From the first sight of its busy streets Istanbul presents itself as a kebab capital of the world steering away vegetarian foodies. This impression is deceiving. Do not despair neither sheer number of kebab shops made even more noticeable thanks to the stentorian cries of the vendors. Do not take seriously locals fainting after you declare your meatless agenda. Instead, get ready to fetch finest local flavors from the menus of best Istanbul restaurants.
April 2011
If there is an iconic food that many Istanbulites would swear by, it is menemen, scrambled eggs cooked with tomatoes and green peppers and traditionally served in a tin-lined copper pan with two handles (sahan). The eggs are a bit undercooked: there is a definite joy in breaking a large piece off the white bread, dipping it onto the moist eggs and munch this deliciousness enriched by the tomatoes and crunchy peppers.
In Istanbul fish is a poetry recited to the whisper of the blue Bosphorus waves and silent vastness of the Black Sea by the terse fishermen who go to the sea to find the world’s wisdom in the salty waters. They would keep the found wisdom to themselves and you could only dimly guess which marine secrets are hidden on the fish stalls at the local markets spotted with the shimmering scales and turned outside deep red gills attesting the freshness of the catch.
