<p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">The marker of a good esnaf lokantası (tradesman’s restaurant) is a steam table at which diners order with their eyes. Here, seasonal offerings include spinach topped with springtime strawberries, fresh okra with sour cherries in the summer, and autumnal beets with fresh mint, and almonds. “We try to take traditional dishes and add a twist,” says Aybil Karamizrak, who cooks alongside her mom each day. Savor them in the charming dining room with wrap-around windows and dangling light bulbs.</span></p><p><br></p>

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<p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Taste food from the Black Sea region without leaving Istanbul. The filling, down-home fare reminds us of the American South. Chickpeas in glowing red gravy, meaty stuffed chard leaves, even large hunks of cornbread. We love the kuru fasulye, creamy white beans cooked in a rich, buttery red sauce, and a smoky, rib-sticking kale, beans and hominy stew. On any given day, Chef Hızır Bey has more than a dozen items bubbling at the steam table, proud of his shrine to the Black Sea.</span></p>

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<p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">If you do a little rooting around, the Grand Bazaar can be as much about the food as it is about the shopping. Case in point: a microscopic <em>dürüm</em> (wrap) shack at the edge of the sprawling bazaar. The Adana here has a wonderful balance of meat, fat, and spice, and the lamb wrap is full of tender morsels of succulent meat. Join bazaar locals at the double-sided outdoor counter with a trough in the middle overflowing with grilled peppers, sliced pickles, and parsley.</span></p><p><br></p>

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<p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Not fancy nor cutting edge. Just one of Istanbul’s best restaurants. Owner/chef Musa Dağdeviren is a culinary anthropologist, collecting recipes around Turkey – a meal here features hard-to-find regional dishes. To order, approach the dozens of bubbling pots at the counter and point at what tempts you. We love the meat stew with tart, unripe green plums. Vegetarian dishes abound. Think dolma with rice and farmer’s cheese and grilled skewers of earthy, truffle-like mushrooms.</span></p>

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<p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Boza has a taste all its own. The thick, pudding-like drink is made from fermented millet. Topped with cinnamon and roasted chickpeas, it is at once sour and sweet. This Ottoman culinary tradition has been served at the tavern-like Vefa Boza since 1876 and the owner’s great-grandson helms the antique wooden bar. We like to sit in the corner, below the case holding a glass from which Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, enjoyed a glass of this strange, barely alcoholic (1%) brew.</span></p>

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<p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">After one meal at this neighborhood kebab house, you won’t be able to eat grilled meat anywhere else. Munch on skewers of lamb liver and çöp şiş (marinated beef and fat) or red pepper and thyme-dusted lamb chops and ribs. Charred orbs of uykuluk (sweetbreads) practically melt in your mouth. Start off with ezme (onion, parsley, tomato, pepper salad) and közde patlıcan (grilled eggplant). Rakı is the local beverage of choice.</span></p><p><br></p>

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<p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">A Turkish version of an American greasy spoon specializing in all things poultry. Order the restorative chicken soup or the tavuk yağda, stir-fried shredded chicken and hot green peppers in a tangy tomato sauce. Many patrons adore fried eggs with sucuk (a garlicky Turkish sausage) or pastırma (dried cured beef, aka pastrami). No visit would be complete without their excellent poached chicken breast pudding, tavuk göğsü, topped with a dusting of cinnamon.</span></p><p><br></p>

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<p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Housed in an impressively restored 1840s inn, the convivial environment of this meyhane, with tables full of raki-drinking revelers lining the street, brings all that grandeur down to earth. The mezes live up to the vibe, and standouts include extra-garlicky samphire, grilled octopus elegantly seared, and ceviche sporting rare sprigs of cilantro. This is a restaurant best enjoyed with a large group of friends, copious amounts of rakı and wine, and no other plans for the rest of the night.</span></p>

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