Special Report: A little taste of Europe [and Asia Minor]
Not much progress was made in our alphabetical eating during September, but there’s good reason. Supereg was in Las Vegas and then England for a couple weeks, while Noquar and I spent three weeks in the Netherlands, Istanbul and Greece. As one might expect foodies like us, we spent a lot of time eating and drinking. Every place we went offered fantastic new tastes and textures. We snapped a few photos to savor the moments, and share with our dear readers.
Netherlands
Holland prides itself on its fresh herring catches from the North Sea. The national fish is generally eaten raw. Sometimes you can find it served as a broodje haring (herring sandwich) with onion and pickles, but the traditional way to eat it is just to pick the little guy up by the tail, and let it slide into your mouth. It’s essentially working class sashimi and tastes a bit like mackerel, except sweeter, and with only a hint of brine. It’s soft, oh so soft and cheap, about 2 euros for an entire fish, scaled and boned. The herring season starts around May or June, and the first catches at this time of the year are called Hollandse nieuwe (new herring), and are considered the best. During September, when we were in the country, the herring are no longer new, but still a fishy delight.
A tasty and proud Broodje haring enjoyed by a canal in Amsterdam on Saturday afternoon.
The Dutch and American sides of the family unite in a herring feast. This was Noquar’s (far right) first herring. He ate 2 more at this stand, and then one more a little later at another place. Needless to say, he loves herring.
Istanbul
Our short trip to the historic Ottoman capital was full of tasty treats and eating misadventures. We were there toward the end of the month of Ramazan (as Ramadan is called there), so the more religious Istabullus were fasting during the day, and enjoying celebratory dinners at night. The secular portion of the population had no problem chowing down any any time. This city loves to eat, and there’s certainly no shortage of street stalls selling snacks, and restaurants offering fresh fish and kebaps. Cafes are everywhere, popular places to sip tea and smoke water pipes while playing backgammon. We ate well here.
When in Istanbul it is mandatory to try the famous Turkish coffee. Served with a glass of water and a piece of lokum (Turkish delight), this is a strong and thick sludge. We ordered ours sweet, though the sugar hardly cut down on the bitter flavor. It’s probably an acquired taste, but worth a try.
Istanbul is surrounded by water. The Bosphorus divides the city into it European and Asian halves, and the Golden Horn snakes through the center of town. The Old City overlooks the Sea of Marmara, and not far to the north is the Black Sea. Not surprising then that fish plays an important role in the local cuisine. Here’s a fish sandwich, purchased from a street vendor by the ferry docks, served with some of the freshest tomatoes we’ve had in ages.
Here’s a funny story: Our first evening in town we are wandering around near the famous and majestic Blue Mosque, when we stumble upon a huge food festival. There are probably a hundred stalls selling all kinds of fantastic looking and smelling things. There are thousands of people milling around, sitting on picnic tables with their tables full of food. We were pretty hungry, and figured we should try as many of the offerings as we could. We started out with this delicious grilled bread stuffed with cheese.
Next we came upon a potato stand, where you get a baked potato covered with melted cheese, and then stuffed your choice of about 12 toppings to choose from for 7 Turkish Lire (about $5). We ordered ours loaded with everything, including peas, corn, olives, pickles, bulgar, yogurt sauce, little sausages, and some other stuff that I’ve forgotten now. Definitely the best stuffed potato I’ve ever eaten. We devour that, then take a donut from a passing vendor, and finish the meal off with a shish kebap (again, with beautiful tomatoes). After we’d stuffed our faces to our satisfaction, we start walking away to search for a beer, when we start to notice something a little strange: everyone has loads of food at their table, but no one is eating. That’s when we realized, its Ramadan! They are waiting until dark before they eat! We are the only jerks in this place eating! We felt a little silly, but since no one had seemed to mind, we figured we weren’t in any trouble. We took some satisfaction in waiting to hear the call from the mosque indicating it was time to break fast, and watching them chow down.
One evening we took the ferry over to the Asian side of the city, to a young and lively neighborhood called Kadiköy, where, after a bit of effort, we managed to find the famous self service restaurant Çiya Sofrasý. Our Lonely Planet Istanbul City Encounter had highly recommended it, and it was way off the tourist track, so we thought it would be worth while. The place was slammed packed, and walls covered with reviews from the NY Times and other international papers. Luckily, there was a friendly English speaking process who guided us through the process of pointing and the food you want and having it weighed. We really enjoyed this chicken and rice bake.
Everywhere you go in the city, in the bazaars, on the boats, the street corners, you hear the light tink, tink, tink sound of small spoons against ubiquitous tulip-shaped tea glasses. Tea, called çay (pronounced chai), is the seemingly anytime drink of Istanbul. It’s standard brown, Lipton-type tea usually accompanied with a cube or two of sugar. We never saw it served with milk or cream.
We went on a ferry boat tour of the Bosphorus, almost all the way to the Black Sea. About half way up, the boat stops briefly at Kanlıca, a suburb famous for its yogurt. After the boat pulled away, the vendors on board offered the passengers a try. Thick, chunky, and sweet, then topped with a heaping spoonful of powdered sugar. It’s ice creamy-good, without the frozen aspect.
Greece
We didn’t have the time or the resources to visit any of the islands, but we did get to see a good portion of the mainland. Traveling by bus from Istanbul, we arrived in Greece’s northeastern port town of Alexandroupoli at about 4:30 pm. Aside from the friendly restaurant owner (who nabbed us off the street and set us straight with an incredibly fresh salad, souvlaki, chips, and a couple large beers) the place was a ghost town. It was only later that we realized that we had entered Greece during siesta time. The place was actually very well populated, with a lively population of frappé drinking young people, who seem to spend all of their day (aside from siesta time, of course) at any of the town’s innumerable cafes, sipping on creamy iced coffee and chatting away with friends. Come to find out, this is how things are in every town. We had discovered the Greek life.
Food in Greece is fresh, simple and delicious. The three photos above were taken at probably our favorite restaurant on the whole trip, a little taverna in Kalambaka, the small down near the dizzyingly beautiful area of clifftop monasteries called Meteora. I’m still dreaming about those beans, and that fantastic wine, poured straight out of the barrel for only 2.50 euro for 500 ml!
Greece is also a fishy place. Salty fist, especially, are in no shortage. Here’s a plate of fried sardines that Noquar and I shared at a little beach cafe just outside Athens. I’m usually not one for little fishes, but I ate about 6 of these suckers, heads and all. In the background, a milky glass of ouzo, Greek anise liquor, to wash it all down.
We leave you with this portrait of a tall pint of Franziskaner, one of our favorite all time beers, enjoyed at the Frankfurt airport at 9:30 am. When in Germany, do as the Germans do…
This looks/sounds so great. I love the pictures and it’s awesome that you end it with a refreshing looking glass of weissenbier. Prashant and I both have a really bad case of wanderlust and no funds right now.
Very happy to see that you have learned to enjoy the herring! I will be available to tackle “C” with you in a couple of weeks!
I find it damn weird that people are against the plans of the mosque, as the planned mosque isn’t purely a religious building. In fact, it is open to everyone, and even a basketball court is planned to be built inside the building. A community center sounds better, and way less scary.