The Islak

Directly translated, islak is the Turkish word for “wet,” making this Turkish late-night delight the famous wet burger. There couldn’t be a better name for this dish.

It is believed that this burger was invented at the fast-food cafe Kristal Bufe in Istanbul’s Taksim Square in the 1970s. A few friends who had visited Istanbul raved about this burger, and Anthony Bourdain included the islak briefly in an episode of No Reservations in 2009, saying, “This takes soggy to new extremes. It’s quite good.” But it was my chef friend Johann Cottier of Frenchette Bakery in New York City who ate a handful of them in Taksim Square, came home, and described for me in vivid detail what they tasted like. I have still not had the real thing in Istanbul, but after endless research, testing, and mouthwatering conversations with Chef Johann, I’m pretty sure we’ve gotten very close. Regardless, these are some ridiculously tasty burgers.