If you think that kebap is simply ground and grilled meat on
a skewer and that you can have it in Turkish restaurants in New
York or Paris,
then you are only partially correct. While it is true that kebap is grilled on
a skewer, it is not ground. An authentic kebap is always hand cut with a
special knife which is called zirh, and it is quite an art form, not unlike
sushi, to master the trade. The meat cut with this sharp knife remains quite
juicy and does not taste like a burger when grilled. I have never seen a
Turkish or Middle Eastern restaurant outside Turkey which actually cares to
prepare authentic kebap.
Continue reading "Istanbul Adventures #2: Kebap Houses" »
One of the delights of being in Istanbul in Spring is the chance of eating
what, IMO, is the most flavorful turbot (called kalkan in Turkish) on earth.
Turbot is a fish that I order often in France,
Spain (rodaballo) and Italy (rombo), and I find the turbot from the Atlantic in general superior to the Mediterranean
variety, but not quite on par with a Black Sea Turbot caught in the Marmara
sea. Indeed the dense and meaty turbot from the cold waters of Brittany is quite similar in taste to the Black Sea turbot
that is highly prized in Istanbul
in Spring. Unfortunately the increasing
popularity and astronomical prices of this noble fish have led to its
widespread farming, and fish markets in Istanbul
are now filled with turbot farmed in the Balkans, especially Bulgaria.
Although it is still a tasty fish, farmed turbot, which is brownish in color,
is quite bland compared to the wild version.
Continue reading "Istanbul Adventures #1: In Search of Turbot" »