Athens

Summer Sidewalk Dining in Athens

On the evening version of our Downtown Athens walk, we stop for meze at one of the city’s many tabernas. Come summer, tables spill out from these restaurants onto the streets, where Athenians gather to enjoy languorous meals under strings of colorful lights. 

Istanbul

Çakmak: Breakfast of Şampiyons

When it comes to the first meal of the day in Beşiktaş, it’s hard to replace the institution that was Pando’s lovely old kaymak shop. Yet as much as Pando was the neighborhood’s culinary standard-bearer, another side of breakfast in Beşiktaş has emerged in the last five or so years, a side that feels more contemporary, more real and – somehow – even more “Beşiktaş.” After being tipped off long ago, by 2013 we finally came to appreciate the simple charms of Çakmak Kahvaltı Salonu, which is currently swimming in a sea of breakfast cafes that align Istanbul's now infamous Kahvaltıcılar Sokağı. Beşiktaş is a large district in central Istanbul with an equally large and varied population, but at its commercial center, the çarşı (market), there is a coherent feeling of local identity. The neighborhood’s sometime champion soccer team is certainly a unifying force, as is the underdog political party (CHP) that remains popular, but the “Beşiktaş type” can’t be reduced to simple affiliations.

Istanbul

Pickled Honeydew in Istanbul: Don't Knock It 'Till You Try It

Pickled honeydew may sound like an odd arrangement, but it's surprisingly delicious, and among the vast array of pickled treats one can sample on our Two Markets, Two Continents walk in Istanbul.

Istanbul

Gazoz: Turkish Fizzardry

In a 2003 TV commercial for Cola Turka, the actor Chevy Chase was seen speaking Turkish and then sporting a moustache, after taking just one sip of the intended challenger of Coke in this country. This sensational ad – which riffed on the old theme of American cultural imperialism through its number-one agent, Coca-Cola – was the first time that Turkish soft drinks caught our attention. Though we didn’t take to the overly sweet Cola Turka, we did start looking beyond, to its local brethren in the market: gazoz, a world of nearly extinct Turkish carbonated drink brands with a fanatical following.

Istanbul

Hacı Beşir Usta: The Raw and the Hooked

Back at Culinary Backstreets Istanbul headquarters in 2012, every once in a while a conversation would arise about how çiğ köfte had emerged as a sort of fast-food franchising opportunity, with young entrepreneurial types starting up these meat-free meatball joints in all sorts of Istanbul neighborhoods. We all agreed it was much cooler than opening a KFC or an Orange Julius in the food court (though the former has been making its mark across the shopping malls of Turkey for a while now), and we were happy to see the ambitious souls of Turkey setting their sights on the bulgur meatball stand instead. The bespoke lokma shops and waffle bars may come and go, but çiğ köfte has its forever fans of all generations – and a new clientele now that it has caught on to its vegan marketing potential.

Queens

A Burst of Green in Queens

We spied a burst of green – different varieties of cilantro as well as other herbs – on our Queens walk. While the borough doesn’t have the same large markets as some of the other cities we operate in, you can still find plenty of smaller fruit and vegetable stands sprinkled throughout the area.

Athens

An Ancient Doughnut Hole in Athens

Loukoumades are considered to be one of the oldest recorded pastries (and desserts, for that matter) in the world – in fact, the ancient Greek poet Callimachus and philosopher Aristotle wrote about them. Nowadays, these photogenic fried-dough balls are particularly Instagram-worthy. Snap your photo before they get gobbled up!