Let's Talk About Food

This isn't a food blog, but we need to take a sec and talk about just how good it is here. Over the weekend I had a meal that changed my life; it was that delicous. In Gazipasa there is a little restaurant on the way to the beach called Engi. The wooden sign is emblazoned with a pomegranate and an artichoke and the doorway is framed with brightly colored flowers. For anyone who sits down inside, this place is home.

When you walk inside it feels like you're stepping into an extension of someone's kitchen. Our group of six sat down at the thick wooden table and I smiled at the mismatched polka dot place mats and floral water glasses. There's a little bakery case with dishes of "I-don't-know-but-it-sure-looks-delicious" and a little corner shelf with bowls and knick-knacks. Out from the back section where I assume kitchen is, an absolutely magical woman appears. She smiles warmly and asks us in Turkish if we'd like breakfast. We responded with a resounding "Yes."

"Eggs? Vegetable omelette?" We give her a big thumbs up, and she disappears back into the kitchen.

Her husband serves us tea, and soon enough our table is covered with so much more than just a vegetable omelette. There's fresh cucumbers and tomatoes, there's a wooden board with five types of cheese, there's walnuts and homemade raisins, there's butter, there's honey, there's just about anything you would hope that a Turkish breakfast spread would have. We dove in, ladening thick pieces of bread with cheese and veggies and sipping down cups of çay. Then the omelette appears and we fill our mouths with the soft egg and zingy tomato-pepper magic she has created for us.

As we eat we debrief about the week, comparing the size of the scorpions and pottery we found in our units and laughing about the time that someone slipped on a rock and flew three feet in the air before landing in a dirt pile. The woman returns, this time with little rolls of light crispy pastry filled with sautéed onion, soft cheese, and parsley. She gives John two, winks, then comes back with more for everyone.

The true highlight of the meal, however, is the doughnuts. Don't imagine a heavy American doughnut though, these are like fluffy golden-brown pillows of heaven. This is also where the marmalade comes into play. My preferred method is to rip the doughnut in half and drizzle the marmalade inside to create a little pocket of flavor. The best one is the apple-clove, with the peach a close second and the sour cherry not far behind. There's also a nutty spread that kind of tastes like figs, but also like nothing I've ever experienced back home. You can't go wrong with a little butter and honey either.

We finish the meal with more çay and fresh sweet melon. After the speed with which we devoured the doughnuts (it's literally impossible to eat them slowly) the cool melon is the perfect way to slow down and think about how incredible it is that a breakfast like this costing us approximately $5 each. What? What??

Later that day on our way home from the beach, we hear a car honking at us. When we turn around to see the driver, it's the husband from Engi! He waves excitedly at us as he drives by. Literally nothing could keep me from going back next weekend.

-GMH