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. (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. (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. (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. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)

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. (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. (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. (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. (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.