the neverending story

Once upon there was a little girl. In her first few years, both of her parents were working and her grandmother babysat her during the day. Her mother worried that she would become too spoiled and so she switched careers to stay at home and return to her first career-love, children. 

The girl spent almost every weekday with her mom from then on. They would drive one town over and stay in another family's home as her mom babysat and she made one of her first real friends. The girl's name was Katie and they were inseparable, probably because Danielle was a bossy little one and insisted upon it. At first they played only with each other but then the time for preschool came and three days a week they went their separate ways. To make up for it though, their moms signed them up for dance class together.

Eventually Katie moved on in her extracurricular life, and so did the little girl. They went to different schools and Danielle's mom got a new job. Yet the occasional play date, the weekends of writing classes, and the summers of art camps kept them friends. Nonetheless, by the time high school hit, they'd all but lost touch. Then chance happened. In her first few weeks of college, Katie realized that her randomly chosen roommate's best friend went to Danielle's college. She messaged her and the two started keeping in touch again. Sure, it wasn't consistent, but throughout the next few years the emails and facebook-stalking kept them informed about the other's lives.

By the time graduation was upon them, they were eager to see each other again. Throughout the summer of 2010 they made, cancelled, and re-made numerous plans for drinks and dinner. Katie was excited to hear about Danielle's road trip plans and reconnected her with her own brother who was going to school in New Orleans. When Danielle came back, they were eager to catch up once more, this time with more recent stories of family, career, and relationships over full-bodied wine and coincidental reliefs to their Turkish food cravings.

That would be the history of my childhood friend Katie and I :). We had dinner together last Thursday. Earlier in the week I had proposed a few eatery options conveniently located near my office and on her ride home because apparently I still have control issues. Out of the three she chose Beyoglu. I was pleased.

Despite having been to Istanbul, I really haven't had a fair taste of authentic Turkish cuisine. Acquiring a horrid intestinal infection within 24 hours of being there didn't really allow for one. For my meal I ordered a glass of the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Vegetarian Platter including the best hummus in the entire world, yalanci dolma (stuffed grapes leaves), kisir (a cracked wheat salad), ezme (spicy chopped vegetables),  patlican salatasi (mashed eggplant salad), cacik (a thick homemade yogurt) and I few other things I couldn't quite identify.

Scooped up with three fabulous chunks of their fresh bread, each bite was absolutely divine. My dear friend, Katie, on the other hand, went in the entirely opposite direction and enjoyed the Meat Special platter. She liked hers a lot too. I had a wonderful time and cannot wait to meet her again for coffee before I leave. (Where am I going? Stay tuned later this week to find out).

The next day at work I was greeted by Ottoman-inspired fare again. The office, you see, was having their annual holiday party lunch and had ordered platters from that same Beyoglu. It was delicious and my plate looked very similar to the one I'd had the night before. Lamb and minced beef may be popular in many dishes, but believe it or not, many a times vegetable platters are the star of midday meals.

Afterwards we enjoyed a much more American dessert with mini cupcakes. They were the same that my beloved ex-coworker, Shirley, had bought for me on my last day at Quirky. In total, I probably ate nearly a dozen by the time I left that evening. And although I wouldn't be able to tell you how each and every single kind tasted, I can tell you that the brownie, peanut butter and jelly, chocolate chip pancake, and pb cookie varieties are fantastic. Oops? As if.

I'll have you know that I haven't craved sugar since then. I'll also admit that I, once again, ate a Turkish veggie mezze the following day. Yes, that would be my third in three days. Between the leftovers from my restaurant meal and from the overestimated order at work, I had no choice. Thank God for that! I guess some things--like good food and great friends--don't really ever change.