If you want to Eat in Istanbul, Try "istanbul Eats"
There is a lot of strange food in Turkey. AlteCocker had never eaten borek for breakfast or gozleme before--never mind sweetbread sandwiches. Fortunately, there is a solution for this: Istanbul Eats. The company offers 3 different tours. If you click on the link, you will see what is possible. When I was in Istanbul, there were basically 2 walks--one in the old city, called Sultanahmet, and the other in the area off Istikal Cadessi, the more modern shopping street in the area known as Beyoglu. The Beyoglu area is across the Golden Horn from the Sultanahmet, where most of the main tourist sites (Topkapi, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, etc.) are located.
Because it was Ramadan (in Turkish, they say "Ramazan"), the only option I had was Beyoglu. I made plans to go towards the end of my 4 week stay in Turkey in 2011. I just wish I had done the walk at the beginning because I wanted to go back to some of the places (especially the guy that served, gasp, the sweetbread sandwiches) to try larger portions of the same thing. I gotta say that if I ever return to Istanbul, I want to try one of the other walks. The guide, by the way, was a native English speaker--no worries in that department.
Please look at the photos for what we ate. I can't remember the names of all these dishes, as the tour was taken in 2011, but I do recommend this tour to anyone staying in Istanbul for more than a day. It gives an excellent overview of Turkish cuisine--and, yes, we sampled the pudding made with chicken (It doesn't taste like chicken)!
I did buy their book, by the way, in advance of the tour, but I gave it to an American I met who has the good fortune to live in Istanbul.
Because it was Ramadan (in Turkish, they say "Ramazan"), the only option I had was Beyoglu. I made plans to go towards the end of my 4 week stay in Turkey in 2011. I just wish I had done the walk at the beginning because I wanted to go back to some of the places (especially the guy that served, gasp, the sweetbread sandwiches) to try larger portions of the same thing. I gotta say that if I ever return to Istanbul, I want to try one of the other walks. The guide, by the way, was a native English speaker--no worries in that department.
Please look at the photos for what we ate. I can't remember the names of all these dishes, as the tour was taken in 2011, but I do recommend this tour to anyone staying in Istanbul for more than a day. It gives an excellent overview of Turkish cuisine--and, yes, we sampled the pudding made with chicken (It doesn't taste like chicken)!
I did buy their book, by the way, in advance of the tour, but I gave it to an American I met who has the good fortune to live in Istanbul.