Gallipoli Again
120 Upper Street
 N1 1QP 

Date of Last Visit: Friday, November 20th

The Victims: Too many to mention

The Damage: £20 or so each

The Background: I am almost embarrassed to tell you this. 

You see…on Friday, November 20th, I had tickets to the cinema.

For the opening night of…

New Moon.

You know…the vampire chick flick.

And so we all went out to dinner beforehand. How many of us? Um…I think there were 17. 17 30-somethings.  All out to see a teenage vampire flick.

The Entrance: So we were a little unsure which Gallipoli we were going to. And there are three of them on Upper Street. So Stacey and I went into all of them until of course, we hit the jackpot with the third.

And Gallipoli is packed! Really. My chair is getting bumped. My coat keeps falling on the floor. I am highly annoyed.

The Wine: We order some Pinot Grigio. It arrives warm. This is annoying. So I ask for a lot of ice. We get like three ice cubes. This is annoying too.

The Food: Mezze for everyone except a few. I love mezze because it's fun and communal and a surprise everytime. But at Gallipoli, the falafel tastes like sawdust. (Must write post about Hoxton Beach! Name is an oxymoron there, no?) There's not enough hummus to go around, and we have to pay extra for the aubergine. (The Turkish version of Baba Ghanoush.) I remember I liked the broad beans. And the vine leaves were okay. And as I'm having all these thoughts, people keep bumping my chair and I keep getting more annoyed. I'm tense. Very tense. And I'm tense enough as it is.

The Service: A little slow at the beginning, but eventually just fine.

The Baklava: Pretty good.

Food Verdict: Eh. Not for me. Too many people, too small a space, too average.

Film Verdict: Jacob was pretty hot. Edward was pretty pasty.

The Photos: Too dark for food photos, and I forgot my flashlight/torch.

Which Leads Me to My Question: Where's your favorite place for Turkish mezze?

The post Gallipoli Again, Islington first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Sedir
4 Theberton St
N1 0QX

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, October 3rd, 2009

The Victims: Gerry, Ben, Matt, Carolyn, Anne, Tobias…and I feel like I'm forgetting someone.

The Background: We'd been to St. Alban's for the beer festival. Drinking beer creates hunger. So we found ourselves on Upper Street, walking from one restaurant to the next, seeing if they'd take eight people. No one would. Until finally, we entered the very empty Sedir–always a bad sign when you're empty at 8 p.m. on a Saturday–and they said "Eight? Sure, no problem."

The Smell: Sedir smells like gasoline. It takes me a while to figure this out. I start imagining that we're all going to be die from chemical inhalations. But then I realize it's the stupid lamps. The stupid lamp oil makes the whole place smell like nail polish remover or something. Uggh. Headache.

The Food: I order our server's favorite dish–the Iskender–it's grilled meatballs on a bed of diced bread & yoghurt, coated with a secret recipe sauce. When the dish arrives, I attempt to send it back, thinking that they've given me the wrong order. Because you know, my entire life? During my entire life, MEATBALLS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ROUND.

So I eat a few pieces of meatballs (?) and have a spoonful of whatever it is that the meat is sitting on. Well, it's exactly what the menu said. Yogurt. And bread. There's a lot of meat. And a lot of yogurt. And a lot of bread. I get bored after about three  bites. And it's just so gosh darned gloopy. Gloopy is really the best way to describe it. Gloopy meat and gloopy yogurt and gloopy wet bread. No thank you.

The Verdict: Eh. Not for me.

The post Sedir, Islilngton first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Turkish Food Centre Dalston

Turkish Food Centre (TFC), Dalston

89 Ridley Road
E8 2NP

The Victim: Myself

The Damage: £10

The Background: I really can’t explain why I do the things I do. On Saturday morning, I woke up and said, “You know what I want to do today? I want to go to the Turkish Food Centre in Dalston.” Luckily for me, there’s a bus that picks me up right on my corner and takes me all the way up to the Dalston Kingsland Road Junction.

The Entrance: To get to the TFC, you have to walk through Ridley Road Market. More about that tomorrow. (Or maybe Monday. Depending on how I’m feeling.) I will say this…Ridley Road is awesome. And if you like tripe, you’ll probably find it even more awesome.

Towards the end of Ridley Road, you’ll come to the TFC. At first, I was a little disappointed. From the outside, it didn’t look like much of anything. In fact, it sorta looked like the Turkish grocery on my corner. I could have just stayed at home.

