I used to find most of it disappointing at best. My tastes have loosened up quite a bit since then because not only did I give up church, but I'm far removed from the area now.
Their cookies, however, were not. Anise... blech. :D
I have the same fixation with galaktoboureko (so many semolinas that are not grainy enough) but hardly anyone serves it :(
Maybe it should be obvious, but I couldn't figure it out. :)
Halal Green Apple Market, 1042 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94109
There's an enormous difference between the Turkish Delight sold in the grocery stores here, versus Haci Bekir. The same is true of the Arak I buy and the jahnoun. Lord what I wouldn't give for real jahnoun - the frozen stuff is such shite.
Cooking confectionery is a real trial. For Turkish delight, you heat a large amount of sugar for a very long time making it hover between a very tight temperature tolerance. If you go over you make toffee, if you go under you make caramel. After a few hours, you mix in the cornflour slurry, mix for a few more hours, and then pour to set.
In my experience, your cornflour lumps (three hours wasted), the temperature spikes or drops (fail), sticks (fail) or you get hot sticky napalm on extremities.
However, if you pull it off it is delightful, and your Turkish friends will be very impressed!
Why can't you use halal beef gelatin?
Classical Turkish Cooking by Ayla Algar is, well, a classic. People often think the recipes aren't descriptive enough. But also it's quite comprehensive and has a lot of history too.
Aegean Flavors by chef Didem Senol is a wonderful take on aegean cuisine in Turkey - highly related to greek food.
Oklava by chef Selin Kiazim is a bit more of a modern / upscale restaurant take - she runs one.
Claudia Roden's book is not only about Turkey but quite great.
Hope this helps!
Just don't get the boxed stuff, and get a lot of variety of flavors. Also I seem to be the only person who hates the rosewater, but maybe that's just me.
For baklava, it's really a labor of love and there's a lot of great old and small shops. Gulluoglu used to be great and is still quite OK, but feels a but mass produced now. Smaller options are Köşkeroğlu, kafadaroğlu etc, but I don't know if it's worth seeking out especially - just duck into whatever small shop that seems busy during the day.
Probably what might be a better experience is trying /unfamiliar/ desserts: Kunefe is crispy shredded puff pastry with cheese in it, doused in syrup, served HOT with pistachio on top. Tulumba is the turkish take on churros. Halva is made of tahini and sugar, and is getting more popular in the US. Kazandibi is pudding that's been caramelized / burnt at the "bottom of the pan" - traditionally the gelatin in it comes from chicken breast (you can't taste it). More often it's now the "fake" version, still delicious. Lokma is turkish fried dough. Kabak tatlisi is made of pumpkin. There's so much to try, just get the stuff which you don't know what it is.
One thing to remember is that Turkish sweets are quite sweet - you're only meant to have one small piece. Of course that won't stop many of us from getting a whole plate :-) Usually you can ask for a half portion at a shop.
Finally if you're near Kadikoy, hit up Ciya too - regional foods from across Turkey that you can't find in many other places.
Hope you enjoy your trip!
Also you might also like tahin pekmez - which I haven't seen around at all yet: 3/4 tahini and 1/4 molasses mixed together for a spread - on toasted bread. Best warming winter / snowy weather comfort food ever! :-)