Turkish

Istanbul Comes to Stuttgart at the Marktplatz Istanbul

Istanbul Comes to Stuttgart at the Marktplatz Istanbul

I've been to the Marktplatz Istanbul for two years in a row now. It's one of those festivals that we first stumbled upon by accident on one of our walks downtown, discovered the food and entertainment were awesome, and then made sure to look out for it every year. 

This year, we decided to go on Sunday, the day the festival opened, and met some of my coworkers. We were there at around 12:30 to grab some lunch, but discovered that they were still setting up. No matter -- we grabbed some drinks and waited a bit at the picnic tables until the food stalls were ready for us. It was nice because there was hardly anyone there (unlike our trip last weekend to the Stuttgart Street Food Market),  and right when they opened up the food stands, we were the first in line...

Superb Brunch at Taverna Yol

Superb Brunch at Taverna Yol

One of my colleagues decided to get a group of us together for brunch before the start of the work week. His proposed destination: Taverna Yol. I'd never been to Taverna Yol, but my colleague promised delicious Turkish food at their all-you-can-eat brunch and I just couldn't turn down the opportunity. And so this morning, we rushed out the door last minute (per usual) in order to meet the group of about 20 of us. By the time we arrived at 11:15, the restaurant was already packed and brunch was in full swing. 

The brunch buffet was set up near the entrance. They had a huge table piled high with food including fresh-baked breads, olives, fresh cheeses, tomatoes, cucumbers, roasted eggplant and zucchini, rice with pine nuts, sausage cooked in a tomato and egg sauce, chicken in a cream sauce, spiced tuna, dolma (stuffed grape leaves), and sigara boregi (long, thin pastries stuffed with cheese)...

The Best (Fresh) Kebabs in Stuttgart: Alaturka

The Best (Fresh) Kebabs in Stuttgart: Alaturka

People have been telling me for over a year now that Alaturka is the place to go for a kebab in Stuttgart. Maybe it's because I have trouble justifying going out to dinner for a kebab (I think of it as I'm-too-lazy-to-cook-food or I'm-hungover-food) or maybe it's because we've been so satisfied with our local kebab shop, but whatever the reason, I hadn't made it to Alaturka until last weekend when my husband suggested it.

And so, after a lazy, relaxing Saturday catching up on TV shows and reading, we finally bundled ourselves up against the cold and walked down the hill towards Olgastraße. We hadn't walked far before my husband said we'd arrived and opened up a low door into a rustic, almost cave-like interior. The stone walls were lined with wooden shelves piled high with Turkish trinkets and various bottles of spices and wine. It would have been dark except for the large center island finished with bright blue tiles...

Traditional Turkish at Sultan Saray

Traditional Turkish at Sultan Saray

My first exposure to Turkish food was when I studied abroad in France as a college student. There was a kebab shop in the center of Montpellier that we went to a few times for the cheap, but delicious kebap sandwiches. From then on, kebabs were my mental model for "Turkish food", and while the prevalence of kebab shops around Stuttgart doesn't do much to dispell this myth to the casual tourist, I've since come to appreciate the variety of Turkish food (or at least German Turkish food) thanks to Sultan Saray. 

I'm been to Sultan Saray on two occasions now and had a delicious meal both times. The rest of Stuttgart must agree with my tastes, because despite the fact that Sultan Saray has three different locations, I've found each one packed on most nights for dinner...

German Fast Food: The Döner Kebab

German Fast Food: The Döner Kebab

One of the first things we discovered when we moved here is that fast food doesn't exist in the same way it does in the States. Rather than getting fast food from a pizza place or a Chinese place, most strictly "take out" places here have everything all-in-one. You'll find burgers next to tacos next to Indian food, all on the same menu, and sadly, none of it's very good from our experience so far. There is one fast food, however, that I've come to love: döner. 

The döner kebab consists of meat carved from a giant spit of various kinds of pressed meat, usually lamb and beef. The meat is shaved off and added to a pita with various toppings. I've heard various stories about the döner being Turkish and about it being created by a German Turk, thus making it part of German cuisine. Either way, it's good, and I've seen döner shops in several countries around Europe.