Istanbul Modern, Winter (10 course)
In-PersonRussian Hill, San Francisco
1 SPOT LEFT
$65.00
Pop-up space
Available for purchase
Banquet (20+ Guests)
mediterranean, middle eastern, turkish
Local, Organic, Paleo, Raw, Vegetarian
In-Person
The legacy of Istanbul, once Constantinople, the capital of four empires, is greater than meets the eye. It's the Bosphorus, Black Sea, the Aegean, and the Mediterranean; Mesopotamia, Balkans, Anatolia, Caucasus, North Africa, and Persia. It's the palace and the countryside, the business capital and the cultural capital. It's a little Turkish, a little Greek, Armenian, Jewish, Arabic and Persian. It's Istanbul Modern. We tell the story.
This is a sample menu and the contents are dynamic.
Menu detail
Meze, the Wild Card
Small Plate
We keep one Meze open for our creative process, a product that inspires us at the farmers market, or something that one of our other Middle Eastern specialty purveyors are excited about.
Black hummus with beef short ribs
Small Plate
This is a dish with incredibly deep flavors. We make our own black garlic, black tahini and black lime to give the deep umami that characterizes this dish. We top it with fenugreek, paprika and garlic seasoned short ribs that are cooked in brown butter as hummus is served warm with pastirma cooked in this way in Turkey.
Simit and Yogurt Butter
Small Plate
We start our meals with a whipped yogurt butter, which we serve with simit. Simit is the most common street food in Istanbul, it's between a pretzel and a sesame bagel. But consumed in Istanbul more per capita than doughnuts, pretzels and bagels combined in the United States.
Meze, Brine pickled cabbage with tahini
Small Plate
We char the cabbage with butter. It takes a whole new form and flavor.
Meze, Asparagus, peas and tahini green goddess
Small Plate
We bring the first spring vegetables together with a light herbal tahini dressing. Candied sesame seeds expand the range of textures from these spring vegetables.
Lamb shank in Iranian fesenjoon and Egyptian foule
Entree
Foule is to the Middle East what dal is to South Asia, it's everyman's food but also comforting and luxurious on the palate. Dried favas are the main game here, giving the overall stew a unique bitterness.
Lamb shank is braised in a broth of pomegranate and walnuts.
We serve this shared entree with a side of fresh shepherd's salad.
Mid Course, Mussels in Fennel Broth
Small Plate
Escabeche style mussels served in Turkish warm spices and fennel broth with crunchy vegetables.
Meze, the Wild Card
Small Plate
We keep one Meze open for our creative process, a product that inspires us at the farmers market, or something that one of our other Middle Eastern specialty purveyors are excited about.
'Liqueur', the Finale
Beverage
We made it a custom to start our meals with simit and finish them with a home made liqueur. We've served cherry/mahlab, mastica, bergamot and Turkish coffee liqueurs before. We'll have to see which one of our infusions have matured at the time of the event.
Dessert, Georgian Honey Cake
Dessert
Medok cake is built with layers of honey and milk cream. We served it with seasonal citrus Turkish style ice cream.
Beverage pairing
Beverage
This is a sample pairing.
Homemade Turkish tea kambocha cocktail, rum, spices
Raki - Green grape raki served with mezes
Peloponennese Aghiorhitiko - Black cherries, blackberries, plums, dried herbs, medium-bodied.
Greek assyrtiko -- Mineral, aromatic wine paired with the briny fish course.
Melengic coffee -- Wild pistachio steeped with milk
Add-ons
Beverage pairing
$30.00
Istanbul Modern, Winter (10 course)
In-PersonRussian Hill, San Francisco