Food - Best Places of Interest

November 27, 2018 Food

What is your favourite street food? Part 16

Continuing the series on What is your favourite street food? Part 15

Street food Spain

has a few but, since autumn has just ended, let me tell you about the most typical one:

Roasted chestnuts

Not that much of a mystery. Spanish people love chesnuts and the best way to eat them is by the street and roasted. What’s charming about this is that they’re sold on stands where you can see the castañero roasting them on a metal furnace. It’s been like that since forever and many cities would not be the same without their chestnut stands set right at the start of the fall.

Hasn’t changed that much for the last century

Oh, and fear not if you don’t like chestnuts. These stands usually also sell sweet potatoes and cobs. Roasted too, of course.

Most Spanish food is awesome, but here’s some tips about it if you’re visiting Spain:

Good paellas are very, very hard to find. This is a very complex dish and very slow to produce (it takes around 1 hour and a half to cook).

Spanish Paella — Paella Mixta | A mixed paella with chicken and seafood toppe… | Flickr

Paellas are the NOT fast food and most paellas that are sold to tourists are cheap-ass frozen paellas. Avoid them unless you have a lot of knowledge about local restaurants.

Iberian ham is a delicacy, and I would dare to say that Spanish cold cuts are the best of the world.

Iberian Ham- Spain food — Iberian Ham – Picture of 7 Portes, Barcelona – TripAdvisor

You can’t go wrong with any of these, really. Museo del Jamón has some great ratio of “ham for your buck” thanks to its staggering economy of scale.

Spain has an even bigger variety of cheeses than France.

Manchego Spain cheese — Manchego By Zerohund – de.wikipedia: [1], CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1378114

If you can taste some local cheese, don’t think twice but do it!

Croquetas, Spain food — Croquetas de champiñón | Cocina de Nihacc
Image credit- cocinadenihacc.wordpress.com

Non-frozen croquetas are heaven incarnate.
Most gourmet markets have good food, but very touristic prices (that is, they are overpriced).
Commercial Spanish beer quality range from “meh” (Alhambra) to “crap” (Cruzcampo), but artisanal beers are an entirely different (and better) story.
Spain has some of the best wines in relation of price VS quality, both red and white. Drink them at will!
We know our seafood and fishes. Spain is, after all, the 2nd biggest market for all things sea, right after Japan. Don’t be afraid of the alien-looking sea creatures in our menus
Tapas are a great thing, but their quality and quantity greatly varies from one region to another. For example, Granada has a stronger tapas tradition than Madrid, which in turn has a stronger tapas tradition than Barcelona. In some parts of Spain they are even non-existent (The Basque Country has Pintxos instead of tapas, for example). Also, tapas or not, menus del día are the best way to eat (and the cheapest!)
Spain is a regional differences galore, and thus, its star dishes will greatly vary from one region to another. The more cosmopolitan the place, the better “high end” creative cuisine restaurants. The more rural, the better local produce. But it would really help to know which exact region you will be visiting in order to recommend you its speciality.

Spanish omlette — Tortilla-de-patatas
Spanish omelette Wikipedia

Bonus track: Potato omelette is a salvation table for vegetarians visiting Spain, and a hell of a dish.
Pro tip: Good potato omelettes contain onions, and are creamy on the inside (rather than dry). Accept no substitutes and treacherous claims about potato omelettes without onions, for they are false food prophets.

~ Eduardo Marqués Collado, Lives in Spain

So, what is your favourite streetfood in Spain?

November 23, 2018 Food

What is your favourite street food? Part 15

Turkey is literally the bridge between Europe and Asia. Also, it really is the centre of the world. You can fly about everywhere from Atatürk Airport.

Istanbul Ataturk Airport, Jul-2016
Image credit- Mitch Altman- Flickr

The name of our country actually comes from “Turchia” which means “Anatolia”.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is considered as our father. He is the founder of modern Turkey. Every year on the 10th of November Turkey stops for 1 minute on at 09:05 the time of his death.

Istanbul grand bazaar Turkish market traditional
Image credit-Pixabay

Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar is the largest and oldest indoor market. It was built in the 15th century.

Türk kahvesi, Turkish coffee, Istanbul — Türk kahvesi, Turkish coffee
Image credit -AlmilaS -Flickr

Turks introduced coffee “kahve” to Europe. We are proud of our coffee, it doesn’t taste like any other basic coffee. Its taste is strong and its preparation methods are very special. You don’t know what coffee tastes like until you’ve tried Turkish coffee.

We gave women the right to vote before most European countries and the United States. Women have been ‘equal” since the Hittite civilisation. Also, Sabiha Gökçen was the world’s first female fighter and Turkish pilot.
Although the majority of the population is Muslim, Turkey is not officially Muslim. It has been a secular nation since 1927.
Santa Claus was born in Turkey.

Simit is a bagel covered with sesame seeds sold nearly everywhere in the street. So simple yet so good.
Istanbul has a population 3 times larger than Ankara, the capital.
Turkish Hollywood is called “Yeşilçam”. It is an important part of Turkish cultures and the movies are simply fascinating.
Turkey introduced tulips to the world.
Historic legends such as Homer the poet, Herodotus, St Paul were born in Anatolia.
The world most precious silk carpet is located in a museum (Mevlana Museum) in Konya.
Turkish food is more than just kebabs.

