PRICE:
Frommer's Exceptional

Clearly, it was good to be the sultan, if he indeed ate at all like you do when you visit Asitane. From records of meals at Topkapi Palace (sans quantities), the chef of Asitane has succeeded in re-creating 200 palace recipes plus about 200 original Ottoman-style recipes. The etli elma dolmasi (apple stuffed with lean diced lamb, rice, currants, pistachio, and rosemary) still makes my mouth water -- the only regrettable thing is that I'll probably never eat it again, because the menu changes each season. There's a menu in honor of Fatih Sultan Mehmet (the Conqueror) May through June, while vegetarian main-course selections are on the menu year-round.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Istanbul, 1st Edition, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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