First morning back in Istanbul calls for another fantastic Turkish breakfast

I've landed back in Istanbul, this time for a longer stay of two weeks in the country. And, to my parents more family has been added: Katy, Jenika, Anshul, and Sahana. A full house! Excellent.

Though Katy is not yet in town, we anticipate her arrival and decide to hurry her flight along by having a delicious Turkish breakfast. Wandering down from our apartment near the Galata Tower (a great find!), we turn down a side street and spot the Caffe Privato. Though deserted, it has a wonderful vibe and an open-air patio off the back that looks into an empty field. Immediately, the owners and staff greet us warmly and I begin to think we'll be well taken care of.

The first set of plates to make it to the table brings fresh feta cheese, homemade strawberry preserves, and chive and onion taquito-like fired goodness. The strawberry jam makes me want to sing from the rooftops. It is sumptuous, with whole strawberries mixed with the right amount of pectin and a little bit of sugar. The result is divine. The fresh cheese provides the perfect salty contrast to that sweet deliciousness. The taquitos are nice too, with the mix retaining some of the bite of onion.

Next is a plate of marinated olives, homemade butter on ice, and mini pancakes. The butter is so fresh it has to be continually cooled down by ice cubes to retain its shape. It is delightful. That plus the jam on a pancake and I wonder why I ever eat anything else. The olives, too, are great. Just the right amount of wrinkle, a marinade that brings some dried herbs into the mix, and I might have polished off the whole plate myself if others weren't around.

Third comes the salad, tomato and cucumber with parsley and mint. It is the mint that is the standout in this dish. It takes it from fresh and nice to somewhere close to heavenly. One helping of this is surely not enough.

And, lastly, some lightly scrambled eggs. I would love to learn how these were scrambled as the yolks and whites remained separate though the eggs were well mixed. They were a little runny too, which I love, almost like chopped up poached eggs. Added to that was a little bit of hot sauce and these were great, a nice end to a fantastic breakfast spread.

Postscript: It turned out to be so good that we went back immediately the following day. For our loyalty we were treated to a new dish, this take on a gozleme. The filling from the taquitos the day prior had been transferred to this preparation. Even better! Less char and more flavor.