~Yasemin studies Chemical Science (2020)

Turkey is a city of contrasts, absolutely different people, from Muslims to gays, from rich to homeless, from Europeans to Asians.

And it’s amazing. A huge city with 20 million inhabitants, impressive size and atmosphere.

You may also like to read Istanbul: Traditional Yet Modern

Street food is awesome. You can find everything. But one of my favourites is a wet burger. No cheese, no lettuce, no pickles – absolutely nothing apart from a wet, sauced up garlic-tomato bun and cutlet. But it’s so delicious. The best place to buy is Taksim Square, the best producers are Kizilkayala or Bambi cafe.

~ Nataly Lytvyn, PR & Marketing Manager

You will not leave Turkey without trying “Adana Kebap” or any kind of another kebap. I highly recommend “Urfa Usta” in Aksaray (if I am misspelt something, I hope Turkish friends will correct me). There you will get additional side dishes and a glass of ayran. You should definitely try “Dolma” in grape leaves. And don’t forget to try street food.

~ Šarūnė Zybartaitė lived in Istanbul

Turkey is very agricultural and one of the few countries globally which can easily feed itself. The varied geography, access to the sea on 3 sides, and climate offer superb growing conditions for vegetables, seafood and livestock.

The incredible flavours which go into mezes, the olives and olive oils of the Aegean, the freshly baked bread in every village and city in the country, and most importantly, the time it takes to properly prepare the food to suggest that it’s hard to replicate in a restaurant in Berlin or Chicago.

~Dina Street, Self-taught with lots of trial and error, specializing in Turkish and Indian.

Street food depends on where you are.
For Istanbul, we can say “Pilavcı” :

Pilavcı, Street food Istanbul — İstanbul’un En İyi 7 Pilavcısı – 2018 https://harbiyiyorum.com/istanbulun-en-iyi-7-pilavcisi-2018/

and also “Kokoreç“-

Kitir: Kokorec with Beer, Turkish street food — Kitir: Kokorec with Beer
Image credit-Tripadvisor

Kokoreç or Kokoretsi is a dish of the Balkans and Turkey consisting mainly of lamb or goat intestines, often wrapping seasoned offal, including sweetbreads, hearts, lungs, or kidneys. The intestines of suckling lambs are preferred.

Kokorec recipe The offal, along with some fat, is washed and cut into 1/2″ to 3/4″ thick pieces, and lightly seasoned with lemon, olive oil, oregano, salt, pepper, and sometimes garlic.

The intestine is turned inside out and carefully washed, then rubbed with salt and often soaked in vinegar or lemon juice and water. The filling meats are threaded onto a long skewer and wrapped with the intestine to hold them together, forming a compact roll usually about 16″-24″ long by 1 1/2″ to 3″ in diameter.

Kokoretsi is usually roasted on a horizontal skewer over a charcoal, gas, or electric burner, and maybe basted with lemon juice and olive oil. A quite different preparation mixes the chopped innards with chopped tomatoes and green peppers and then cooks them on a large griddle with hot red pepper and oregano added.

The cook constantly mixes and chops the mixture using two spatulas. When done, the dish is kept warm aside on the griddle until someone orders a serving. The cooked kokoretsi is chopped or sliced, sprinkled with oregano, and served on a plate.

Sometimes it is served on a piece of flatbread. Some add tomatoes or spices in it. It may also (especially in Turkey) be served in half a baguette or in a sandwich bun, plain or garnished, almost always with oregano and red pepper.

In Turkey, common side dishes are pickled peppers or cucumbers. It is often seasoned with lemon, oregano, salt, a pepper, and typically accompanied by wine or raki.

For Eminönü(a district of Istanbul) “Balık Ekmek(fish)“:

Extra: “Midye Dolma”(stuffed mussels)

Midye dolma-Istanbul street food — Midye dolma….mmm YUMMY! by ximenacab

Another: “Kestane Kebap”(chestnut)

Kestane Kebap- Istanbul street food — Image result for Kestane Kebap
1280 × 902Images may be subject to copyright. Find out more
Kestane Kebap Nasıl Yapılır? | Pinterest |

“Kumpir”(baked potato):

“Mısır”:(Corn)

Misir, Turkish street food — mısır fındık gıda mısır koçanı saman altın tahıl

That’s the best. From city(Gaziantep): “Nohut Dürüm”(chickpea)

So, what is your favourite street food from Turkey?

November 9, 2018 Food

Street food France

Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. Situated on the Seine River, in the north of the country, it is in the centre of the Île-de-France region, also known as the region Parisienne, “Paris Region”.

Paris: City of lights! Paris is the capital of the culinary world and food is equally treated as an art form. In this city, each food has its own specializing store: boulangerie, fromagerie and charcuterie. Ishai has 24 hours to dive into the wonderful French cuisine, where he will learn how to make the baguette, smell so many cheeses his senses will go into overload and meet with the famous food critic, Gilles Pudlowski.

In my earlier post on What is your favourite street food? Part 14, mentioned street food in France. I came across this funny video which I would like to share with you.