Bu yazıyı buraya niye koydum ? Bir kere yazıyı ben bulmadım, bir arkadaşım bana bu yazıdan bahsetti. Uzun zamandır şehir ile ilgilenmiyorum. Tarabya daha geçen sene zaten bambaşka bir yer olup çıkmıştı benim için. Ben Tarabya lı falan değilim ama tabii seneler evvel gitmişliğim vardı ve geçen sene uzun yıllardan sonra tekrar gittiğimde Tarabya ya, biraz hüzün sardı içimi... Tarabya işgal olmuş diye geçti aklımdan... Sarıyer Belediye sinin saçma sapan tabelaları vardı yol boyu.
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Orta Asyalı bir halk olarak bu coğrafyanın hakkını verebildik mi? Bence kısmen evet, kısmen hayır.
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Ben kebap düşmanlarından değilim, gider Tarabya da da kebap yerim, hiç problem değil. Beni düşündüren Tarabya nın en son gördüğüm görüntüsü... (Buraya da fotoğraf eklemek lazım...)
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Bir de Taksim gerçekten kebapçılar tarafından domine ediliyor. Istanbul mutfağı kalmamış... Gezi Pastahane sinde dejenere bir etli pazı dolması yerken farkettim Istanbul daki kebap dominasyonunu. Istanbul ve hatta çok çeşitli Türk Mutfağı kebap ve dönere indirgeniyor, çok haksızlık...Ama bu konuda tabiiki kebapçıları eleştirmek yerine, Istanbullu varsa ve kaldıysa onların eklektik mutfak sevme sevdalarını ve Amerikancı zihniyete uymayan yaşama şekillerini belki bir kültür bilim konusu olarak araştırmak gerekir... Amerikancı zihniyet derken sıfırdan ('from scratch' gibi) başlayıp, giderek büyüyen ticari imparatorluklar kurma hayalini kastediyorum. 'American dream' diye de tasvir edilen bir fenomen.
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New kebab on the block
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Urfadan Kebap has caused quite a splash in Tarabya, which for years has been known exclusively for its fresh seafood dining. But in time will it blend in with the Bosporus and become part of Tarabya culture? Residents and restaurant owners have different predictions on how the kebab joint will fare in a place where no meat has gone before
KATHRINE KENDRICK
ISTANBUL - Turkish Daily News
A new arrival has rocked the boats in Tarabya harbor. Two brothers, Mehmet Emin and Kadir Kaya, have opened a restaurant in a prime location on this waterfront dining street. But their restaurant is noteworthy not only as a newcomer among longstanding eateries. It is their menu that has shocked residents and restaurant owners alike.
For while the other restaurants serve fresh fish straight off the boats docked outside, these brothers offer something altogether different. On the shores of the Bosporus, they have cooked up a menu of their favorite food – kebabs.
Urfadan Kebap has caused quite a splash in Tarabya, which for years has been known exclusively for its fresh seafood dining. The bright red and white facade stands in sharp contrast with the classic, subdued fish restaurants down the road. But in time will it blend in with the Bosporus and become part of Tarabya culture? Residents and restaurant owners had different predictions on how the kebab joint would fare in a place where no meat has gone before.
The owners of the Urfadan Kebap, Mehmet Emin and his brother Kadir, arrived in Istanbul from Urfa 14 years ago and started their kebab business as street peddlers. In a year, as their reputation grew they hired a small restaurant in the Kağıthane district and bit-by-bit developed the business. Now Urfadan Kebap is a renowned restaurant in Istanbul. As elder brother Kadir sees room for a kebab restaurant in Tarabya, Mehmet says, they opened a second branch there by investing $400,000. They have 95 employees, most of them their fellow townsmen who are all good at making kebab, in both restaurants. Now, he said that they are aiming to open a third one on Bağdat street on Istanbul's Anatolian side, which has been known as the heart of the luxury and elegance on that side of the city.
Urfadan Kebap's main dining room is light and welcoming, with 60 or so tables that seat up to 250 people. The decoration is simple but tasteful, lending an unpretentious and cheerful atmosphere to the place. The menu selection is almost overwhelming –24 types of meat kebabs, not to mention lahmacuns (meat on a thin layer of baked bread), grilled meats, pides (Oven baked brad with various fillings), dürüms (a thin bread roll with various fillings), salads, meze, and dessert. Not a single fish item appears on the list.
Fish or kebab?
On a drizzly Wednesday night, business started off slowly, with only a few customers in the cavernous room. By 8:00 or 9:00 pm, however, 12 tables of diners were devouring kebabs in this previously meat-free neighborhood. Restaurant owner Emin claimed that they enjoyed immediate success in their first month of business. They were targeting a 50 percent occupancy rate for the weekends in the first six months, and now from the very first month, Emin explains, they are nearing their goal. “We want to reach new people here in Tarabya,” he says.
But diners at the nearby Hristo, an elegant and well-established fish restaurant in Tarabya, were skeptical of the kebab's appeal. “We came here to eat fish, not kebabs,” Esra Özbek explained between bites of sea bass. “You can go other places for kebabs – maybe Taksim.” So who would choose to eat kebabs by the Bosporus? Tourists, maybe. People who don't know the area. Maybe people who want fast food, the friends hypothesized.
Is kebab a subculture product?
The two brothers said that the traditional fish restaurants had tried to peg Urfadan Kebap as just that – an outsider's destination, appealing to a “subculture” of the seaside dining scene. But one of the restaurant's friendly waiters explained that they were catering to a different crowd. “It is a good family place – we don't serve alcohol like the fish restaurants, which is an advantage,” he said. People flock to the fish restaurants for a late night wining and dining experience, often accompanied by live music. But Urfadan Kebap's casual, alcohol-free atmosphere – along with its more reasonable prices – make it an attractive alternative for a family eating out.
Tarabya resident Kutlan Turan, who works at the Mado café nearby, was one of the brothers' pioneer customers in their first month of business. He raved about his experience at Urfadan Kebap: “It's wonderful, I like it a lot. It's delicious!” It is people like Turan who make surrounding restaurant owners nervous. Owner of Filiz restaurant nearby expressed concern that Urfadan might overshadow his traditional eatery. “I think it's strange,” he said about the arrival, and admitted that he was “worried” he'd lose customers to the new kebab on the block.
The diners at Hristo persisted in their belief that this rogue restaurant will not change the Tarabya dining scene, exclaiming: “People prefer fish. You are on the water!” But resident Kerem Tüzün welcomes Urfadan especially because of its unorthodox locale. “It's odd here, but I think it's necessary,” he said. “Because in Tarabya there is no kebab restaurant – the closest is in Maslak.”
The fish restaurants may show resistance to this newcomer, but they need not worry about losing their customer base. As long as the Bosporus keeps flowing, fish dining in Tarabya will never be replaced. Beyond serving meat in a maritime setting, Urfadan Kebap adds a new and needed dimension to dining on the block. Its friendly staff and family atmosphere might appeal to a clientele seeking a more casual, congenial dining experience. Tüzün predicted that as with all restaurants, in the end its success would come down to the quality of its food – kebab or otherwise. But the chances are good, he exclaimed, since “every Turk likes a kebab!”
© 2005 Dogan Daily News Inc. www.turkishdailynews.com.tr
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