This, my friends, is Iskender Kebap. And oh baby, is it good. Now, the iskender pictured below is definitely not the best that I've ever had in my life. There are french fries on the top for goodness' sake.
No, no, the best iskender that I've ever had was in Bursa, the town where iskender was invented. It's named after it's inventor (like Fettucine Alfredo!), and you can read all about the origins here.
But more about what happens on the plate. First, they put a layer of bread on the bottom of the plate, then thin lamb slices which are covered in a tomato-butter sauce. Then after they serve it, they come around with a pot of tomato-butter sauce and pour it all over. Tomatos, lamb, bread, butter? Yes. Please.
Since my first iskender experience three years, I've been searching for the next best thing. I'll be honest. There is a Turkish restaurant in Dallas that does this dish a whole lot of justice. I hedge it because I can't in good faith say that the best iskender outside of the city where it was invented is in Texas. It's pretty good though. Check out Cafe Istanbul - they have two locations in Dallas.
As for finding the best iskender in Turkey, it's almost as difficult as finding the best chicken fried steak in America: everywhere makes it and price is definitely a factor. I'll keep searching and let you know what I discover.
Your cardiologist thanks you!
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