Middle Eastern cuisine

Asitane

Istanbul’s Asitane restaurant is a ‘gateway’ to the city’s culinary past

Food

The restaurant re-creates dishes dating back to the early days of the Ottoman Empire.

Dips and Small Bites from The Palestinian Table: (clockwise from left) Taboon Bread; Parsley or Cilantro (Coriander) Tahini Spread; Walnut and Garlic Labaneh; Deep-Fried Cheese and Za’atar Parcels; Garlic and Cucumber Labaneh; Avocado, Labaneh, and Preser

‘The Palestinian Table’ is as much a memoir as a cookbook

Food
Tacos al pastor from Carmela's Mexican Restaurant in Beaumont, Texas.

Thank the Ottoman Empire for the taco al pastor

Food
A vegetarian kebab is seen at OUR restaurant near the Saint-Lazare train station in Paris October 27, 2014.

The French far right is fighting what it calls ‘the kebabization’ of France

Food
This 12-year-old chef is representing Rhode Island at a Kids State Dinner at the White House. Sharon Hammond-Dowie

A young chef’s Middle Eastern-inspired, healthy lunch recipe wins him an invitation to the White House

Lifestyle & Belief
Talet Cagdas, the owner of Gaziantep's Imam Cagdas restaurant, pours a sugary melted butter mixture over one of the day's first batches of Baklava. It's the finishing touch on a labor intensive sweet.

Pistachio prices are through the roof, and Turkey’s baklava makers are panicking

Pistachio farming is a pretty complicated business. For one thing, only the female trees bear fruit. And only every other year. So even small problems with a harvest can have big effects, like wild spikes in price.

Talet Cagdas, the owner of Gaziantep's Imam Cagdas restaurant, pours a sugary melted butter mixture over one of the day's first batches of Baklava. It's the finishing touch on a labor intensive sweet.

Pistachio prices are through the roof, and Turkey’s baklava makers are panicking

Pistachio farming is a pretty complicated business. For one thing, only the female trees bear fruit. And only every other year. So even small problems with a harvest can have big effects, like wild spikes in price.

L'As Du Fallafel

Why food writer David Tanis really (really!) likes this Paris falafel shop

Arts, Culture & Media

L’As Du Fallafel is popular with local and tourists alike… and Lenny Kravitz ate here, too!

Turkish pastry chef bakes Barack Obama into a baklava

Global Politics

A Turkish baker, who says he had high hopes for Barack Obama when he was elected U.S. president back in 2008, says he’s disappointed with how the whole term has turned out. But he’s baked Obama into a baklava, hoping the sugary dessert will help Obama take a sweeter tact with his foreign policy.

The World

What Will Recent Arrivals to the United States Serve for Thanksgiving?

Arts, Culture & Media

Many Americans with family roots elsewhere in the world celebrate Thanksgiving meals that don’t include turkey or cranberry sauce.