Paul Benjamin Osterlund, Author at Culinary Backstreets
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Paul Benjamin Osterlund

Paul Benjamin Osterlund

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Paul, one of our Istanbul correspondents, is a freelance journalist and writer who has called Istanbul home for over 5 years. He completed an MA in Turkish Studies at Sabancı University, and has written for Al Jazeera, The National, The Atlantic's City Lab, Middle East Eye, Roads and Kingdoms, Deutsche Welle, and others. He loves exploring the far-flung reaches of Istanbul and plays guitar in the band Foton Kuşağı.

Recent stories by Paul Benjamin Osterlund

March 29, 2022

CB on the Road: In Diyarbakır, An Improbable Mexican-Kurdish Fusion

Istanbul |
By 
Istanbul -- It has been a bitter pill to swallow, but we've long accepted the fact that we'll likely never find proper Mexican food in Istanbul. What is available registers as sub-par Tex-Mex at best: hard-shell tacos, salsa that packs no punch, weak margaritas and the inevitable cactus/sombrero-dominated décor found in underwhelming Mexican-themed restaurants worldwide. Read more
December 28, 2021

Best Bites 2021: Istanbul

Istanbul |
By  and
Istanbul -- This was a topsy turvy year for Istanbul's restaurant scene, as the first six months of 2021 were marked by a series of pandemic restrictions and lockdowns that made for slow business, while a grand reopening of sorts on July 1 resulted in thousands of people flocking back to their favorite restaurants and bars, some of which had been fully closed since March 2020. Read more
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