I was given the task of finding something we could afford to
drink on a list where Mondavi Woodbridge products as well as
the Pamukkale Senofon stuff were marked up to L75 a bottle.
I chose a pleasantly neutral Thracian Cabernet at a price
that I could get a bottle of Pichon-Lalande of a good year
for at the wine merchant's.

Water was L18 for sparkling, 20 for still. We apparently
drank one each.

Okay, we were in this incredibly luxurious setting magically
overlooking the Bosporus, with the twinkling lights of the
shipping and of Asia in the distance. The appointments were
fit for royalty, and there was a waiter for each person.
Cavils about price are minor by comparison to the rarity of
the occasion. The food was pretty decent, too.

Amuses came to the table: a little plate of baba ghannouj
came with a sort of bolognese sauce next to it, the effect
being a deconstructed moussaka; beautiful soft sesame
flatbread served with black-eyed peas, olive spread, and
cheese mousse was appetizing as could be.

The menu itself is of a conceit - half classic Turkic
cuisine, half modern riffs on ancient themes.

I ordered three appetizers at about 25 or 30 each, instead
of a main course at 64, which I thought excessive and
probably not as interesting as three appetizers. A morel
bourek with morel sauce was liked but not well liked -
probably because it was like any mushroom and puff pastry
dish you've ever seen. I'm sure some unfortunate apprentice
spent hours in the back room stretching the pastry, and some
saucier imported from France or at least Cordon Bleu trained
put the final fillip on the dish, but you or I could take a
block of Pepperidge Farm dough and make something maybe 90%
as good (i.e., good enough to make friends squeal with
delight) for a couple bucks. Large duck manti with duck
liver (their description) had unexpected aspects. The
large manti were maybe medium size, the filling sort of
mystery poultry (to me it tasted, appropriately, more like
turkey), and the wrapper kind of coarse. I'd made lobster
manti once off a remembered recipe, and the outside was not
to my liking - it's nice to know that perhaps the unniceness
was authentic; but the liver ... I'd hoped for foie gras,
but this was a sizable chunk of liver garnish that was as
good as possible without being that costly substance. I've
seen the puree the liver and mix it half and half with duck
fat trick, but an integral piece? the only thing I can think
of is a sous vide in extra fat in a water bath preparation.
I'd ordered the sour lentil soup as dessert, but after
tasting this truly aristocratic substance, I changed my
order to a second serving of duck liver. As it turns out,
nobody else at table wanted any dessert at all, and I didn't
want my gluttony to be stared at, so I cancelled the order,
saving my bank account for another day.

Joining the 6 Musketeers as described earlier were birthday
boy szg, flysurfer, and rcs85553. The party broke up pretty
late, everyone wanting to savor to the fullest the
experience of being in a palace and treated (albeit with a
dubious eye) like nobility. Afterward, lili and I joined szg
for what he characterized as a beautiful boat ride on the
Bosporus from Besiktas to Karakoy: unfortunately the service
had ended for the season, and we had to take the bus (same
price, not so much fun) to Kabatas and then the tram. He had
to go to the Crowne Plaza, a couple stops farther than ours.
I hope he stayed dry, as we got back to the Sultanahmet
Suites just in time, as as soon as we got in, the heavens
opened up.