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.

I liked the food I sampled, although both my companion and I found some of the flavors to be a bit muted. Experientially, I found the dinner to be more utilitarian than exotic.

I had the falafel, the chickpea fritter-like concoction. The outside was very dark, though not burnt, from frying. The inside was greenish, presumably from the parsley mixed in. It was served with tahini for dipping, and I liked it all very much.

For my entree I chose the stuffed white cabbage, easily the best thing of the meal — and I don’t usually say that about stuffed cabbage. The pungent leaves were rolled about a mixture of ground lamb, onions, garlic and seasonings, baked and topped with a tomato sauce.

Our server gamely humored us in our “how do you say in Turkish” queries and was ultimately charming and efficient.

Still, I couldn’t help but think that as Westerners we were there for a different reason than the other guests. We were looking for something exotic and unusual; they were looking for a familiar taste of home.

It truly is an elegant restaurant, a little bit of Manhattan chic on Restaurant Row. Especial attention has been paid to the lighting, which is moody and low. And banquettes, booths and chairs at freestanding tables are plush and comfortable.

The menu is extensive and features a number of Turkish favorites with most proteins leaning toward lamb.

I love seeing culturally diverse restaurants pop up in varied areas of town. So I was pleased to see Zeytin Turkish Cuisine open on Edgewater Drive just east of Lake Fairview and within sight of the Orange County VFW.

Zeytin is a small buisiness in a free-standing building, the former site of Woody’s Italian American Grill and Woody’s Wings & Whatnot. Woody’s gone.

Zeytin has a menu that belies its size, with myriad hot and cold appetizers, assorted Turkish pides (flatbreads), kebabs and sautés. It looks like an ambitious set of offerings but most are variations on the same theme.