Street Food mas grande: Kelle Sogus
Turkey is a paradise for offal lovers. From very late night drinker's remedy Tripe soup to street vendor's cleaned intestine specialty Kokorec (wiki entry link) there is literally no part of the animal that is not eaten.
The westernmost metropolis of Turkey, Izmir, has a very special offal delicacy to offer. It's name is Kelle Sögüs, and it is not well known outside of Izmir. Thanks to my lovely offal aficionado girlfriend from Izmir, I got to taste and fall in love with Sogus.
Kelle means "head" in Turkish, and kelle sogus includes all the edible parts of the head of a lamb. I will not list you the ingredients, instead I will remind you of Von Bismarck's quote about sausages and laws (link to the quote). The meat is marinated, boiled and served cold in pita-like bread with minced onions, parsley and cumin. Enjoyed with a cold ayran, it may be my favorite street food, as the picture of me crying when I am eating sogus above demonstrates.
Even though it can be found in Istanbul (link to the article) if one searches for it, the place to eat sogus is Izmir. I've eaten one in Kizlaragasi Han a touristic destination in Izmir, and fell in love. I tried it again in the seaside resort of Cesme and was not disappointed. You may find the addresses on my Culinary Tips Map (link to the map).
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