Eats and more around London

Part of my "resolutions" for 2013 were to get out to try new eats and places around London. Besides wanting to try them, I had this fear of people coming to visit and my only suggestion being Pizza Express (which is still delicious!).

So, over the last few weeks, we have tried to get out and about on the town to eat.

The places we've tried include:

1. Taqueria (Notting Hill) - as I mentioned before, we're on a quest to find the best Mexican food in London. I fell in love with the Choriqueso tacos here. Plus they serve black beans with the crumbly white cheese on top, mmmmmm.

2. The Booking Office (Kings Cross/St Pancras) - this is a bar, but I'm sure they serve food, that's located in St. Pancras Station. The best part about this is the atmosphere - high, arched, brick ceilings and the old wood work give it a great ambiance. Added bonus - it's right above the Eurorail entrance, so perfect to grab a quick drink before popping over to Paris!

3. The Windsor Castle (Notting Hill) - not the REAL castle, you must preface this with pub when putting it into Google maps. This is an old pub in Notting Hill, dating back to around the 1860's. Beware - if you go on a weekend for dinner, be prepared to wait and you'll need to be the shark waiting by the bar for someone to hop up. The wait was worth it though. It feels like a true British pub, tiny doors and all (see below picture borrowed online), and the food is pretty good to boot.

4. Byron's (All over) -  this burger place does happen to be a chain, but no wonder its popular. The burgers were delicious, as were the courgette fries (or zucchini fries for us Americans). Apparently the milkshakes are delicious as well, but self control prevailed on this trip!

5. The Pelican (Notting Hill) - this is another local pub that I walk by often with the dog or on the way to Portabello road. We finally popped in last week and it was pretty good. I had the baked stinson cheese (some kind of British blue cheese) and shepherd's pie which was good as well.  Plus, we all know I love British pubs where I can get cider on tap.

Anyone have any London must-try restaurants?

Italian Food Junkie

As soon as the plane landed in Italy, I had food on the brain. Yes, even at 9 am I was planning out our lunch full of pasta, fresh tomatoes, parmesan pizza, bruschetta, vino, and all the rest of that wonderful Italian deliciousness.

I love Italian food, although what we get here in Turkey (and most of the time in the US) isn't REAL Italian food. Still delicious, but it can't compare to the real deal.

So, for 3 days during our vacay to Rome and Siena, I overloaded myself with carbs in the form of delicious Italian. I had tons of my favorites and still didn't have enough time for all of it.


I had meals where I was "brave" and randomly picked off the menu using my (almost inexistent) knowledge of Italian. This ended up with delicious spiral pasta, meat sauce and fresh basil.

Fresh basil is extremely underestimated. As is a glass of
wine at lunch.

I had gnocchi and gnocchetti with various, but equally delicious toppings, including pesto.

Pesto=basil=awesome

We sampled pizza, where you paid by the kilo. Best part? You could sample several different kinds of pizza. Our tray includes proscuitto, mushroom and tomato and potato. The eggplant and zucchini version of pizza bits were equally wonderful.

You pay by the kilo! I still love that idea.

And after we crammed our stomachs full of pasta, we always saved a little room for dessert. The only problem? I was too busy eating to remember to take a picture!

So while my pants may be a little snug for the next few days, despite our crazy amount of walking, I can never say I regret it because there is no such thing as too much Italian food.

Istiklal Caddesi

Istiklal Caddesi (translated to Independence Street) is arguably one of the busiest streets in Istanbul, and with good reason. Day or night, Wednesday, or Saturday it is always full of life and people.

You can find anything here: shopping, street entertainment and lots of lots of food. Most of my favorite, albeit not-too-Turkish, foods can be found here like waffles, kumpirs and wet burgers.

With family in town this week, a visit to Istiklal was in order. So what are our favorite things to do while there with our visiting tourists?

1. Check out historic sites on the way:
There are tons of older buildings here and things tucked away just off the main street. I love this facade in front of St Anthony's Catholic Church, which is also worth checking out. It is the largest Roman Catholic Church in Istanbul.

