A bosom friend is with us at the table this week. Berkok Yüksel, founder and food writer of Apéro, is turning our destination to Smelt&amp;Co., a corner restaurant in Balat.Berkok begins by telling us his profession. “I think the main aim of a food writer is to describe a dish through the facts of culture and history, recent food trends, agricultural policies, technological change, and the restaurant industry that created it.”We are at a modest and friendly table surrounded by numerous wooden chairs. We look out to a magnificent view.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/7/5/1661523713978.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="0.67" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">An inside view of Smelt &amp; Co.Photograph: Deniz Sabuncu<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">“When you think of Smelt &amp; Co. as a fine-dining restaurant, the location is in an unexpected district. Why do you think they chose this neighborhood?” we ask Berkok.“I think Smelt &amp; Co. is not a fine-dining restaurant. I think Samet and Sinan Chefs are two individuals who are not very fond of the word fine-dining. Smelt &amp; Co. has a menu that adopts a technically as well as intellectually modern approach. Its ingredients are locally sourced, and it finds inspiration from various places. However, the restaurant’s chef-customer relationship dynamic, which comes with fine dining, is far from the understanding that transitions between servitude and snobbery, or the attitude that values glamour and luxury. I think the aesthetic atmosphere of the place consists of the individual tastes of the chef-operator duo. The reason why they chose it is also related to the authenticity and charm of the place.”The conversation is getting deeper over time. He mentions that Smelt &amp; Co. certainly contributed to the gentrification process of Balat, but it was not the one that initiated it. “Perhaps Balat is in a special place in this gentrification cycle. It is a neighborhood whose surroundings have changed many times not only over centuries but over millennia” he adds.Let's keep it to ourselves what we ordered from the menu. We leave Balat and Smelt &amp; Co. with a fresh mind and a satisfied stomach. Stay tuned and follow us for future taste maps.

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