Kebapçi Enver Usta

Thanks to a tip from Istanbul Eats and the Guardian's top ten Kebab Restaurants in Istanbul (actually brought to you by the Istanbul Eats crew), I decided to drop by Kebapçi Enver Usta and give their kebabs a shot.  Why? I know many travelers won't eat where the locals do for fear of getting sick, getting inferior meatstuffs, etc.  Well, if that's you, that's ok, but there is a reason to eat on the local economy.  13 lira!  That's what my meal, to include a bottle of water, cost.  I ordered the Adana Kebab and Ezme Salatasi.  Compare that to the 29 euro bill for breakfast at my hotel and you can see that venturing out is well worth it. 

More importantly, the food was delicious!  What made it delicious?  The fresh bread, spread of condiments, fresh meat grilled to perfection (and this particular variety had a nice mix of spices on the inside of it), and cool basement atmosphere.

And they have variety.  But be warned, the place is not easy to find.  When you get close (off the pub trans in the area and start walking up the faint hill), start asking around (or use FourSquare).

Kebapçi Enver Usta  
Şahkulu Mah. Tramvay Sk. No:5, Tünel 
Beyoğlu, İstanbul, Turkey
4 of 5

Hatam - DBX

If you are starving at Dubai International Airport in Terminal 2, avoid Hatam.  It's pretty horrendous - even for airport food.

I got a mix grill because I was in a kebab mood.  You can see the scanty offering, and like most things in Dubai, you pay way too much money for it.  I wanted rice, but they wanted 10 extra AED to sub it.  Too bad I didn't (you caught the 10 fries I got)!  This, by far, was the biggest disappointment in Dubai.  The salad was an absolute joke (see below).  The four meats - lamb, chicken, lamb and chicken koftas - looked good enough, but were so dry they were almost not edible.

Should have went to McDonald's.


Hatam
Dubai International Airport (DBX)
Terminal 2
1 of 5 (on the back of not giving me food poisoning)