Bosphorus is a delightful restaurant with stylized Turkish classics.
My favorite from the list of entrees was the hunkar begendi, or sultan’s delight, a classic Ottoman dish. It featured hunks of seasoned beef sauteed with onions and tomatoes in the center of the plate surrounded by a moat of creamy-textured puree of smoked eggplant.
The etli guvec was good too. It was a meat casserole with cubes of lamb mixed with green beans, eggplant,zucchini, potatoes, okra, carrots, bell peppers and tomatoes. It all blended into a wonderful, richly seasoned stew that was served over rice.
The desserts are worth sampling. Winner of the 2007 Foodie Award for Best Middle Eastern.

Originally called Anatolia, but now owned by the same folks who have the very good Bosphorous on Park Avenue. The menu combines Lebanese and Turkish traditions, the former for the wonderful array of appetizers and the latter for the meaty entrees. Hot appetizers included arnavut cigeri, which sounds so much better than fried calves liver. This featured little bite-sized chunks garnished with tomatoes and raw onions; and icli kofte, an egg-shaped patty fashioned out of cracked wheat and filled with ground lamb. All of it was delicious — even the liver.For my entree I had the mixed grill, an ample sampling of meats, each available also as a single entree, that could easily serve two people. It had adana kebab, seasoned ground lamb formed around a skewer; lamb shish kebab, cubes of tender meat; lamb chops, just in case you didn’t have enough lamb before; dana kebab, cubes of grilled beef; and tavuk kebab, which would be chicken. All were well seasoned and delicious, and were accompanied by rice, a medley of grilled vegetables and small, skinless baked potato. You could make a feast of vegetarian options here.

Cedar Halal is Middle Eastern/Lebanese with such goodies as falafel, kafta, hummus, grape leaves, shawarma and shish kabob. I was all set to get the falafel, but then I noticed the gyro grills behind the counter and I was suddenly hungry for a good gyro sandwich.

And I wasn’t disappointed, it was delicious. The seasoned meat was folded into soft, warm bread with onions and tangy tzatziki, and it was accompanied by batons of pickled vegetables.

I was less thrilled with the lentil soup, which was overly thickened for my taste. Still, the flavors were good with just a bit of tumeric spice.

The small space includes a row of shelves with imported food stuffs, including tahini paste, jars of sour cherries and pistachio candies. I could easily have taken a trunkload of groceries back home.

Cedar’s represents itself as a fine dining restaurant, and indeed the atmosphere is a bit more upscale than you’d find in the average Middle Eastern restaurant. The cuisine is above average, too, with a menu that goes well beyond the basic hummus spreads and falafel sandwiches, even though many of the menu items were unavailable when I visited and some dishes seemed only slight variations on one another.
You can put together a lovely meal with the mouhamara dip, a bowl of lentil soup and the fish tajine entree. Other entrees may seem repetitive, but they are good, especially the lamb. Another past Foodie winner.

A brick and mortar franchise of the omnipresent New York City food cart. There is another location at 688 N. Alafaya Trail, Orlando.

Anyone who strives to maintain a kosher diet can tell you the options for dining out are close to bupkis. But not totally. Kosher Grill is among the few glatt kosher restaurants in the area, and its International Drive location allows it to serve visitors as well as locals.

Located inside the Apna Bazaar, Moroccan Breeze is part of a very small food court. You may need to step outside your comfort zone, but you’ll be welcomed here and also served some tasty food.

Let’s face it: more people go here for the belly dancers than for the food. The food is just OK — without the entertainment it would be a lot less appealing. The menu features Moroccan and Middle Eastern specialties, such as roast lamb meshoui, couscous with a variety of meats or vegetables, fish tagine, and shish kebab. (For most people, it will be the first time they’ve ordered a shish kebab that costs nearly 28 bucks.) The Royal Feast, a table d’hote for $42.95 per person, offers a six-course menu with a variety of flavors. If you’re really hungry, that’s the way to go.