Street meat

I think eating from food carts is one of the best and cheapest ways to really get to the gut of a city’s cuisine.

On the west side of the Bosphorus, near the Galata Bridge, there are three docked wooden boats serving fish sandwiches. It sounds pretty mundane until I add in the fact that the boats are pitching back and forth with the river’s swells. Somehow these guys are able to keep their balance, not vomit, manage a grill full of fish, and crank out sandwiches that locals and tourists alike gobble up while sitting at little tables.

The sandwiches are served on a roll, with lettuce, herbs and sweet onions. The fish is definitely on the fishier side, which explains the bottles of lemon juice and sea salt on each table. And you’ve gotta watch out for those fish bones. I can’t say that my mouth is watering for another one, but for just 4 lira, it was a really cool experience.

Afterward Carter grabbed an ear of grilled corn from one of the many corn vendors around town. We each just took a couple bites of the charred and dry corn, and then spent a good few minutes picking it out of our teeth. Not so tasty, but for just 1 lira it was worth a try. And once we started into an ice cream cone from yet another vendor, the corn was all but forgotten.