A timeless taste: Köfte (Turkish meatball)
Nobody knows about the history of köfte. Nobody knows who invented it, and to whom this beauty belongs. No country claims it their “national food” and fall out with other countries. It’s not like baklava, döner or coffee. Instead, cities in Turkey compete with each other to claim it. Each city believes their köfte is the best. There are tons of different kinds of köftes: İnegöl köfte, Tekirdağ köfta e, Akçaabat köfte, İzmir köfte, Adapazarı Islama köfte, Sultanahmet köfte. I’d like to ask “which place makes it the best”, rather than asking “which kind is the best”. I find it more reasonable to think about where you can eat köfte the best, rather than thinking of adjectives and variations. These places are rare in Istanbul. Luckily, the best two of them happen to be in Grandbazaar: Köfteci Mustafa and Fahri Usta. Here is Meatball Restaurant in Grandbazaar.
Köfteci Mustafa
The köftes of Mustafa Usta whose shop is located at Tığcılar Mosque cul de sac, contain abig amount of suet and lamb pit of stomach. Therefore, when you touch it with your fork, you witness a lot of fat coming out. It’s the best thing about it. Compared to any ordinary köfteci (köfte lunchroom), Mustafa Usta sops crispy bread into the fat of köfte and fries them. Their piyaz(bean salad) is nice with salt and vinegar, but I can’t say the quality of beans are that great. The skin of beans is a bit tough. Yet, luckily they don’t put too much tomato, greens and onions. So while having your piyaz, you don’t feel like you’re having a green salad. It’s easy to come across with beans in your salad.
Mustafa Usta doesn’t blend the meat with too many spices, and he’s present during the preparation and cooking. He’s a very friendly artisan. He’s also in good communication with others. What’s surprised me is to see so many tourists at this place. I don’t understand how they can explore these wonders. In this respect, you must look up to Europeans and Japanese people. If you’d like to eat meat instead of köfte, I’d like to tell you that I find their chop steaks really good. That shows that Mustafa Usta is working with the right butcher. He uses good meat. Is it possible to leave this man who tries his best for you to have an amazing köfte experience?
Evaluation: 7.5/10
The Lunchroom of Fahri Usta
My namesake, Fahri Usta has been serving at the same place for artisans for years. He’s sulky and he’s grumpy towards his customers. At most, 20 people can eat here. He prepares the plates himself behind a glass screen. You eat what you find there that day. Sometimes it’s köfte, sometimes it’s meat, or chicken. Similarly, his stew menu changes everyday. They also serve desserts on saturdays but I’ve never encountered that. Luckily, during my last visit there were 3 things I’d wanted to try: köfte, pilaf and cannellini stew. Isn’t that a typical tradesmen restaurant menu? FahriUsta tells of a woman who tries to take a picture right there: “Have you come here to eat or take a photo?”. The woman is surprised and offended. He doesn’t soften up at all; he keeps pouring food with his spoon. Make sure that you don’t take photos here, or else you’ll piss him off… I’m telling you, it’s a warning.
The flexible structure of köfte reminds of İnegölKöfte. I think this minced meat is not minced once, but perhaps a couple of times. When I touch the meat with my fork the fat that comes out is perfect. They don’t put any distractions next to köfte either. Only grilled tomato and green pepper. Köftes finish quickly right after he cooks them. Once you find köfte, you’re lucky.
There’s no lunchroom where I haven’t tried the legendary duo of cannellini stew and pilaf. I find the pilaf of FahriUsta disappointing. I think he uses too much margarine. I couldn’t smell that delicious taste of butter. Similarly, the stew also seems to be cooked with margarine. I respect the eating style of tradesmen. They prefer to eat food with lots of fat and like to eat stews where they can sop fresh bread in. And they prefer to have this at a cheap price. Therefore margarine replaces butter, and normal cannelini beans replace İspir beans. 1 portion of köfte, 1 pilaf, 1 stew is 17 lira in total. It’s a very good price. It’s a quite reasonable price to pay in Istanbul, especially at such a touristic place as Kapalıçarşı. The hygiene level is a bit disturbing. Even though it’s an artisan restaurant, it still needs to be hygienic. Those big caldrons where they put plates in, the hygiene of the floors and the arrangement of stuff they serve food are not that pleasant to be honest. In this concern, it could be better if they showed more care and attention.
I can’t say anything bad for the taste of their food. This proves itself with the ongoing queue outside. But FahriUsta, couldn’t you put a smile on your face?
Evaluation: 6/10
Kalcılar Çarşısı, Grandbazaar/Istanbul
