Adana takes its food very seriously, and the most serious food of all is the Adana kebab — coarsely hand-chopped lamb mixed with hot pepper and tail fat, pressed onto a flat sword-like skewer and grilled over charcoal. It is registered with the EU as a protected geographical indication and the rules are strict: the meat must be hand-chopped (not minced), the seasoning must be salt and red pepper alone, and the skewer must be a particular width. Eat it on flatbread, with grilled tomatoes, raw onion macerated in sumac, and a glass of cold şalgam — a fermented turnip-and-purple-carrot juice that is sharp, salty and the perfect counterbalance to the chilli heat.
The classic kebab strip is Kazancılar Çarşısı near the Ulu Camii, but most locals will tell you that the best version in town is at Kebapçı Yüzevler in Reşatbey or at Onbaşılar near the river. Open-air courtyard restaurants up on Tepebağ serve the kebab alongside the city's other essentials: bici bici (rosewater shaved-ice dessert), analı kızlı (stuffed meatball soup in tomato broth) and şırdan (a delicately spiced sheep-stomach dish that is more interesting than it sounds).
For breakfast, try a kahvaltı salonu on Atatürk Caddesi — long tables of cheeses, olives, jams, eggs, fresh bread and pots of tea.