Dinner @ Kalyon

Looking back on the past couple of footprints, I see that they have a common theme … food 😄

This one will be no different!

Tonight we — Murat, mom, Deniz, and I — joined Aylin and a few of her girlfriends from high school for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Alsancak, Kalyon … pub-like ambiance and good food.

Instead of ordering individual courses, we ordered platters to share: a seafood platter that included sesame crusted hamsi (an anchovy-sized fish found in the Black Sea of Turkey), calamari, shrimp, and fish; a beer platter that included köfte (Turkish meat patties), French fries, onion rings, pickles, and more; and mezes that go well with Rakı, the traditional anise-flavored drink … melon, feta cheese, sesame crusted hamsi, olives, and a yogurt dip.

The camaraderie was great … with a good deal of frivolity, which is par for the course when Aylin and the girls get together.Read more