But these feelings all gradually disappeared as I entered and made my way down the first aisle of Dalston’sTurkish Food Centre.

Behold, the hummus. And the tarmasalata. A huge-ass container of hummus = £4.29. (Prices may have changed since I wrote this.) Take that, Waitrose.

And then there was the olives and cheese guy, who was so sweet and picked me out some of his favorite black olives, along with a big block of Greek feta.

Onto the sweets!I bought some baklava, and to be truthful, it was a bit too wet for me. So I wouldn’t recommend it.

But the bread…these photos don’t do it justice. I couldn’t get a good shot because there were all these people picking out their bread. But here’s some, hot out of the oven.

And well, mindful of getting my daily fruit and veg requirement these days, I did spend some time looking at the green stuff. Lots of peppers. Didnt buy any though.

The Verdict: I hope the pictures speak for themselves. I need to hang out in Dalston more often. You too. In fact, the whole field trip to the Turkish Food Centre and Ridley Road in Dalston had me looking at property in Dalston for days afterwards. Hmmm.

The post Turkish Food Centre, Dalston first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, March 22nd

The Victim: Me, myself and I

The Damage: £15?

The Background: I was out shopping on Oxford Street and it was just too early for lunch at Maroush. I mean, maybe they would have taken me at 11:30, but I doubted it. So I figured by the time I got back to my neck of the woods, a restaurant with hummous somewhere would welcome me. Because that was what I was in the mood for. Hummous.

The Entrance: Pasha is empty except for a woman dining alone with a newspaper, much like me. (I've got Time Out though.) The decor is sorta hotel-like…nothing exciting. Clean and calming. Service is just so sweet that I am endeared to Pasha immediately. I order some hummous, sprinkled with bits of crispy lamb. And a chicken shish.

The Food: Both are perfect and just what I needed. Are they super gourmet? No. But are they nicely done and nicely presented and nicely delivered? Yes to all those things. After I polish off my starter and main, my server sweetly suggests some baklava and a coffee. And how can I say no?

The Verdict: I like it here.

*****Don't Forget: Submit Your Guest Review by Friday April 18 and Get Your Chance to Win Dinner with Me*****

The post Turkish: Pasha first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, August 26, 2007

The Victims: Gerry, Ben, Matt

The Damage: £15 each

The Background: I was up in Archway enjoying a lovely, rare, summery day with Al & Louise (my "English friends") and Baby Oscar (all of 15 weeks!), outdoors in their peaceful and picture-perfect little garden. Gerry & Ben called and said they're at the Wenlock and I should drop by later.

Hot Chip – Over and Over

So on my way home on the #43, I call Ben. Twice. No answer. I send a text. No response. Hmmm….

Have I told you about my affinity for logic problems and logic in general? I like option theory. I like probabilities. I like decision trees. My decision tree for Gerry, Ben and Matt went something like this…

If I call Ben and he does not answer, it means…
a. He is dead in a ditch somewhere
b. He is purposefully ignoring me.
c. He is on the tube.
d. He is still at The Wenlock and has consumed many beverages and is not checking his phone.

I put the probability of A. at 1% (I prefer dealing in whole numbers), the probability of B at 4%, the probability of C at 15%, and the probability of the Wenlock at 80%.

Now my available end results at the time were…
A. Go home and watch Prison Break on DVD.
B. Go to the Wenlock and find Gerry, Ben & Matt.
C. Go to the Wenlock and find Gerry, Ben & Matt not there. (And then go home to pursue Option A.)

If we apply utility theory here, let's say that my utility of  A. is 2x, the utlity of B. is 5x, and the utility of C. is x.

So if the chances are high that Ben, Gerry, and Matt are still at the Wenlock, and I know that finding them there will maximize my relative satisfaction, it is a given that I should go find them.

So I go in search of them.

And I am right! They are still there! They are actually on the way out. I yell "Matt!" and Matt turns around and then they all turn around and then they all come running towards me, yelling my name. (Which for the record is "Krista," and not "Kristain." Seriously people. Sometimes I wonder.) The Wenlock empties out to see what the Americans are yelling about. It is a moment.

I guess you had to be there.

This is a long way of saying that they took to me Iznik for dinner! (Not "took me" as in "paid for," but rather "introduced Krista to a new and fun place.")

