Ravings of a Textual Deviant

Have you ever been in a Turkish restaurant?

If you haven’t, you really ought to give the Bosphorus a try. It’s in a house downtown, and its atmosphere is very reminiscent of some of the better restaurants-in-houses in Bloomington (Siam House…mmmm!). A few of us went over the wall yesterday and had a truly great lunch. I had a tabouli appetizer that was a little different than the tabouli I am used to, in that it was less salad-y, but delicious nonetheless. I’m told by reliable sources that the lentil soup and the spinach-and-artichoke dip are also very good. We were served lovely, garlicky flatbread, lightly toasted and crisp, along with our appetizers. Five of us decimated two baskets of it in fairly short order. My appetizer was followed by the kofte (grilled patties of ground lamb with onions and herbs), served with almost-pilaf and mixed vegetables. The vegetables were a bit overcooked, but the rest of the dish made up for it and then some. My coworkers ordered grilled squid “steak” (two thumbs up) and doner (Turkish gyros), both of which smelled fabulous. And of course, when one goes to a Turkish restaurant, baklava is required. I’m not able to finish even a modest portion on my own, but one of my coworkers was more than happy to help me out. It’s served with real whipped cream dusted with crushed almonds, and is flaky, crisp, nutty, and sweet without being overpowering. The menu seems to have at least a couple of vegetarian options, and if you’re not willing to go off your diet once in a while for a really good meal, you might as well just stay home.

935 S. East St., Indianapolis (across the street from the Lilly campus, just off the East Street exit off I-70 West)

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 28th, 2004 at 2:35 pm and is filed under Off the Shelf. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.