Time for another Istanbul foodie adventure. And adventurous is what you have to be to start your day with a sheep's head sandwich.

My Airbnb host suggested that I try 'kelle' (the meat from a boiled sheep's head) as it's a local delicacy that's been enjoyed in the city for hundreds of years. The best place to try it, she said, was Muammer Usta in the Beyoğlu area which has been in operation since 1890, through 4 generations of the same family.

Muammer Usta's Kelle joint isn't actually a restaurant but a wooden stall out on the street. The stall has glass windows with the sheep skulls on display, so you can see what you are in for.

The skulls are cleaned and boiled in the morning, then refrigerated. It's at the stall at the time of ordering the food that the skulls are cracked open and the meat is carved out. The three cuts of meat are the cheek, the fat behind the eye and the tongue. No brain.

The meat was fatty and delicious. It was seasoned with herbs but lightly enough not to overpower the taste of the meat. It was like eating some high quality meat from a delicatessen.

I was served the meat with a warm, freshly backed baguette so I made myself a kelle sandwich. That made it even more yummy.

I took a recommendation from the staff for a good place to eat kokorec. Kokoreç is a sheep's organs with the intestines wrapped around it. Unfortunately and surprisingly, the place that was recommended, Ozzie's Kokoreç, was reservations only so I had to find another place.

I wandered the streets of Beyoglu for a while and didn't find any Kokoreç. I decided to ask a shoe cleaner and after he brightened up my 3 year old pair of North Face hiking shoes, he took me to Galata Kokoreç, near Galata Tower.

Again, I had my kokoreç as a sandwich, just like I did with the kelle. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it just tasted like a chopped meat sandwich. I couldn't tell I was eating a bunch of organs and intestines.

After that big lunch I went back to my Airbnb apartment to relax and freshen up, only to get back out and continue the food explorations at dinner time.

I went on the hunt for an islak burger. Islak is the Turkish word for wet, so it's a 'wet burger'. It's a famous fast food in Istanbul. It's called wet because the bun is soaked in tomato sauce and it steamed.

I got my islak burger from the same place I've been getting kebabs, Taksim Doner on Taksim Square. The staff there are incredibly friendly so I always look forward to going there.

The wet burger was tasty but a bit light on the meat. It was only 7.50 lira so you can't expect much but I would happily pay a lot more for one with a thicker beef patty.

The bun, soaked in an Italian style tomato sauce, was so soft and delicious. The texture is like one of those Chinese steamed buns.

I ended my day of food exploring with a trip to one of the cheeky, tricky Turkish ice cream men. A happy end to a fun day of stuffing my face in Istanbul.

📍 Sheep' s head
Restaurant name: Beyoğlu Kelle Söğüş Muammer Usta
Address: Hüseyin ağa mahallesi kamer Hatun Caddesi, Balık Sk. No 2, 34435 Beyoğlu/İstanbul

📍 Kokoreç
Restaurant name: Galata Kokorec & Midye
Address: Bereketzade, Yüksek Kaldırım Cd. No:12, 34421 Beyoğlu/İstanbul

📍 Islak Burger
Restaurant name: Taksim Döner
Address: Taksim Square, Istanbul

00:00 Kelle (Sheep's Head)
16:46 Ozzie's Kokoreç
18:19 Orange Juice
19:58 Shoe Cleaner
23:01 Galata Kokoreç
34:34 Lemonade
36:53 Antique Shops
41:34 Islak Burger 1
47:18 Islak Burger 2
49:18 Fresh Ayran
50:43 Turkish Ice Cream

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