Best of Bodrum

Dining on the Mediterranean is always heavenly, made possible by perhaps all the same qualities that make an excellent Mediterranean mezze: sun and breeze—flavors like citrus, mint, charcoal; simple and casual—olive-oil grilled fish, fresh round vegetables; with a view of the water—textures like yogurt, sea salt, soft bread. Hence the reason for actually being on the Mediterranean while enjoying—in my opinion—the best food in the world. It can't be matched!

Bodrum was an oasis among oases. Landing at the airstrip 30 minutes from our hotel, dry sandy suburbs tumbled into a sparkling Aegean sea, clusters of green brush massing the closer you got to the water. But pulling up to the Kempinski on Barbaros Bay, glittering white sand met crystal clear turquoise water and lush greenery. Infinity pools, mock-mosque sticking out of the shallow water, day beds with palm trees and umbrellas = instant beachside calm.

Now the food. You knew it was going to be over the top at a place like this, but not how ridiculous the buffet would be. An entire room made for a buffet was filled with breakfast options each morning, so much food that it overflowed into the sitting room outside. Yogurts of every flavor and tartness, fruit compotes in giant bowls ranged from fresh pineapple in sugar water to sour cherries in liqueur to dried apricots in honey. Bland cheeses, made specifically for hot weather, spicy and thinly sliced meats, even smoked salmon were tempting. But I was mostly impressed with the range of fruits and fruit compotes, something different to try every morning. There's nothing better than tart cherries and sweet raisins topping cool, plain yogurt, smoother than anything I've tasted and somehow a hybrid of the thick Greek-style yogurts I find at home and the thin too-sweet variety. The perfect start for a day at the beach.

We ventured to try the buffet one evening at the hotel, a cop out to going into town being 40 minutes in a hot car ride away. It was equally impressive in size and breadth of options, but you can only pile so much on your plate when that pool, reminding you of your bathing suit and the body that needs to fit in it tomorrow, are so nearby! A giant swordfish hung in the center of the buffet was offered as one fresh fish option. You could slice a piece of your choosing and they'd cook it however you like.

On a more adventurous evening, we made our way into town with dozens of restaurant recommendations. The downtown area existed along two swooping beaches on either side of a medieval castle. On one side, boats filled a harbor lined by restaurants. On the other side, a pebbly beach provided about 20 feet of public space between the row of restaurants and bay. We picked a restaurant on the harbor side, specializing in, surprisingly, Italian food, tapas and...sushi. The owner was from California (typical) and loved the idea of mixing cuisines that both focus so much on fresh ingredients. We started with a California roll, stuffed mushroom tapas, and my main was deliciously recently caught fruitti de mare over angel hair pasta.

Our last night in Bodrum, we chose a Bavarian-styled restaurant on the water of the beach side of town overlooking the swoop of sand and the castle in the distance. (Interestingly, the marker at the other end of the beach was also what looked like a giant, ancient castle, but was in fact a dance club that could accommodate thousands.) We ate some of our favorite mezze to savor our last night in Turkey, including their version of mint and yogurt dip, cacik, baba ghannouj, marinated calamari and spicy tomato paste. The tomato paste was a perfect compliment to my simple chicken skewer. I could live on mezze. Though I'm not sure it's becuase of the type of Mediterranean food it tends to be, or the fact that you get to try lots of little bites of lots of flavors. All best enjoyed with a chilled glass of Raki, of course.