts.

Greek Salad. Tomato, Ezine White Cheese, Red Onion with Lemon-Olive Oil Dressing

Aegean Style Shrimp Casserole. Mushrooms, Tomato and Peppers.

Grilled Rock Bass. Arugula Leaves, Roasted Potatoes, Capers and Lemon Dressing.

Fruit.

Birthday cake.

This largely thick whipped cream icing cake was pretty delicious, actually. I do like whipped cream. It was super light and refreshing.

Tea.

Cucumbers with lime. Interesting finish — but actually worked very well.

Very solid update take on the classic fish restaurant — and our massive group had a blast.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Dalaman, Eating Dalaman, Eating Türkiye, Turkish cusine, Vela

Eating Bodrum – Maçakizi

May05

Restaurant: Maçakizi

Location: Göltürkbükü, Narçiçeği Sokak, 48400 Göltürkbükü Bodrum/Bodrum/Muğla, Türkiye

Date: June 24, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Turkish

Rating: Hotel restaurant, but good

Macakizi is another top rated hotel resteraunt. We picked it because of the Turkish inspired modernist menu — I can have international anywhere.

Gorgeous view. The party below at the bar was really hoping, including the pounding EDM.

The menu. Unfortunately again I can’t do the tasting menu because it’s a whole table sort of thing.

Wine of the night.

Macakizi culinary garden salad. tomato, fennel, squash, fresh herbs.

Cheese pizza-like bread.

Sea bass Crudo. Compressed melon, buckwheat, yuzu vinaigrette, radish sprouts. very nice light acidic salty sea bass crudo. The cubed melon leant some nice texture and a hint of sweetness.

Calamarata Pasta Cacio e Peppe with Blue Crab Meat. Crushed black peppercorns, parmesan, butter. Interesting combo which was effective. I might have liked the emulsion of the sauce a touch thicker, but the pasta was perfectly al dente and the pepper butter paired perfectly with the crab.

Summer Tomato Risotto. Stracciatella, basil butter. Very nice “tomato sauce” flavored rissoto. Proper mancurata and starchy emulsion on the rice.

Fire roasted sea bass. Wild greens, miso & smoked aubergine broth.

Aged day boat Grouper. Morel mushroom, roasted chicken jus. The broth was a touch thin, so it didn’t cling to the firm meat like I might have liked. But overall pretty good.

The dessert menu.

Pavlova / Strawberry Compte / Buffalo Milk Yogurt Ice Cream / Yogurt Foam. The best of the 3 desserts and a quite lovely mix of sugary merignue and fruit.

Creme Brulee / White Chocolate & Walnut Cake. Sort of halfway between a pastry and creme brulee, but very tasty.

Pistachio & Dark Chocolate Bar / Bodrum Clementine Sorbet. The weakest of the 3 desserts, but still very nice. Good mix of soft and crunchy texture with the dark chocolate, pistachio, and orange tones very effective together.

Overall, a great place. Atmosphere was lovely and the food was in the top 3 or so meals we’ve had in Turkey so far. One of us rated it their favorite, the next their second favorite. I think the desserts were the best we’ve had for sure. Apps and pastas were a bit stronger than the fish mains.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Bodrum, Eating Türkiye, Maçakizi, Turkish cusine

Blast from the Past

May04

Here is a serious blast from the past with an episode of Electric Playground I and the Naughty Dog team filmed over 25 years ago!

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For more articles detailing the making of Crash Bandicoot, click here.

By: agavin
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Eating Bodrum – Sofra

May03

Restaurant: Sofra

Location: Mandarin Oriental. Gölköy Mahallesi, 314 Sokak No.10, 48483 Muğla, Türkiye

Date: June 24-25, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Turkish

Rating: Hotel restaurant, but good

Sofra is the Mararin Oriental Bodrum breakfast buffet — it’s pretty epic!

The view.

Breads.

More breads.

Pastries — they love pastries.

Bready pastries.

Donuts!

Pide.

Honeycomb.

Zoom!

Jams. Turks love sugar too.

Not sure what these spices go on.

Cheeses.

Butters, etc.

Meats.

Quesadilla-like things.

They are made here on the fly.

Fried filled things.

Fruits.

Nuts.

Milks.

Cereal.

Olives. They actually have few mezze here — which is an odd ommision.

Salads.

Greens.

Cured fish.

Lemon & lime.

dumplings!

They weren’t that great.

Vegetarian dumplings.

Miso soup.

Omelet fillings.

Haloumi cheese.

Veggies.

Snausages.

Mushrooms.

Different Snausages.

Potatoes.

Coffee.

Gluten free bread – sad.

Supposed ketogenic GF pastries — but they actually use date syrup and maple syrup so they are fully sugared.

Juices.

Yogurts.

Scrambled eggs.

Omelet.

Turkish Eggs!

Pancakes.

Pretty awesome buffet breakfast.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Bodrum, Eating Türkiye, Sofra, Turkish cusine

Eating Bodrum – Kitchen Bodrum

Apr30

Restaurant: Kitchen Bodrum

Location: Dirmil, Balyek Cd. No 5A, 48400 Bodrum/Muğla, Türkiye. +90 252 311 31 35

Date: June 23, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Turkish

Rating: Great. One of the best meals of the trip (1 star)

Kitchen Bodrum is located in The Edition hotel.

The wine cellar.

As usual, the inside is empty.

Later the patio was full.

The view doesn’t suck.

I like this grape.

Great bread and awesome soft parsley butter.

Other type of bread.

Hummus, Wild mushroom, crispy onion, organic paprika butter, poppy seeds.

Black Mussel, Rice with Mussel, Goat Cheese. Delicious, particularly the cheese sauce (the white stuff). This is a play on the Turkish street food (stuffef mussels).