Still celebrating the Galatasaray victory - outside the St Anthony church 

which you can glimpse through the arches

2. Stroll down the Balık Pazarı
Besides the fishermen on Galatasaray bridge, this is a great place to fish shop. Here there are all kinds of fish, big ones, small ones, spotted ones, and whatever else the fare is! Even if you don't eat fish (like me) it's fun to "window shop".

3. Find a little bar and have a glass of rakı
Rakı is a popular drink in Turkey and you will see lots of people indulging in it with their dinner. A bit like Greek ouzo, it is a clear drink that clouds up once you mix it with water. And you will definitely mix it with lots of water.

4.Sample the fares from the street vendors
Here you can find mostly simits (the bagel like bread) and kestanes (roasted chestnuts), but also roasted corn. There are lots of vendors to choose from, so take your pick!

 Simit cart

 And then the kestane cart left unmanned. 

5. Enjoy the view and join in the hustle and bustle.

Some of the best views of the street are at night with the lights and still all the people walking around. Just follow along and see where the road leads you! 

Europe v. Asia

This week I was so excited to host some of my co-workers in Istanbul.  I always love showing off a bit of my new hometown.

They were staying on the Asian side, which I will say I have not had much experience visiting before.  Yes, sure we got off on a stop on the Bosphorous scenic cruise, but I wouldn't REALLY call that a jaunt into Asia.

So we decided to be adventurous. We hopped on the ferry to head over to Kadıköy and wandered the cobbled streets a bit before finally landing upon our destination. Because I had no idea where to eat, I had done some research before we left and turned to good old google to find a good recommendation. One restaurant showed up in several of the search results and blogs, so we decided to give it a try.

Everyone was right. It was delicious, authentic Turkish food. Unlike a usual restaurant, they have almost a buffet downstairs where you can see the food for the day and then pick what you want in either regular or large size.  We decided to split all kinds of things among the four of us and once it was set on the table, we realized it was quite the spread: beef and artichoke, turkish meatballs breaded and fried, rice, Brussels sprouts with something else, a garlic and vegetable dish, stuffed eggplant, and more.

Hi! We welcome you to Istanbul with large amounts of food

We maybe needed a bigger table!

Looks delicious, huh? Want to give it a try?

Çiya Sofrası
Guneslibahce Sokak 43
Kadikoy, Istanbul 
+90 (0) 216 330 3190

Dinner Anyone?

One of the questions I get all the time from family and friends about living in Istanbul is 'How's the food?'

While my response may vary based upon my mood (or last meal), I almost always have a positive response. That is, as long as we forget that one time, where I may have said something along the lines of if I have to eat one more doner....

Like I said, almost always. Normally, I'm down for a good durum, kumpir, or especially a waffle! Waffles are my absolute favorite - it's like an ice cream store where you pick out toppings and sauces, but it all goes on a waffle.  Carbs are my friend.

Waffles - our new drinking food. Take that Wendy's Dollar Menu! I like to top my waffle with Nutella, banana, strawberries, kiwis, chocolate chips and pistachios.

We are just getting to the best part of Istanbul food though. You can get almost ANYTHING delivered.  Not just your normal pizza, but doners, McDonalds, Italian, or even beer. The corner store definitely knows us when we call now. Perhaps it is that we always order the same thing, or perhaps our rudimentary Turkish.  I'll go with the same order though and hope that they think we just like to order 19 beers every time we have a party, instead of the fact that we can't count to 20 yet.

Anyways, back on track. This is the best service. As much as I like to cook and have enjoyed having more time to do so over here, there are always those days where you just didn't make it - or want to make it - to the grocery store. And on those days, I am happy to know I don't have to scrounge the fridge to eat well!

Watch out for delivery scooters zipping around the city!

Bebek, Meyhane and weekend exploits

After weeks of winter weather, we finally had a gorgeous weekend here which we used to our full advantage.

