Dinner Number One

Note: The photos here may be pretty but unfortunately we can no longer recommend this restaurant. Datli Maya's ownership changed at some point in early 2013; so too the food and vibe, and not for the better. But all is not lost: just a half block up the street, Mucver still serves great Turkish homecooking with a twist.

Yes, we're back in Turkey, in Istanbul for now, and we ate our first proper dinner at Datli Maya because it's become habit and it's good to be recognized and -- most of all, absolutely most of all -- because we always leave satisfied, rubbing our bellies and lamenting that we ate too much but, if we were to be honest, not regreting a single bite.

What we like about the place: the wood-fired oven that you can't miss as you walk through the door. The casual friendliness of the staff. That you have to walk through the teeny-tiny kitchen to get to the just-as-tiny dining room. Sitting by the window, right in sight line with the minaret of Firuzaga Mosque, and watching the sidewalk traffic as we wait for our order. Self-service tea, as strong or as weak as you like, pulled from an old samovar on a little table in the corner of the dining room.

And the ever-changing menu. There are always lahmacun and pide and desserts, but what is cooked long and slow in the wood-fired oven revolves according to what's in season, what's good, what's at the market, what inspires the cook. Today's specials are displayed on the counter, there for your perusal when you walk in the door.

Tonight we ate woodsy, meaty mushrooms with bits of strange but deliciously bitter green chilies, blanketed with mild, oozy cheese and reheated in a guvec (a clay baking dish) in the wood-fired oven. Also, "village chicken", a lovely stew of a zucchini-like summer squash, potato and chicken in what tasted like the richest bird broth ever (enriched with butter, perhaps?), and a guvec of sweet pumpkin stewed with red peppers and onions. There were chickpeas stewed with onions and peppers, and a salad, always a salad. Datli Maya excels at them -- they're generously proportioned, include a variety of greens and usually house-pickled beets and just-sprouted mung beans, and are dressed with a lemony pomegranate molasses and cumin "vinaigrette". We often end up ordering a second salad to avoid fighting over the first one.

Mung beans? Chickpeas? Is this really Turkish food? some may ask. Let's call it Turkish with a twist. The ingredients are good, the execution is inspired and the result makes us happy.  We are quite happily off to other parts of Turkey in less than 36 hours but, for now, it's good to be back in Istanbul

Comments

[thyme (sarah)]

So glad to read about you returning to Istanbul. We didn't know what the 'status' is like with the eastern side dealing with the Syrian conflict at times. I'll look forward to reading what you think...

[Teri Y.]

My husband and I are heading to Istanbul this week too! Thanksgiving for us this year will be spent there. Very much looking forward to our trip and your blog has been of such great help in the planning.

[Robyn]

Thanks Sarah, it's good to be back! We had planned to be in the far south of the southeast, but pushed that back to spring to be on the safe side. Instead we'll be way north, on the Black Sea and a bit interior -- so no worries. Hope you guys get out here at some point!

Teri - yay, here's to turkey day in Turkey! Do give Datli Maya a try... they are open for lunch but all of the dishes cooked slow in the wood-fired oven aren't finished till dinner. (Lahmacun and pide for lunch.) The dining area is *very* small, so we try to go early .... 630pm in this instance. Ask about ALL the daily specials when you walk in and order every one! Also various cookies, if any are laid out for purchase.

[Olga@Delicious Istanbul]

Welcome back, Robyn! I used to like the place a lot until I had breakfast there which looked to me like a prank and not a very good one. Your appetizing report makes me itch to come back and see how things are going now at Datli Maya.

[Shira]

Hi from Shira (you guided me, and my now-fiance Graeme, in Penang in 2011). I happened to turn on the TV last night to watch an Ottolenghi programme on Istanbul, and Datli Maya was the 1st stop. Turns out Tuba was the fixer, so also a visit to Ciya and to the Asian-side market near the old train station and football stadium. All very happy eating memories. Have a lahmacun and one of those tahini cookies for me.

[Maxine]

Great post! We ate at Datli Maya 3 times during our trip to Istanbul and loved it; always something new to discover.

[Robyn]

Hi Shira (of course I remember you, you and Graeme both are the most ferocious eaters I have ever walked around Penang! you'll go down in history....). I heard that Datli Maya made the show, would love to see it.

Exactly Maxine, when the menu changes daily it's hard to stay away -- you never know what's come out of the wood oven.

Hi Olga -- yes strangely some have had not nice experiences there. I can't explain it and a bad experience is never excusable ... but we've had nothing but good ones and have probably eaten there 10 or 12 times by now. I think that it is always important to complain directly to management when things aren't up to snuff. Even if you never intend to go back.

[Ahmet Cihat Toker]

"Mung beans? Chickpeas? Is this really Turkish food?"

These are not Turkish food with a twist, rather real Turkish food! Chickpeas are a staple of middle Anatolia and mung beans are used in Aegean part.

[Vik@Sydney tours]

That's looking yummy. Apart from traveling to see new places, one of the reasons i love traveling is that you get to try new foods. Thanks for sharing

[HeadUpNoRegrets]

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