Dear AHT: Kizilkayalar Hamburger in Istanbul, Turkey
Posted by Robyn Lee, December 18, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Clicking in to the AHT inbox recently, we've got this bit of juicy intel. Eat up!
During my recent travels I ran across this burger joint in Taksim Square, Istanbul, Turkey. As you can tell from the picture, the burger is coated in a ketchupy sauce that I believe is made of tomato and garlic. There's probably about 3-4 ounces of beef to the patty which has a somewhat meatloaf flavor, although that may be due more to the sauce than the meat. Kizilkayalar makes a ton of these things at one time and then stacks them in a large glass box steamer that you see between the head of the employee and the random dude walking into my picture. As a result of the steaming and sauce, the bun has the consistency of a Krispy Kreme doughnut.
This style of burger can be found at various döner shops around the city but this place appeared to be the most popular one I came across. Searching the web, it appears they have a bit of a cult following within Istanbul. Anyway, the burger was pretty good. Definitely worth checking out if you find yourself in old Constantinople.
Thanks for the recommendation, Mike! I know where I'm going when I visit Istanbul: to get myself a ketchup-flavored burger pocket. They have two locations in Istanbul.
After spending a few weeks in Istanbul I found that this is what most locals said was the best place to find Doner, just take a right after you get off the ferry and you will see the long line :)
I ended up eating a large portion of my meals at street vendors during my time in Istanbul. The doner sandwich at Kizilkayalar was also very good- I had the lamb in wrap form although you could get it on a roll or sliced bread.
Some of my other favorite street items were TOST (essentially a grilled cheese), pide (which can be a number of things on rolled out bread, my favorite being the "pizza" version in the shape of a canoe), and the custom cold cut sandwiches.
If you're walking along the Bosphorous between the shuttle boats and Dolmabahce Palace there is a guy with a red sandwich cart serving up tremendous fare. Ask for everything and you'll get a monster of a sandwich for about $1.
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During my recent travels I ran across this burger joint in Taksim Square, Istanbul, Turkey. As you can tell from the picture, the burger is coated in a ketchupy sauce that I believe is made of tomato and garlic. There's probably about 3-4 ounces of beef to the patty which has a somewhat meatloaf flavor, although that may be due more to the sauce than the meat. Kizilkayalar makes a ton of these things at one time and then stacks them in a large glass box steamer that you see between the head of the employee and the random dude walking into my picture. As a result of the steaming and sauce, the bun has the consistency of a Krispy Kreme doughnut.
9 Comments:
You eat that?
zindh at 10:49AM on 12/18/08
After spending a few weeks in Istanbul I found that this is what most locals said was the best place to find Doner, just take a right after you get off the ferry and you will see the long line :)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Istanbul,+Turkey&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=46.898798,79.980469&ie=UTF8&ll=40.991415,29.022338&spn=0.010981,0.019526&t=h&z=16
mattooni at 10:58AM on 12/18/08
I'd hit it.
simon at 11:23AM on 12/18/08
I've had this! We called them Taksim-burgers and ate them after long nights out at the bars.
Emsev333 at 11:59AM on 12/18/08
Food that drunk people like scares me...
I would try it though.
Cassaendra at 12:03PM on 12/18/08
That does look like the perfect post-drunken-all-night-stupidfest food.
juliebugsmama at 12:13PM on 12/18/08
The English translation on their website is AWESOME. And by AWESOME I mean HILARIOUS. I love the "atom" drink that "adds more power to your power".
EazyB at 1:11PM on 12/18/08
this instantly reminded me of orhan pamuk's forbidden fare.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/07/09/070709fa_fact_pamuk
yr momz at 5:39PM on 12/18/08
I ended up eating a large portion of my meals at street vendors during my time in Istanbul. The doner sandwich at Kizilkayalar was also very good- I had the lamb in wrap form although you could get it on a roll or sliced bread.
Some of my other favorite street items were TOST (essentially a grilled cheese), pide (which can be a number of things on rolled out bread, my favorite being the "pizza" version in the shape of a canoe), and the custom cold cut sandwiches.
If you're walking along the Bosphorous between the shuttle boats and Dolmabahce Palace there is a guy with a red sandwich cart serving up tremendous fare. Ask for everything and you'll get a monster of a sandwich for about $1.
steelecity at 11:10AM on 12/19/08