Istanbul

A Gaziantep Delicacy

This delicious, pistachio dust-covered slice of Antep katmer is as decadent as it looks, and can be enjoyed on our Two Markets, Two Continents tour.

Rio

Amazonian Food in Santa Teresa

Delicious Amazonian food is just one element of our truly adventurous walk in the artsy, hillside Rio de Janeiro neighborhood of Santa Teresa.

Istanbul

First Stop: Somer Sivrioglu's Istanbul

Editor's note: In the latest installment of our recurring feature, First Stop, we asked chef Somer Sivrioglu of the Sydney restaurant Efendy where he stops first for food when he returns to his hometown of Istanbul. Sivrioglu is the author of the cookbook Anatolia: Adventures in Turkish Cooking (Murdoch Books, April 2016). Any list is controversial and biased by its nature, and lists do not get any more biased than mine, as I am a Kadıköy fanatic and impossible to convince that there are better versions of food on the European side of Istanbul. I was born and raised in Kadıköy, and we lived first at Caferağa, five minutes to Kadıköy market, then in Moda, Kalamış and Fenerbahçe.

Athens

Rollicking Good Times at an Athens Basement Taverna

We had to share this lovely photograph taken by Don Kedgley at Diporto, a basement taverna that has been around since 1887 and ranks among our favorite spots in Athen

Tbilisi

CB Book Club: Alice Feiring's For the Love of Wine

Editor’s note: In the latest installment in our Book Club series, we spoke to Alice Feiring, author of For the Love of Wine: My Odyssey through the World’s Most Ancient Wine Culture (Potomac Books, 2016). She is the author of two other books, publishes the newsletter The Feiring Line, has written for numerous publications and has received a James Beard Award for her writing. How did this book come about? Amazingly, the Georgian government asked me for an “Alice kind of book” that they could use promotionally. It was a small, no-strings-attached, rambling essay on Georgian wine. I realized I had written a book proposal, so I developed the idea and took it from there.

Lisbon

Tasting Exquisite Presunto Pata Negra in Lisbon

This exquisite 24 and 40 month jamón ibérico from the Alentejo region of Portugal can be enjoyed on our Lisbon tour. Thanks to Rick Poon for the appetizing photo.

Istanbul

Hayvore: Lost and Found

In the Laz language, “si sore” means, “where are you?” At least twice a week for past few years, our answer to that question at lunchtime would be, “We are at Pera Sisore.” This little restaurant in the Asmalımescit area became one of our go-to lunch spots by serving some of the best Black Sea food around town. But after a disagreement, the two partners of the restaurant went their separate ways and the quality at Pera Sisore, sadly, took a turn for the worse. We were feeling a bit lost for a period, not knowing where to go for a quick, honest lunch of hearty Laz fare. The Black Sea area is Turkey’s culinary misfit – it's not really about kebabs or mezes. If anything, the food there seems to have been mysteriously transplanted from the American Deep South.