Tasting Notes
Beğendik Abi is on Tatar Cami Street in the historic centre of Urla, in the Malgaca market area. It started in 1999 as a small lokanta and is now listed in the Michelin Guide. As in a traditional lokanta, the dishes are laid out on a counter and you choose by looking; most can be ordered as a small (az) or full portion.
Lamb, köfte and Urla güveci
The meat side includes Urla Güveci, a clay-pot stew, Elbasan tava — lamb baked under a yoghurt and egg crust — and kuzu eti keşkek, lamb cooked with pounded wheat. Lamb also appears with artichoke hearts, with şevket-i bostan (a wild Aegean thistle), and with arapsaçı greens. There are kadınbudu and ekşili köfte, çökertme kebabı and stuffed cabbage leaves.
Olive-oil dishes and wild greens
The zeytinyağlı section is where Urla's Aegean and Cretan influences show most. Sakız artichokes, çipohorta and mixed wild greens, sinkonta made from pumpkin, celery with quince, leeks with dried tomato and winter greens change with the seasons. For dessert there are homemade baklava, Girit böreği tatlısı, kalburabastı and seasonal quince and pumpkin desserts, and tea after the meal is on the house.
“Walk through the old market area first, then choose from the counter: a small Urla güveci or keşkek with two olive-oil dishes, and homemade baklava with your free tea.”
LR Kitchen — field note