Four Don’t-Miss Foods on the Street in Istanbul

We love the fact that Istanbullus walk around eating all day long! And we also love the fact that it doesn’t seem to affect their appetites for real mealtime. We mentioned in our post about grocery shopping in Istanbul that you can’t walk for two minutes in any direction without finding food. One important category of this is street food. We include here only the food that is sold out in the open from a cart – not the many other opportunities for fast and cheap snacks on the go, like the ever-present pide shops and kiosks. Here are four things to snack on as you wander around the streets of Istanbul waiting for your next meal.

Simit

These are something like a bagel in shape in consistency, and something like a soft pretzel in size. They’re often coated in toasted sesame seeds, and sometimes come with Nutella slathered all over them. None of this is a bad thing. They’re also not messy (even with Nutella), which makes them perfect street food. You can get one of these puppies for $.25 USD. (Disclaimer: simit contain no actual puppies). Plus if you can’t make up your mind whether you want one, fret not: there will be another in two minutes.

Corn (and Sometimes Chestnuts)

The corn is grilled, and so it’s blackened in some places. at well under $.50 USD, it’s the perfect pretending-to-be-healthy thing to hold you over until your next meal. Chestnuts are currently in season, so some of those clever corn-mongers sell them too.

Juice, Especially Pomegranate

Freshly-squeezed juice is a real treat, especially on a hot day. This one is a luxury item; in the most well-touristed areas you will pay nearly $4 USD for a glass. But it’s a big glass, and once you see how many pomegranates go into it, it will feel worth it. Orange juice is also a great choice, and some enterprising street vendors sell fruit juice blends, including also apple. And in our neighborhood, pomegranate juice goes for $.25 – so shop around for the best street food bargain!

Balik ekmek (i.e. fish-bread)

Laurel has been dreaming about this since she was last in Istanbul ten years ago. Whereas most of the other items here are readily available, this one requires a special trip: go to Eminonu and head left/west of the Galata bridge. You will see the Golden Horn (water). You will also see guys selling fish off the back of their boats. It is called fish-bread and that is more or less what it is; a fish, perfectly grilled, in a loaf of crusty bread with iceberg lettuce and lemon to squeeze on it. There are onions available if you want them. They are also available on the other side of the bridge, off to the right/east.

Back in the day this was all very informal; now there are actual tables and chairs, some under an awning. And someone will sell you a soda or a water too. All of these fancy touches are why the price has gone up so steeply (now $2.50). But it’s still worth it, for the atmosphere as much as for the food. NB: these are real fish and so some of them have bones (pretty small ones usually).

Other

We have also seen grilled mussels. These we have not tried because, though we like street food and seafood, we’re just not quite certain about them in combination. We have also not tried the handmade lollipops pictured above (hot colored sugary thing is twisted on a stick with your selection of colours, possibly also flavours). Though we kind of want to… And finally, we have not tried anything from the street food sandwich guys. Yet. They carry a basket on their heads with all the fixin’s. Looks like cheese; we can’t quite tell.

Do not worry about missing out on Istanbul street food – you more or less couldn’t possibly. Except for the fish, we see them every few blocks at least. So when you come to Istanbul, bring an extra belly!