Restaurateur
Saveliy Libkin

A few good fellows from Turkey.

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After the joint visiting of the best projects of Istanbul with the managers of our company, the team in the restaurant Paper Moon has stayed in my memory especially. That quantity of the inspiration which radiates each of them will be enogh in plenty for the whole teams of other local restaurants. And I liked very much the chef Giuseppe Pressani  because of his amicability and his professionalism. It is noticable that the team is delighted with him.

Not many chefs will allow the group of curious tourists to enter his kitchen.  Besides there are very understandable and simple North Italian cuisine and excellent ultrathin pizza in the restaurant.

Today we visited the most Persian-thread hotel in Bodrum. The Ada-hotel impressed by mega hospitable manager and very true atmosphere. It is noticeable that the architects and designers and other brotherhood «of art» were not allowed anywhere near the decor and creating of style. Nevertheless it is difficult to call the hotel with 14 rooms with the word hotel. The huge quantity of love and other real feelings which were put into it within many years have done their work.
It’s impressive. And the point is not that the cast sign «Relais & Chateaux» stands conspicuously at the entrance.

It‘s clear that it pays attention… but…. All the details and all the curls of the emotions after the visiting of the hotel lead away to the deadlock of thoughts. Maybe many of our hotels and health-improving establishments which I have seen are just Mc Donalds or maybe the network Kempinski which we have chosen for the ten-day rest from business set off distinctive the brilliant place – Ada hotel.

I have spoken in a roundabout way…

More by token that I planned to write about the most simple and real pleasures from the food and visiting of the restaurants.

So, Turkey, Bodrum-2009.

It is one of the most pro-American resorts of Turkey. Exactly 6 month in a year Americans-Germans- Frenchmans-Italians and of course Russians of every stripe come here. There are few Japanese here. Also you won’t find Hermeses, Louis Vuittons and other Diors for Japaneses here.

The very knowledgeable concierge have let to know beforehand that even in the low season the flight on the helicopter will cost 6-9 thousands Euros anyway. Also he said that a day in the sea on the separate yacht will cost beginning from 750 Euros. So we decided a question in favour of the lease of mini Hyundai which cost 35 Euro per day and left to that places which were marked provident on the map by the concierge. Late in the evening we were able to visit the restaurant Yesil Valdi near the village Yaliciflik. It will take you about 10 minutes by car from the hotel. It is Turkish village. It is 08.00 pm. Only two tables are occupied in the restaurant. Though there are about 25 tables inside and outside the restaurant. There were no guests in the street. Only one of the waiters has spoken English hardly. All the rest staff has spoken only Turkish. I can’t write anything about the interior-exterior, there is everything unpretentious. But there is everything is clean and decent there. I have made the order shoved my finger into the bowls with mezze and then into the slices of meat at the showcase. I have not eaten such a delicious lamb ever. We were served the three types of the lamb. One type was the grilled diced lamb fillet which was wrapped up in the lavash, the second type was the slice of brisket from the kidney part and the third type was mini chops on the bone. Everything was made by one cook and it was made on the simple chargrill.

Though this restaurant farmed the rams by themselves in the small town Balikesir situated on the west of Turkey. And there is only fresh meat on offer always. I affirm: I have not tasted such a staggering lamb within 15 years of the gastronomic trips and visiting of several dozens of super restaurants with many stars and marked by other “orders”. It was served on the plate at the cost of 2 dollars, on the tablecloth at the cost of 3 dollars more and all these things are on the table at the cost of no more then 20 dollars. They work without a sommelier and other Michelin’s junk. They do not have a menu in a fashionable cardboard or expensive leather cover. Even without the word appellation on the lips. Just the lamb. They even drew up an account by hand. Now I won’t able to read different messes concerning the dishes from this animal in the menus of another restaurants. I will have to order… but with the permanent sense of the compromise. I have inquisitively examined Internet and I did not find any reference of this restaurant.

The next day we have wanted to eat something delicious again. And on the concierge’s advice we have gone to the restaurant Kocadon in the downtown of Bobrum. This place is known enough to the tourists of Bodrum, the location is oblige. The restaurant located in the very downtown at the most pass-through street. It has the cozy yard and the fountain in the center together with the primitive metal furniture and right tablecloths. The staff is dressed in white clothes only. It is looks very expensive and it is harmonious rather for the south of France then for the discotheque Bodrum. Along with this the condition of the restaurant’s premises looks quite strange. There you can see the odd red chairs and the niches with halogen lighting. It looks like someone placed the tables covered with tablecloths in the office.

