February 20, 2009
Istanbul, Turkey: Lunch at Sampiyon Korokec
We didn't need much to eat, more of just a meal to kill time before a late afternoon of narghile (waterpipe) and backgammon. With that, Duruhan took us to Istanbul's equivalent of American late-night-diner food: the restaurant looked like a clash between Arby's and Mos Burger. I followed all of Duru's orders: Midye Dolma (Mussels stuffed with rice) to start, Kokorec (fried cow intestine sandwich) and Ayran (goat's milk yogurt) to wash it all down. Our waiter presented our food suspiciously quick, but I was eager to wake up the palette. The mussels tasted as you would expect, and the cow intestine somewhere in between fried sausage and caramelized onions. So, it tasted awesome. I could picture myself wandering the streets after a late night of drinking and stumbling into Sampiyon Kokorec for some beer-absorbing fare. The Ayran reminded me of a sour Lassi, and I concluded that goats and cows produce very similar-tasting milk. The meal cost around US$5. Cheaper than Arby's.
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