Istanbul reccomendations

Ted R. wrote:
>
>I was wondering if anyone has tips on eating well in Istabnbul.  Any
>restaurants and/or specific dishes that should not be missed?
>
This excerpted from Forbes, August 29, 1994, by Richard C. Morais:

For a taste of real Istanbul go instead to Gelik Restaurant in Bakirkoy. Try the superb lamb, roasted in a pit, and served with a house-baked crusty bread. Top off with a potted dessert of cheese, walnuts and clotted cream. Cost: $15 a head.

If you want to go even more local, head for Adana Ocakbasi, at Ergenekon Cd. Baysungur Sok. No. 8. The owner lords over the open hot coals in a room of just a half-dozen rickety tables. After a glass of salty beet juice I was served a delicious spit of charred minced lamb, fiery with red peppers. I inquired about a curious looking kabob delivered to a nearby table. It was a row of sheep testicles. "Delicious," insisted my guide. I took his word for it.

joe bonwich
[email removed]

Ted R. wrote:
>I was wondering if anyone has tips on eating well in Istabnbul.  Any
>restaurants and/or specific dishes that should not be missed?

The best overall meal (food + atmosphere) I had on a recent trip to Istanbul was also the cheapest.  It's made on little pushcarts where the man grills freshly caught fish over hot coals, puts it between a roll of bread, and hands it to you, seconds later.  Help yourself to some onion/tomato relish and some mildly spicy long green chilli peppers.

Sit shoulder to shoulder with locals on portable chairs, quayside benches, crates, or whatever other makeshift arrangement has been set up, perhaps shivering slightly in the unexpectedly cool October ocean breezes as you watch the twilight giving way to the city lights twinkling on the other side of the Bosphorus.

Where can you experience this little piece of heaven?  Take the ferry to U:sku:dar, turn right at the dock and walk South along the Bosphorus (perhaps you can turn left too, but I turned right).  There are a few such pushcarts within the first 500 metres or so.  Actually, they seem to be anywhere along the water that gets good pedestrian traffic--there were some near the large (and less atmospheric), bustling ferry dock at Sirkeci on the European side too.  Around 8 p.m. onwards seems to be a good time for this.

And, on the subject, the BEST restaurant listings for Istanbul (better than anything in any book I looked at, and certainly better than anything the tourist office has) are in the bimonthly English magazine "Istanbul: The Guide."  US$2 at newsstands and bookstores (not too many seem to carry them), or free at many hotels.  Also has the most comprehensive list of hotels in Istanbul and a very good list of "sights for tourists."  Tells it like it is, too (e.g., regarding the tourist-trap restaurant on top of Galata Tower, "You'll probably only want to visit this place once ...").

Shahrukh Merchant