Saturday, after a hearty American breakfast of pancakes and the last of our contraband bacon, we decided to head down to Bebek. It's a neighborhood right on the water, an easy, albeit steep, walk down from Etiler. We also wanted to give the pup a chance for some good exercise and to see the water. We sat and enjoyed the views (Belle loved all the ducks), then wandered a bit. We found a nice, little fenced in "dog park" where you can let your dogs off their leashes. It isn't big, but it's nice so that you don't have to worry about them bothering non-dog lovers. After tiring Belle out with a new acquaintance and promises of future doggie play dates, we headed back. Man was it a rough walk back up. Istanbul is much more hilly than Texas and it will take me awhile to be in shape enough to do that climb back up without rest stops!

View of the Bosphorous from our lunch spot in Bebek; so nice to finally be able to eat outside!

Good thing we worked up our appetites because Saturday night we got to do our first traditional Turkish Meyhane dinner. It's a family style meal that can last for hours - you just sit back and enjoy the food and conversation. You start off with lots of appetizers - cheese, eggplant (served hummus style), cabbage rolls, bread, and tons of other things I couldn't identify. And of course, a glass of Raki. Later you get salad, then meat (we had liver & onions and beef & potatoes), then finished up with fresh fruit for dessert. A meyhane is not complete without traditional Turkish music. The band goes from table to table playing and taking requests. All in all, we were there three hours and enjoyed ourselves, thanks to our Turkish hosts!

 

Some of the gang with the meyhane fare on the table

 The band playing for a nearby table - and some of the table dancing along

Christmas Market in Germany

This weekend Paul and I took my first trip since I moved here - I must say, I love being able to take a quick 3 hr flight for a weekend trip in Europe.  We had heard alot from other expats here about the Christmas markets in Germany and decided to give it a try.

The markets were so amazing - the market stands were all over the city.  We spent two whole days exploring them.  Apple wine, nutcrackers, ornaments, lots and lots of food, toys, scarves, carved wood, art, steins, so much more. 

It was great during the day because you weren't fighting the crowds.  We got to enjoy looking around.  At night, the crowds kicked in - and I know why.  It was magical at night to see everything lit up.

While we had expectations of doing some much needed Christmas shopping, we ended up spending most of our time eating, with some walking in between! We had brautwurst, fries, schnitzels, potato pancakes, some uber delicious apple pancake (apfel pfannkuchenspezialitaten according to the sign - see delicious picture below!), apple wine, mulled red wine, hot chocolate, beer, crepes, delicious choclate creme pastry, candied pecans, and probably lots more I am forgetting.  It was delicious.

We also had a chance to attend a vesper service at the St Nicolas church that is right in the middle of the Christmas markets.  It was such a great way to get into the holiday spirit and nice to be around people speaking English :)

We head back to the US next week for the holidays - Merry Christmas everyone!

My favorite food of the market - apfel pfannkuchenspezialitaten with cinnamon and sugar on top!

More German food

View of the Market and Christmas tree

Market with St. Nicolas church in the background

Kumpir!

When we came to Turkey for Paul's interview, I had noticed some baked potato stands and thought - hmm, that's an interesting concept.

After coming to Istanbul, I decided I just had to try one of these delicious looking baked potatos. I did some online research, and it comes to find out that these spuds are a bit famous in Turkey - they are known here as Kumpir.

There are Kumpir stands in various parts of town, but probably the most number of these are in Ortakoy, a little shopping area right on the Bosphorous on the European side.  Saturday we decided to get in some Christmas shopping and we went hungry so that we could have one of these delicious treats!

When you first walk into Ortakoy on the north side, you see a whole row of these stands - they all sell the same thing, so everyone is calling out to you trying to get you into THEIR stand.

Once you carefully choose a stand, you go up and pick your toppings just like a salad bar.  They have the usual butter and cheese, and other toppings such as peas, corn, black olives, green olives, pickles, rice, cabbage, mushrooms, yogurt and other unidentifiable (at least by me) things.  Then they mash it up and wrap it up in foil for your eating pleasure.

Odd combination, yes.  But, the kumpirs were a hit.