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A kebab mixed grill platter at the Royal Restaurant and Bar allows patrons to sample much of the menu.

A kebab mixed grill platter at the Royal Restaurant and Bar allows patrons to sample much of the menu. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)

It’s easy to find food in American Alley, the strip of restaurants and shops outside the gate of Incirlik Air Base in south-central Turkey.

Just walking out the gate, you’re greeted by cooks waving from their restaurant windows. After dodging impatient traffic, you’ll face a choice. To the left is Royal Restaurant and Bar, and to the right is Moonlight Restaurant.

Both offer Turkish food and cater to American tastes with English-speaking staff, English menus and alcoholic drinks.

After entering Royal Restaurant and Bar, I received fresh bread covered in sesame seeds. I tore it apart and dug into a clay bowl of warm hummus.

This style of hummus, which is the norm in Turkey, had a richer, silkier texture than the refrigerated hummus I’m used to. Each bite felt like being wrapped up in a warm blanket on a frigid day — true comfort food.

It was clear that this was a popular spot among the troops, as American airmen were tucking into the dishes around me. Framed photos of customers adorned the walls.

A waiter brought over a salty, cheesy pizza-style bread and drizzled a sweet plumlike sauce on top, creating a delectable combination of flavors.

Then came a mixed kebab platter, complete with lamb chops, chicken wings, french fries and grilled peppers. It was OK.

Two plates of olives, one green and one black, provided a refreshing palate cleanser. I skipped the salad, which was buried under an avalanche of cheese, but it may be a hit with others.

The Royal had about 20 types of alcoholic drinks, including the worrisome-sounding B-52 shot.

Cengiz Durmaz, owner of the Moonlight Restaurant outside of Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, spoons garlic sauce onto borek, a fried pastry filled with chicken, on Feb. 24, 2023.

Cengiz Durmaz, owner of the Moonlight Restaurant outside of Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, spoons garlic sauce onto borek, a fried pastry filled with chicken, on Feb. 24, 2023. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)

A food stand vendor prepares shirdan, a local delicacy in which rice is stuffed inside of a sheep’s stomach, at his cart in American Alley outside Incirlik Air Base, Turkey.

A food stand vendor prepares shirdan, a local delicacy in which rice is stuffed inside of a sheep’s stomach, at his cart in American Alley outside Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)

Cheesy bread arrived with a sweet sauce to drizzle on top at the Royal Restaurant and Bar outside Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, February 25, 2023.

Cheesy bread arrived with a sweet sauce to drizzle on top at the Royal Restaurant and Bar outside Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, February 25, 2023. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)

Green olives provide a refreshing accompaniment to heavier foods as part of appetizers at the Royal Restaurant and Bar outside Incirlik Air Base, Turkey.

Green olives provide a refreshing accompaniment to heavier foods as part of appetizers at the Royal Restaurant and Bar outside Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)

American airmen eat a variety of dishes at the Royal Restaurant and Bar outside Incirlik Air Base, Turkey.

American airmen eat a variety of dishes at the Royal Restaurant and Bar outside Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)

The Royal Restaurant and Bar offers Turkish food and alcoholic drinks, and caters to American troops at Incirlik Air Base.

The Royal Restaurant and Bar offers Turkish food and alcoholic drinks, and caters to American troops at Incirlik Air Base. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)

The owner of the Moonlight Restaurant outside of Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, said he invested nearly $150,000 in renovations after closing it in 2016.

The owner of the Moonlight Restaurant outside of Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, said he invested nearly $150,000 in renovations after closing it in 2016. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)

Shirdan begins with a section of a sheep or lamb’s stomach, which is stuffed with rice and seasoned before getting sewn shut and boiled. The delicacy is available for about a dollar in American Alley outside Incirlik Air Base, Turkey.

Shirdan begins with a section of a sheep or lamb’s stomach, which is stuffed with rice and seasoned before getting sewn shut and boiled. The delicacy is available for about a dollar in American Alley outside Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)

Ergun Payam, a cook at the Moonlight Restaurant, looks for potential customers leaving Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, on Feb. 24, 2023.

Ergun Payam, a cook at the Moonlight Restaurant, looks for potential customers leaving Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, on Feb. 24, 2023. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)

Across the street at Moonlight Restaurant, owner Cengiz Durmaz was hard at work spooning garlic sauce onto borek, a flaky fried pastry filled with chicken.

Durmaz invited me into the kitchen to watch him cook and offered me borek, olives and bread. The just-fried pastry crackled when I bit into it, and the sauce complemented it perfectly.

Durmaz revealed to me that he had invested nearly $150,000 in renovating the Moonlight Restaurant after it closed in 2016, when many troops were barred from leaving the base due to security concerns.

His efforts were not in vain; the restaurant’s eating area has a more modern feel than the Royal. There is also an upper-floor open-air section that seems destined to create fond memories on long summer nights.

I could picture myself sipping a cold Efes pilsner and chowing down on some hummus while watching the stars twinkle overhead.

Although the food at the Royal is a bit cheaper, it was hard to pick a winner between them on the taste front.

Surprisingly, my favorite dish on American Alley was found down the street at a local food stand. The vendor was preparing shirdan, a local delicacy in which rice is stuffed in part of a sheep’s stomach.

It’s not for the faint of heart, but at a cost of only a dollar, it proved more than worth the risk to me. The fillings suffused the dish with flavorful juices, making it rich and savory.

And if you’re not into offal, there’s an American-style fried chicken and burger shop directly next to it.

Royal Restaurant and Bar/Moonlight Restaurant

Location: Both directly outside the Incirlik Air Base gate exit on Ataturk Road in Incirlik Village, Adana.

Hours: Both open daily, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

Prices: Most dishes are between $8 and $12 at Royal, with a few as high as $17 at Moonlight. Appetizers are $2 to $5. Beers and shots are $3 to $5. Most of the mixed drinks at Royal are $8.

Information: Find Royal online at facebook.com/royalrestaurantbar; (+90) 322 332 86 36. Moonlight at (+90) 535 743 80 88.

author picture
J.P. Lawrence reports on the U.S. military in Afghanistan and the Middle East. He served in the U.S. Army from 2008 to 2017. He graduated from Columbia Journalism School and Bard College and is a first-generation immigrant from the Philippines.

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