A quick-ish road trip lunch, sort of

We said goodbye to dear friends and family. We packed our bags, loaded up the van, and headed north. To Cappadocia!

Around lunchtime, though, we were getting hungry. So we stopped in Nigde for a little bite to eat, at the Arisoylar Restaurant.

I went with a drink that has become a standby for me on this trip, ayran. This version was interesting because it was served frothy. Plus, they had an enormous ayran fountain that recirculated the yogurt drink to create the foam in the first place. Very different from the plastic bottle I would normally get. And tasty to boot.

We finally got our hands on some icli kofte. This appetizer is a loose meatball surrounded by pounded bulgur. This rendition was excellent, as the meat was superb inside, well seasoned and quite juicy. It was a bummer to have to share this with the whole table.

Another shepherd's salad. Nothing notable with this one.

And then another new dish: iskender kebap. Slices of doner covered in a rich tomato sauce served over yogurt. This was nice though no part was really bursting with flavor. The grilled vegetables did look beautiful, however.

A mix of peynirli and kiymali pide. Very good and snapped up by the crowd, as it managed to avoid being too greasy.

And, lastly, a kusbashi casserole. This was a miss. The lamb meat inside was tough and gamey and the peppers added no flavor. Needs more work!

A bit of a disappointing pit stop. I kind of wish we had just gotten a table full of icli kofte and called it at that.