Street Foods in Ankara

Last night I had the pleasure of tasting two of the most popular street foods in Ankara.  I tasted mussels and a tripe sandwich from two street stands in the popular bar-filled area around Tunali Hilmi Caddesi.  They were both fantastic, although the tripes were so spicy they made me cry!! (FYI, tripes are intestines.)

The mussels are cooked with rice inside.  When they serve you, they break the mussel's shell open for you and squeeze a ton of lemon juice on it.  In fact, the predominant flavor that you taste is that of the lemon juice. Absolutely delicious! 

The tripe sandwich is a known hangover cure in Turkey.  The tripes are grilled right in front of you and served on a bread bun.  Before grilling, they are heavily coated in a spice mixture which includes chile peppers and oregano. You can ask for a less spicy or a non-spicy version of it, but I wanted to try the real deal. Although I'm usually OK with very spicy food, it was a little too much for me and I had to order an ayran (a yogurt drink) to cool my mouth off!    

Also, a third street dish becoming more and more popular in the streets of Ankara is boiled corn.   I'm interested in your stories of street foods you've eaten in different places.  Please share with us!