The Entrance: It is so very pretty. Lots of Turkish laterns. Lots of colorful glassware. The evil eye protects us. One wall is painted pink. I like the tablecloths. In short, it is cozy and a good local date place.

The Starters: We start off with tarmasalata and hummous. Both are good, but the tarmasalata is nowhere near as good as the tarmasalata at The Eagle. The pita is really nice though. It's warm and soft but not too soft.

The Mains: I go for something in yogurt sauce…it seems to be two types of sausage, along with yogurt sauce and hot sauce, all on a pita. It's delicious. Really. So nice. I am very happy. Gerry gets stuffed Courgettes and they look great. We all seem very happy with our meal; clean plates all around. I am struck with a sudden desire to go to move to Turkey and/or furnish my house in nothing but Turkish laterns.

The Loos: Cramped. Could be a bit cleaner.

The Service: A tiny bit impersonal and gruff.

The Freebie: Turkish delight!

The Verdict: I liked Iznik. The food wasn't particularly gourmet, but it was nice and the prices were right and the atmosphere was really cool.

The Plus: I add a new postcode! N5!

The post Turkish: Iznik first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Date of Last Visit: Friday, June 8th, 2007

The Vicitms: Feathers, Matt

The Damage: £35?

The Background: Feathers and I headed over to The Albion for some Proseco, and were greeted by a very rude bartender who really wanted to charge me £36 for a £22 bottle of Proseco. He made me REALLY angry. His argument was that the bottle goes for £36 in Chelsea. My argument was that the menu clearly stated that the bottle–vintage and all–was £22. I won, but he was a real jerk.

But I digress. We were hungry. Matt arrived from a conference down the road, all about the Internets, and I told them about Mem & Laz and how fun it looked. And then we had some more Proseco, which in hindsight, was not the best of ideas.

The Entrance: Mem & Laz is cute and it reminds me of Sacre Coeur, which is right next door so maybe that’s it. I love the lights hanging from the ceiling.

The Starters and Drinks: We get some hummous and it is served with delicious bread. And then we get 1/2 bottle of white and it’s perfect. It’s served in a carafe and I am very happy. Not enough wine is served in carafes in London.

The Mains: I go for the spinach filo and salad and it’s just what I needed. Feathers gets a lamb dish that is so delicious I am still jealous 24 hours later as I write this. Matt gets the lamb special–the one in the puff pastry–and to be honest, it is only average. Actually, it’s less than average. It’s plain. But it’s just lamb and pastry. Needed some salt.

The Verdict: Loved the atmosphere. Felt the service could be friendlier and more knowledgeable. Might go back, if only for the pretty little lights.

If I were them…
1. I’d give away free pastries with the bill.
2. I’d serve tap water with lemon slices. Or maybe cucumber.
3. I’d be friendly with my guests.
4. I’d make sure the servers could describe all the food and knowledgeably recommend dishes.

The post London Turkish: Mem & Laz first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

The Victims: David, Joe

The Damage: Unknown

David was in town, looking out for our best interests. I think David is fantastic, so I invited him out to dinner. And made him pay. 🙂 Hey, I only just finally got approved for a credit card.

I knew David was staying by Liverpool Street, so I did a search on TopTable (you know I’m addicted) and came up with some options. Savarona was one of them.

When we arrived, we were offered Turkish beer. I’d never had Turkish beer before tonight, and I was happy to try it out. Delightful. Now, I was a bit confused re: what was the restaurant and what wasn’t. As it turned out, the restaurant was downstairs. And it was cushy. As in pillows. Soft seating. I liked it. The upstairs had a lot of windows. And some smokers chain smoking upwind from me. Annoying!

Service downstairs was sweet and earnest and wanted us to enjoy our food. We started with some spinach root, chicken livers, and something else that vaguely reminded me of a taquito. It was all quite tasty. I liked the chicken livers best. They were a bit spicy.

For mains, I had a chicken and potato dish that was yummy. Very nice. Although I could swear there was some beef in it, which is weird. It was dark, so I’m not sure. There were also some small fry-like things that were crispy and nice. Well done.

The highlight had to be David’s water pudding. It was like eating a bowl of flowers. Very interesting. I think there were some pomengrantes in it. And some sweet tofu-like substance. A very pretty and yummy and interesting dessert.

Crowd-wise, there was not much going on at Savarona. But that’s okay. They’ll get there.

The Verdict: Go for something different and interesting with nice service. A lot to offer for those in the mood.

The post At a Turkish: Savarona first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.