Even though I happily gorged on various sweets while in Istanbul, normally I prefer straight-up ice cream or candy to any sort of prepared desserts. I can easily pass on cookies, brownies, baklava and especially pies and cakes if good ice cream is available. And in Istanbul, "good" is an extreme understatement.

Mado is a local ice-cream chain that I indulged in daily on my first trip to Istanbul. Even though it didn't compare texture-wise to the ultra-gooey maraş dondurma of the South, in other parts of the country the stretchy concoction only comes in chocolate, vanilla, pistachio, and sometimes one other flavor.

Mado takes the same secret ingredient from Maraş—salep, powdered orchid bulbs—and updates it for the sophisticated Istanbuli palate. Mado's mouthwatering flavors include dark raspberry, almond, cherry, mango, tiramisu, caramel and so much more. Mado's chocolate is especially divine, and normally I don't like chocolate ice cream; it rarely tastes like real chocolate to me. Last year I was delighted to find that chocolate maraş dondurma in the south was superb, tasting like cold fudge; the texture is key to the deliciousness of this flavor.

If you can resist, a little time at room temperature brings out the best in the ice cream's texture—this is why traditional vendors use a large paddle to beat the ice cream in deep containers, working in warmth and stretchiness. We generally dove right in, but with so many different flavors to try, the ice cream would soften enough eventually to maximum viscosity. On our last night we threw out all restraint, got 3 different flavors each while gobbling everyone else's choices, topping it off with a couple final bowls of the winning flavors. Calories don't count on vacation.

The owner was incredibly pleasant. On one night we were the only customers, so he kindly took the time to explain the work that went into making Mado's special ice cream and discussed the magic of salep with us. He helpfully told us we could purchase salep powder ourselves at the Spice Bazaar (to make hot drinks at home), but told us truthfully that we probably couldn't find or afford any that matched his quality.

On our final trip to Mado we spent 8YTL each, but we really had a lot of ice cream. Normal price is probably a third of that. We excused it because we'll never get ice cream like that again—New York is an ice cream lover's town, but that texture is unmatched and of course Turkish price is much better.

Mado Dondurma (Turkish only)

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