İzmir Kumru Restaurant

İzmir Kumru – the local restaurant

Kumru is a Turkish sandwich on a bun, typically with cheese, tomato, and sausage. The name of this street food translates as ‘collared dove’ and derives from the shape of sandwich. The original kumru ring-shaped and covered with sesame seeds. The present one appeared in the mid-20th century, and soon became very popular. The secret of its popularity is in its tasty and soft bread.

The requisite cheese is kasseri. Its a Greco-Turkish sheeps’ milk variety with a texture similar to provolone and flavor somewhere between butter and lamb. This pre-cooking gives the sandwich an extra bit of crusty. Browned bite—like those edges of other grilled cheese sandwiches, where an errant bit of cheese slips out and gets all crispy – but all over.

Restaurant placed near Starbucks Marina.