Once again just because I had a hamburger tonight on the way back from visiting with Ali Esmen and, well, this is still very, very appropriate. I also might add that Paul does not teach at Istanbul University any longer (by his choice, I might add), Tunc no longer goes out with Seyhan, the bar Baris and I drank at no longer exists, and the owner of the cafe below Space Debris Art has given up trying to duplicate the famous NY bagel. But they still put ketchup & mayo on the table with pizza. Sigh.
Now I want to make it clear from the beginning that I am not a culinary snob or hung up on American cuisine which, as most people born somewhere else, seem to think is exemplified by the hamburger and hot dog (though the hot dog, or frankfurter, is actually German in origin but I must admit I am a bit of a snob when it comes to them but I’ll leave that for some other post). Hamburgers, though, should be judged by an objective panel who understands what constitutes the basic ingredients: ground beef, a bun, and ketchup, pickles and/onions optional.
So anyway, I’ve had 3 hamburgers now in 8 days here, which is a record for me since I didn’t eat 3 hamburgers in 8 days while living in the US, but that’s besides the point. The point here, or at least the one I’m trying to make in…
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Leonard Durso 
Funny! I thought the same thing of pizza when I moved to the US. Pizza here and in Italy are two very different things… 😀
Yes, you’re fight bout the differences in pizza. There are a few pizza places here in Istanbul that try to duplicate the Italian pizza but, like the bagel and the hamburger, they don’t quite get it right.
Totally understand, but they are experts for kebabs and baklavas… Yum! 😀
And they did create the original yogurt.
Hmm I didn’t know that… I know about Kefir which came from Caucasus and it’s super healthy. I make it at home daily.
Food is the great common denominator.
Oh my gosh! They put ketchup and mayo on pizza here in Brazil too. I thought it was only here. That was very strange for me, being that Canadians wouldn’t even think of that.
Then take hamburgers. Anything goes here for hamburgers. They put eggs, ham, shoe string potatoes, corn, etc.
Funny thing about cultures eh.
🙂
The Turkish “pizza” or pide is really quite good and they don’t put ketchup or mayo on the table for that. The hamburgers here are also often adorned with strange things, too. It must have to do with different taste buds.
Yea, different cultures, different taste buds.
🙂
Precisely! Even German beer doesn’t taste the same in the US. Couldn’t be the water, could it?
It might be. When all else fails, blame it on the water.
😊
Ketchup and mayo with pizza…the mind boggles. What is the local food like? I’d rather eat good local food than watered down knock-offs. 😀
Turkish cuisine is really very good, much like Greek cuisine. Not surprising when you consider they lived together for centuries.