Istanbul Modern, Spring (10 course)
In-PersonRussian Hill, San Francisco
SOLD OUT
$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.
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.
Kibbeh nayye, Lebanese lamb tartare with mint ‘Ayran ashi’
Small Plate
Every neighborhood in Istanbul will have a ‘cig kofte’ (raw meatball) spot where you will see a strong, husky mustached man knead lamb with bulgur and spices into delicious morsels of lamb tartar. Our approach is more delicate. We serve our tartare with a mint ‘ayran ashi’ which literally translates to ‘yogurt meal’, it’s our sauce.
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, 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.
Meze, Braised pork cheeks served with hummus and hazelnut soil
Appetizer
We braise the prok cheeks with Turkish pepper pastes, dried plums, and pomagrante molasses. Hummus turns into a sauce and hazelnuts provide the crunch.
Mid course, Yuvalama with a Yogurt and Mushroom Broth
Small Plate
Bulgur meatballs; chickpeas; mushrooms; stewed beef; and yogurt, sumac and mint broth; Aleppo, Urfa and Maras peppers
This is a dish that captures the essence of the flavors of Mesopotamia. It's served warm, not hot.
Roasted Local Cod served with Barbounia
Entree
The perfect combination of ingredients and velvety textures. We roast the cod loin in the oven and serve it on top of barbounia beans that are cooked in a rich tomato and pepper paste broth.
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.
'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.
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
(2) Seasonal meze driven by the farmers market
Small Plate
We are so excited to keep two mezes open to inspiration by the farmers market. We now have a very wide repertoire with incredible dishes such as our sorrel and pistachio tabouleh, roasted leaks with saffron and hazelnut dressing. We're incredibly excited to explore new flavors and techniques with you for our brunch series as well.
Add-ons
Beverage pairing
$30.00
Istanbul Modern, Spring (10 course)
In-PersonRussian Hill, San Francisco