Dinner time in Istanbul

We had wanted something special, so we looked for a restaurant which would specialize in something "Turkish". We found Cumhuriyet, a local dive known for serving heaps of mezes (the array of possible appetizers) and fresh seafood to a background of traditional Fasil music. When we arrived, there was no music to be found, but the roar of the locals happily chomping away was music enough.





The restaurant was packed, and the waiters had to maneuver around long wooden tables that could fit probably thirty people down the line. Not only that, but these wily waiters are always carrying a big tray of food- the samples of the possible mezes. We ended up choosing four and then adding a fifth for the sake of gluttony: the traditional yogurt sauce, big ol' beans, broccoli, and two eggplant dishes.
The eggplants were the clear hits. First, there was one basking in tomato sauce, which we assumed would be the best. But the other one, just some smoked eggplant salad, was surprisingly great. It wasn't flavored at all, but the eggplant spoke for itself. I think the aubergine superiority in Turkey derives from the texture: literally silky smooth. The eggplant just glides down, barely having to chew it all. That sounds grosser than it is. It's great. The yogurt was also good, once I got over the feeling of having a dairy farm in my mouth. That's what it tasted like, straight up yogurt, the most dairy-y thing I have ever tasted. But soon I found myself dipping everything in the yogurt without even noticing. That's the key to mezes: combination.





Then we ordered shrimp, my first shrimp in over two years. The shrimp were scary at first, with shells still on and their eyes looking at me, but the inside was thick and not too chewy and just delicious. It came with this crazy sauce that we could NOT figure out what it was. (I also dipped them in the yogurt a few times.) On our final bite, I looked up at my dad and said, "do you think it's just... butter?" And it was. It was just a vat of grilled butter. Once we realized we just laughed so hard at the though of our arteries closing, but revelled in the sheer joy of fatty fatty fatty butter on everything.





Our main course was sea bass and durado, two white fishes. The stressful de-boning process was averted by a touristy maneuver of asking the waitor to do it for us. The sea bass was meatier than the durado, which I covered in lemon juice and onions, sacrificing my breath for taste. They were both good, but we were too full to finish them.


The food was wonderful. Even though it was the most expensive item we ordered, even my dad admitted that the shrimp had been the highlight. But the whole experience of the restaurant was the most memorable part of the night. The locals were laughing, drinking their Raki (the typical Turkish alcohol, which I had to avoid because I HATE licorice...) and crashing into each other because of the confined quarters. But we weren't squished, and we ended up making friends with the people at the next table over. There was also a cat outside which kept me company throughout the entire meal, probably hoping for some artery clogging shrimp too. If you're ever in Turkey, I HIGHLY recommend Cumhuriyet.