first-ever visit to Kervan, Itaewon

Met my buddy Charles at Kervan, a Turkish-ish joint in Itaewon. The food was good, although it was a bit skimpy for the price (Charles, who probably weighs around half a Kevin, might disagree), and while the main components of the meal were nicely done, it felt as if other elements weren't given very much thought, e.g., the sliced dill pickles and jalapeño peppers that have nothing to do with Turkish cuisine, and the white and red dipping sauces, which tasted fine, but which seemed more like American condiments than anything Turkish or Middle Eastern. That said, I loved the grilled meats, and both the hummus and flatbreads were nicely done, as were the puffy Turkish rolls served as appetizers. Some pics follow.

A kebab medley:

The hummus and some lavash (flatbread):

My attempt at making a mini-shawarma:

The "twin pide":

I swear we didn't deliberately arrange this:

For Round 2 after Kervan (which means "caravan" in Turkish, I think), we moved over to CoffeeSmith, a café we've been to before. Charles initially chafed at his tea, but he eventually decided it wasn't as bad as all that. I enjoyed my bottle of Bundaberg Ginger Beer and my waffle plate. The waffles were crisp on the outside and tender on the inside; I couldn't complain. Charles ordered a beautiful slice of five-layer cake with a thin-but-rich chocolate ganache; he allowed me to sample a bit of it, and it was perfect—a far cry from the usual boring Korean cakes that never have enough butter, sugar, and eggs.

Charles had to go bake bread, and I had to go watch the final two episodes of Season 1 of "The Boys" (which I'll be reviewing soon, along with Season 2 of "American Gods"), but for three hours, a good time was had by all.