Turkey

But not what you’re thinking; Christine got back yesterday with birthday presents, (among which, some beautiful plates) Turkish delight with pistachios, and a camera stuffed full of pictures of boring things like Hagia Sophia and all the Greek ruins along the Aegean coast- which I already visited and dutifully drew like 16 years ago. But I did find one pertinent picture. Turkish food, like Greek (but don’t let either hear you say it) is very good but very limited; pretty much the same menu everywhere you go, but the ingredients are fresh and local. (This is true for Mediterranean Turkey- farther inland the cuisine may well change.) In any case, here a typical plate of appetizers, which in keeping with the nature of appetizers the world over are better than the main course and thus inevitably ruin your appetite because you ate too damn many. Hence the name.