Bike stomach: Turkey is a food country

This is what one of our first hosts told us on our second day in Turkey: “Turkey is a food country.” What a relief after the past few months. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good ćevapćići, but although there has been some great flavors, the menu since Italy has left something to be desired for variety.

We’ve been in Turkey for almost two weeks now, and we’ve gotten to try lots of traditional and special dishes. Where to start?!

Produce and ingredients

Like other parts of Europe, fresh fruits and vegetables are abundant in every town at markets like this one. The northwest region has a lot of small farms and they often sell directly to the public in town centers.

Not necessarily typical in Turkish cooking, I couldn’t make a post about food without a photo from the spice bazaar in Istanbul.

Breakfast

Turkish breakfast is world renowned. We’ve tried a few simple versions, such as this one in Kadıköy, a neighborhood on the Asian side of Istanbul.

Also typical for breakfast or as a snack is börek. We’ve been enjoying various interpretations of this greasy, flaky phyllo dough delicacy since Croatia, but Turkey’s puts all others to shame.

Drinks

Çay (pronounced “chay”, meaning tea) is available everywhere, even at shops and stores. No serious business or discussion can happen without çay, and we have been offered it at bike shops, cafes, and everywhere else. Above is the most popular glass it is served in. At first I was annoyed that it was in a glass because it was too hot to pick up, but then I realized the genius of this is that you will never burn your mouth because when you can pick it up with your hands, it’s cool enough to drink.

Turkish coffee is also famous, and it is usually had after a meal, though we sometimes find one to wake us up.

Alcohol is forbidden by Islam, so it is not readily available at cafes and restaurants. However, Turkey is a secular country, and so there are many liquor stores around and bars are easy to find in larger cities.

Other dishes

These are called pide, pronounced “pee-duh” and are kind of like a Turkish pizza.

Tavuk döner. Döner is hard to explain if you haven’t seen it, so below is a picture of how it looks in the kitchen. It’s basically a bunch of meat (chicken in this case) stacked on top of each other and put on a spit and slow roasted, then shaved and put on a plate or a wrap, etc. Döner places are everywhere so it’s good and easy to find.

Adana kebap, beef grilled on a spit.

Rice and beans are a popular, cheap, and quick meal.

This puffed up bread was being served as an appetizer with some kind of spicy cheese. Not sure what it is called.

İskender is a heavy but delicious dish with shaved meat on top of fries or bread with yogurt, drenched in butter. We love it when we’ve had a long day on the bike.

This dish is called mantı and is a kind of pasta with meat inside with a yogurt topping.

Dessert

As if all that isn’t enough, Turks have one hell of a sweet tooth, and freshly baked baklava, Turkish ice cream, and other sweets are available everywhere.

We’ve had some kind of baklava every day.

Sometimes with ice cream on top because why not?

Turkish delight (lokum) come in a bewildering number of flavors. You have to try them all. My favorite is the pomegranate with pistachios.

Künefe is one of our favorites when cycling, deep fried (in butter I think), filled with stringy cheese, and topped with ice cream. You can ride 100 miles with this in your belly!

Special experiences

We decided to give a service called VizEat a try in Istanbul. You meet up with a local chef, usually at their home, and they prepare for you a typical meal. We had a fantastic experience with Asude, who had us try many dishes that are popular in the region she grew up in as well as other more national dishes. The food was amazing, and we had a great conversation about cooking, her and our travels, Turkey, and the street cats that she helps foster and feed in her neighborhood. If you are traveling and love food, I highly recommend this service!

Hummus

Artichokes with rice and dill

Vegetables in olive oil

We later headed down to Galata Bridge to try the balık ekmek, literally “fish bread”.

Historically, the fisherman had so much excess fish that they would cook it right on the boat. Nowadays the fish is imported and the boats are just for show, but it’s a great sandwich still for just 5-8 Lira ($2-3).

Finally, we met up with a friend of Steve’s who has lived in Istanbul from Ohio for a while. He and his wife recommended a rakı and mezze restaurant and we asked them to join us.

It’s kind of like Spanish tapas where you get many small plates. It was a great way to try a lot of new things and have a great conversation. 4 hours later, we rolled ourselves home!

I hope you’ve enjoyed and we haven’t made you too hungry! More soon to come about the non-food-related parts of our trip…