headed to Urgup. I have no idea how to pronounce it, but know that “ur – gup” isn’t it. Oh well. We’re driving through farmlands and low rolling hills. It looks a lot like central CA as you drive up the 5. Baby screaming in the back seat, an emergency vomit stop, and it feels like we should be in Monterey in a few hours. The only real clue that we’re in a foreign country is the signs all look like this: TESiSLERi HiZMET and lots of the letters have dots above them or squiggles below.
And the fact that gas costs $12/gallon is a big clue too. Americans would stroke out if they ever had to pay this much for fuel. We’re in a 4-door sedan and it cost $130 to fill up a 10 gallon tank. At least the gas costs come out of Josh’s travel budget or filling up would be a lot more painful.
The past few days in Ankara have been wonderful. We ate out one night and had the best meal since arriving in Turkey. All the food in Turkey has been delicious – really fresh tasting, wonderful salads, tons of roasted and grilled eggplant . . . yum. We’ve eaten a variety of Turkish dishes, none of which I know the name of except for pide (pee-day), Turkish pizza. But this meal the other night was over the top fabulous.
Our friends took us to their favorite restaurant and we sat out on the patio with all the kids and ate family style. First they brought grilled vegetables that were seasoned and dressed and served with yogurt. Red peppers, eggplant, summer squash, chilies, fried potatoes, and probably others, but I was caught up in eggplant love.
Next we had fried fish that was better than any fish I’ve ever had. It had to be fried because it had a very thin crispy crumb coating, but it wasn’t oily at all. It was light and buttery tasting (not fishy) and the crust crackled and then melted away in your mouth. It was served with a salad of baby mixed greens and a red pepper and eggplant salad.
The other plates arrived bearing kofte, stewed beef, fried potatoes, and white beans that tasted like a mix between baked beans and my black bean soup – savory and smoky with a touch of sweetness. Kofte is served all over the middle east (koff-ta). It is usually made with ground lamb and is seasoned and rolled into thumb sized logs, bite sized patties, or longer, hot dog shaped lengths. Then they are grilled on skewers. I usually don’t love kofte because the ground lamb has a tendency to taste “farmy” to me, but these kofte were well seasoned and didn’t have any gamey aftertaste.
We finished up the meal with this fabulous rice pudding that was creamy, sweet, and dense. It had been baked so it looked like crème brulee on top and then I broke through the skin with my spoon and had to fight for my fair share as many spoons descended upon it.
We finished the meal with tea for everyone and then Turkish coffee for those who are never too full for coffee (Josh). Turkey is not only cleaner than Egypt, but it has much more interesting food. I’m not including Oman in my comparison because there is no such thing as “Omani cuisine.” If we eat out at home the choices are mostly Asian or Indian with a few Lebanese options. Compared to here where all the food is Turkish, Turkish, Turkish. Good thing we love it.