Sofyali 9, Istanbul. June, 2007

I’ll have that one right there, please. And that one. And that one over there, too. Oh, the pleasures of the meze tray that’s brought to you at Sofyali 9 (and many another Istanbul restaurant) from which you can choose your selection of appetizers. What have we here? Some stuffed peppers, some whipped feta with hot peppers, some cacik (cucumber, yogurt, garlic, mint), broad beans slow-simmered with tomato, marinated anchovies, some acili ezme (a hot pepper relish), potato salad, the list goes on and on. And these are just the cold selections. At Sofyali 9 (where Nick and I had our first and last meals on this first trip to the City of the World’s Desire), they bring around an assortment of hot meze, too, right from the cook’s kitchen: fried liver cubes (a Turkish specialty) and small cheese turnovers to name just two. It’s so hard not to fill up on meze in order not to spoil your appetite for the main courses, which are also excellent here. And for dessert, how about a slice of perfectly ripe melon? Yes, please. [Gentle Reader: Jay and I are off to Istanbul tonight, October 11, 2011. Then onto a boat through the Greek Isles, to Ephesus, to Rhodes, Santorini, Athens, Sicily, Amalfi and finally Rome. I'm hoping you can travel with us via SLS' past-trip-related postings throughout.]