Istanbul is not a great eating city, so don't expect too much. You won't starve but food isn't a major reason for going.

popov ?????

This thread is about STREET FOOD. Nobody goes to a city to sample the street food anyway. And as street food goes, istanbul is miles ahead any European and American city where more strict regulations are applied.

Michelin and Zagat have not been to Turkey but there are top 100 in the world ranked restaurants in Istanbul even if Turkish, eclectic or fusion cuisines are not to the liking of some less traveled Americans.

Unfortunately most tourists will not have the time, the interest and/or the budget to get to these restaurants and judge Istanbul by the standard tourist fare they are offered at locations in and around the old city and Istiklal/Taksim areas.

I absolutely disagree with popov. Istanbul is a great foodie city. I have been once before and had no problem eating all sorts of street food. I am returning next summer and am salivating in anticipation.

I took the Istanbul Eats tour of the Taksim area the last time I was in Turkey and hope to do one of their other tours in July 2014. Really was the highlight of my 3 1/2 week home exchange in 2011.

Oh do keep copies of this thread. I'd go back to Istanbul for food in a second.

Another thumbs up for taking the Istanbul Eats tour.

If I remember this all correctly...
The original tour guide for Istanbul Eats was Angelis Nannos, who hails from Greece. He was educated as an engineer but wanted to find a way to stay in Turkey, and hence, he came up with taking people on tours of his secret places in Istanbul.

He was approached by Culinary Backstreets founders and blog writers Ansel Mullins and Yigal Schleifer. Ansel is from Chicago and for some reason I think Yigal is from Philadelphia (?). No matter what, they are skilled journalists who fell in love with Istanbul and Istanbul's food, and thought that combining their blog with Angelis' tour skills would make financial sense.

Now Culinary Backstreet is an empire that includes Athens, Barcelona, Mexico City and Shanghai.

Anyway, there are now four culinary tours for Istanbul:
http://www.culinarybackstreets.com/c...alks/istanbul/

We were lucky to get Angelis himself for the Culinary Secrets of the Old City, and half of the fun was watching how all of the local vendors, even if they were not on the tour, greeted him. EVERYONE loves him.

We were stuffed to the gills, and when we go back, we're going to try to fit two of the other three tours in. It really is a great way to see streets and alleys you'd otherwise never step foot on.

Thank you AlessandraZoe. We will have to return to Istanbul subsequently to enjoy culinarybackstreets. Thanks for the background on its founding. I had a taste of street food in Morocco and loved it.

Thanks to all the other contributors including popov. I am always interested in opinions even though some may be contrary to popular opinion and in any case I can assure everyone that I will be holding on to this thread.

We all love food, don't we?

" We all love food, don't we? "

Amen !

PS This isn't street food per se, but I loved eating Turkish breakfasts, and looked forward to them every morning everywhere in Turkey. Thick creamy yogurt, fresh and dried fruit and juices, dried mulberries and apricots, all kinds of nuts, and then the assortment of fresh crudites, cheeses, flat breads, dips, conserves, spice powders served individually in tiny pots, boiled eggs or thin omelettes... Throw in a spectacular sunny view of the Blue Mosque or the chimneys of Cappadocia while eating outdoors and I lingered for hours.

Gozleme here I come (I think what you called the omlettes!)!!!

Gozleme is a very thin flat bread wrap, made from dough on the spot and baked on a somewhat convex large metal tray. It is a rural Turkish dish but found its way to some of the larger cities mostly as street food, made on restaurant windows by squatting or sitting ladies dressed in colorful peasant costumes.

The cheese they use on it is similar to cottage cheese. The rural versions have the regional wild greens available as filling also.

Writing of wild greens reminded me of "Van Grass Cheese" (Otlu Van peyniri) especially bought at Namli or Itimat stores. A very different taste treat for cheese lovers. The herb used may be garlic chives or garlic mustard.

If you can find it, Konya Blue Cheese is also good but very scarce. Konya goat cheese in goat skin may be found at Namli again.

Thanks guys. Two thoughts - One, I printed this thread off prematurely. I will do it again much later. Two, the last time in Europe I put on eight pounds, this time? Anyone's guess.

Turkish food is one of the world's under appreciated cuisines. They use of various spices and various ingredients that range from the subtle to the complex.

The best way to break out of your comfort zone is to have mezzes which are small plates.

Salivating thinking of the mezzes I will eat during my Istanbul home exchange next summer.

By the way, the best site for travel to Turkey is turkeytravelplanner.com. It really has everything. The guy who runs it has spent considerable time in Turkey and has put his heart and soul into the site.

Everytime I recommend turkeytravelplanner.com someone trashes me for advertising. For the record: I have NO financial connection with the site. It is just a wonderful site for anyone self planning a trip to Turkey.

Thank you lauren_s_kahn. I know the site and thank you anyway. What's wrong with promoting something worthwhile? We all benefit.

rogandgee,
Just so you know, there are so many people (aka "shills") who post on the forum just to promote a firm. We who lurk here often report them via the alert triangle because no, we all do not benefit from blatant advertising.

At the same time, I admit I do not have an overall problem with turkeytravelplanner.com, even though I might often disagree with the author. At least Tom Brosnahan does openly state most of the time when he has relationships with firms or hotels he recommends. There is, however, a quid pro quo there that is a bit bothersome.

Fodors Editors and other posters know there's a possible conflict-of-interest line there, so I commend them and other posters for checking everyone out. And no, Lauren_S_Kahn, my statement is NOT any kind of criticism of your efforts. Your intentions are crystal clear and are entirely commendable.

A person who has NOTHING whatsoever to gain as far as his considerable Turkey contributions here is poster otherchelebi. He knows Turkey backwards and forwards, positive and negative. When he talks, we listen.

Wishing you a wonderful trip,
AZ

Thank you for your comments AlessandraZoe/ Much appreciated.

I also use turkeytravelplanner.com and have found some very useful information, especially for the first time visitor to Turkey. I also enjoy the posts from otherchelebi and look to them for current events in Istanbul as well.

The best cheese is ezine peyniri!! Make sure to try it at breakfast. I have never eaten a cheese that tasty. Best place for breakfast is Sutis in Emirgan. View of the water, perfect service (which is hard to find).

Keep it coming guys. All great stuff. Thanks a bunch.

For some stupid reason we did not try Turkish ice cream, which looks more like taffy.