In my mailbox: ‘Istanbul Eats,’ the book

Look what just came in my mailbox, all the way from Turkey, “Istanbul Eats: Exploring the Culinary Backstreets� by Ansel Mullins and Yigal Schleifer. The two founded the blog Istanbul Eats, which I’ve been following for a while in the interest of researching for a future trip to Istanbul.

The two are not touting the latest trendy restaurants and bars, but small traditional places with Turkish regional cuisines and “hints of Balkan, Caucasian and Middle Eastern cooking.� In fact, the subtitle of their blog is “a serious guide to the city.� Sign me up for meatball shops and greasy spoons, for bakeries specializing in simit (sesame-encrusted bread rings) and desserts topped with Turkish clotted cream.

I’m looking forward to browsing through the third edition of this handy book, which costs $12, plus $6 shipping from Istanbul. I appreciate its pocket format and both the glossary and the index at the back where you can find restaurants alphabetically, by type and a small list of vegetarian-friendly places, too. Also, those that serve alcohol.

ALSO:

What the heat brings: Adriatic figs!

Beyond the dollhouse: the toy butcher shop

Notes from the Test Kitchen: how and why we test recipes

Twitter.com/sirenevirbila