10 Things You Should Taste While You Are In Turkey

I hope you are not allergic to shellfish and have a chance to chuck a few of these. Muscle dolma has similar filling to bell pepper and grape leaf dolma and is one of the most popular street food in Turkey.

This one is my Colombian wife's favorite street food in Turkey. Lamb's intestine's rolled on a spit, BBQ'd, and served in a sandwich with thyme and red peppers. Kokoreç is very very tasty, so don't be intimated by where it comes from. 🙂 

Turks bring a whole new dimension to the breakfast. They are willing to spend a half-day over tasting 30 dishes and drink a whole pot of tea or coffee. You should try this food festival of the assortment of cheeses, olives, pastries, cold cuts, jams, bal & kaymak (honey & clothed cream), tomato, chilies, fried vegetables, eggs, fruits, omelet, menemen, tahin & pekmez.

Cağ Kebabı is like the forefather of Döner Kebap, but slightly different. I know that you will find döner kebap everywhere but I recommend trying Cağ Kebap as well if you have the chance. It is very common in eastern Turkey but İstanbul and İzmir have some good places.

You had tea before probably but not Turkish tea. Turks consume more tea than coffee. Make sure that your tea is prepared the Turkish way, in a double pot, and served in a "tulip" shaped glass.

Salep means orchid or orchid root in Arabic. Our popular hot drink Salep is the mixture of milk and powdered orchid roots served with cinnamon. Not to be missed.

İskender kebap consists of döner kebab prepared from thinly cut grilled lamb topped with hot tomato sauce over pieces of pide bread and generously slathered with melted sheep butter and yogurt. İskender is the man who made the döner spit upright and gave his name to this carnivorous delight.