The tables with mezze and the table with fish were placed in the corner of the yard under the pergola. We did not pay attention to the mezze because the waitress gave us a tip immediately about that they have fresh young artichokes. The grilled artichokes cooked almost without spices have disappeared in three minutes. Then the large fish,one for two persons – the grouper alias comper has followed. The carnivore was cooked on the grill, it was splitted and salted a little. We liked it very much. There were no professional big talk and pseudo-skills. There was no any gastronomic tuning. It was just fresh grilled fish and scrubbed grilled artichokes with a bit of olive oil. It is very important to make a note that food can be found here. And namely now it is time for this food. You can find the names of this food in Kiev also you can find the similar names in Odessa’s shops and restaurants. But it will be only names. You should not try to eat «this».

Again I understand and recommend to order in restaurants of Kiev and Odessa only that food which can be found in the neighborhood and only when it is time for this food.

I am trying to remember Odessa’s specialities…. A flat fish, flounders in its season, mussels, haarder and pikeperch, young potatoes and early garlic, young pork and pork and also veal in spring. It is more then enough so that not to have your’s eye on the freeze foie gras and to forget about the tuna from the cans or from the Metro in the PET kite.

Perhaps someone is under the impression that I call upon to refuse from the professional cooks in the favour of personal selection of food and its elementary cooking. Why not, in fact. Sometimes, of course. But that is the delusion: the gifted cook facets the best food refined, all the rest carve the roses from the pumpkin and amuse themselves with the dishes kind of «Parfait with concase in the Sichuan’s style served with mille-feuille made from the Galapagos’s butan»in Ukraine.

The place of lunch was founded by itself. From the steep I have seen the boarded terraces of decent look. We have walked down and find ourselves at the very passable hotel Masakizi.

There were a lot Dedon’s furniture and excellent desk made of meranti. The stuff consists of Turks with the European appearance. Also there is an excellent view of the bay and the sea in 20 centimeters below the terrace.

It is 5-6 starters and a few main courses in the menu. We have ordered the hamburger and the panini with goat cheese and pear. The beefsteak in the burger was cooked very well and the cheese in panini was very fresh and tasted like it was not from the cans. It is very simple dishes. These dishes cooked very simple and named very simple. But it is really tastefully. I doubted that this hotel sells massively by our tour operators.

Today the trip to Marmaris enters into our gastronomic plans.

As it turned out Marmaris basically specializes in the welcome of Russians and not Russians using the program «all-inclusive» so we left this place fast enough. The local hamam didn’t entice us as the guaranty of cleanness in the public baths presents only on the paper. There is a huge market with a roof just like our 7 KM and with the same assortment in the downtown of Marmaris. Perhaps only the private yacht club stayed in my memory. The several hundreds of the boars, yachts and sailing vessels have been waiting for their owners at the closely guarded territory.

We have had the dinner again in the Yesil Valdi. We were served by the same waiter. The lamb and mutton were the same. It was unreal tastefully and simple. It was real.

I think that they need a little PR and to add the comfort a little. Maybe then London Blumental from the Fat Duck together with Moscow Коm from the Varvara have remembered about the real and have stopped to spend hundreds of thousands for the tales about their own talents in sales of steam and smoke. However British restaurant edition «Restaurant» and local food-writer do not arrive in Turkey and in Ukraine.

Today we go to have a dinner at Ada hotel.

The menu is short.

The staff of the restaurant consists from two persons. One of them is chef and the cook at the same time. The second person helps to serve the guests. May be there is someone behind the scenes but it doesn’t look like this. The restaurant oriented on the lodgers and it may be no more then 28 lodgers even in the season.

The food is satisfactory and it doesn’t pretend to the refinement. In this case the atmosphere and the view are selling here.

We fly to Istanbul. We have reserved a lot of restaurants there. The concierge from the Kempinski has advised us several other restaurants. It’s a pity that we have only three days there, we will miss many things…