Time flies

The end of the year is all about lamenting about what we could not do the past year and promising ourselves that we'll soon forget, probably even before February comes along. It has been another bumpy year for me; lots of working and endless running around without a break or a moment of rest. Yet there have been memorable times with exceptional food, fine wine and good company. Here are some personal highlights from 2015. 

January: I had a lot of good eating experiences but one restaurant I visited is a vivid example of how time flies. At Vino Steak House, I was so impressed by the quality of meat, the wine selection, the very affordable corkage fee added to the market price bottles and, most of all, the hospitality of the owner that I promised myself to be a frequent customer. Alas, time flies and I just could not pay a second visit to Vino Steak the whole year. Now I promise myself that one of my first stops in January will be there, even if it's quick lunch break with a winning huge burger. The whole menu and wine list is worth a tour to Göztepe on the relaxed Anatolian side of Istanbul (http://www.vinosteak.com.tr).

February: "A Drop of Pleasure!" was the name of the exhibition dedicated to Turkish coffee in Topkap? Palace. Designer/curator Ersu Pekin did a great job, given the fact that the time frame was brutally short. I had my pinch of salt in the soup, connecting Ersu with a few crucial people who had been very instrumental in the success of the exhibit, like collector couple Murat Sungur & Nihal Bursa. Though I'm proud to have written an extensive chronology of Turkish coffee in parallel with the world history of coffee, I still regret the enormous time I spent on it and apart from the stress of finishing it in time, even going to the...