Goat Cheese Manti. Carameliaed Pear Sauce, Green Apple. These were incredible. Great al dente fresh paste texture and sweet brown butter type sauce.

Salmon Confit, Sorrel, Potato, Lemon Cream. My wife loved this.

Lamb Shank, Porcini Mushroom Orzo, Lamb Jus. Melt in your mouth lamb. The demi-glace in the orzo was very addictive.

White Chocolate Yogurt Mousse, Raspberry Sorbet, Cherry Sauce. This was the best of the desserts — really nice.

Kazandibi Ice Cream, Caramelized Nuts, Cinnamon. Oddball dulce de leche-like sauce underneath.

Baklava Ice Cream, Crispy Phyllo Dough, Pistachio. I didn’t adore this. The ice creams were super hard and dense (Turkish style). Just a real Baklava with vanilla or white ice cream would have been tastier.

Kitchen Bodrum was arguably the best kitchen so far this trip. Really great tasting dishes. Service and atmosphere were great as well.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Bodrum, Eating Türkiye, Kitchen Bodrum, Turkish cusine

Eating Bodrum – Blue

Apr28

Restaurant: Blue

Location: Gölköy Mahallesi, 314 Sokak No.10, 48483 Muğla, Türkiye

Date: June 23, 2023

Cuisine: Modern Turkish

Rating: Hotel restaurant — expensive — but tasty

Beachside “cafe” at The Mandarin Oriental Bodrum.

The menu.

The beach.

Lahmacun. Minced Beef with Fresh Tomatoes & Green Pepper. Crispy thin crust (probably lavash) with a great flavor. Really nice.

Grilled Seabass Sandwich. Tomato, rocket, red onion, fresh herbs, ttartare sauce, ciabatta bread.

Zoom.

Doner plate. French fries, griilled tomatoes & pepper, Sumac Onion. Good, and certainly the best doner I’ve had yet, but I sorta like Gyro better — it’s meatier and has the yogurt. This needs yogurt.

Condiments for the fries.

Gorgeous beachside cafe with a big menu and excellent execution. The prices however are otherworldly, particularly for Turkey. Mezze are 4x what they were at Gio Rooftop and that’s also a “snazy” hotel restaurant.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Blue, Bodrum, Eating Bodrum, Eating Türkiye, Turkish cusine

Eating Teos Sığacık – Liman

Apr25

Restaurant: Liman

Location: Sığacık, Atatürk Meydanı No:5, 35460 Seferihisar/İzmir, Türkiye. +90 232 745 70 11

Date: June 22, 2023

Cuisine: Turkish fish restaurant

Rating: Very solid

A friend of ours who lives in Teos Sığacık (up the coast from where we were staying) setup sinner in this local fish restaurant.

It has a great seaside patio.

And a marina view.

The gang at table.

Lots of mezze again.

And lots of fresh fish.

Yogurt with spinach and almonds.

Seabass in yellow sauce. This tasted very pickled — and there even were pickles in the sauce.

Squash blossoms stuffed with rice.

Marinated seaweed with garlic. Very interesting (and tasty) flavor.

Marinated anchovies. Great, if a touch salty.

French fries.

Pastry with cheese and spinach.

Pastry with cheese and something else.

Mushrooms stuffed with cheese.

Fried calamari.

Artichoke with veggies.

Stuffed grape-leaves (warm and thin).

Grilled seabass.

fried red mullet. Very tasty.

Watermelon.

Crabapples.

Apricots.

Cherries.

Apples.

Thickened sweet milk paste with cinnamon. Fabulous and with an interesting chewy texture that is very Turkish.

Overall, a fun and atmospheric fish resteraunt. Extremely similar format and menu (not sure they even have a menu) to other fish resteraunts.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Teos Sığacık, Eating Türkiye, Turkish cusine

Eating Ephesus – Local Lunch

Apr23

Restaurant: Local Lunch

Location: somewhere need Ephesus

Date: June 22, 2023

Cuisine: Turkish

Rating: A bit rustic for my taste

We stopped at this super local place for lunch after visiting the amazing ruins at Ephesus…

Casual outside space. There was a big hall inside but of course no one was in there.

Lots and lots of mezze.

My plate. There wasn’t a lot of meat, just 3-4 stews. I suspect this is quite typical Turkish value eating — and it was actualy fairly good.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Ephesus, Eating Türkiye, lunch, Turkish cusine

Eating Kuşadası – Oksa

Apr21

Restaurant: Oksa

Location: Hacıfeyzullah, Güvercinada Cd. No:15, 09400 Kuşadası/Aydın, Türkiye.

Date: June 21, 2023

Cuisine: Turkish Fish

Rating: Great Fish Restaurant

Oksa is a classic “fish restaurant.”

Turkish and Greek restaurants have this distinction between “fish” and “meat” places.

Nice seaside seating.

Most traditional Turkish places, and in particular ALL the fish places, have a giant cabinet(s) of mezze to choose from.

Big buffet of mezze to choose from.

And you pick your particular fish form the cabinet.

Olives.

Bread.

Yogurt with tomato and peppers.

Marinated mushrooms.

Yogurt with walnuts and “spicy” oil.

Shrimp with avocado in a slightly lemony sauce.

Green salad.

The usual white choices.

Mushrooms stuffed with cheese.

Grapeleaves stuffed with seafood. Salty and delicious.

Our big fish (can’t remember the type) packed in salt and baked.

The delicious fish after filleting.

Head as a bonus.

Dill mayo as a condiment.

This was a very classic fish place with quite high quality.

For more Turkish dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Eating Kuşadası, Eating Türkiye, Turkish cusine

Eating Kuşadası – Old Town Tanneries

Apr19

Restaurant: Old Town Tanneries

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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Posted in: Food

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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Posted in: Food

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.