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Istanbul Palace: Another country heard from

Istanbul Palace, with its multitude of tasty Turkish delights, expands Lexington's ethnic choices

By Linda B. Blackford Lblackford@herald-Leader.Com

Slowly, slowly but surely all the same, Lexington is turning into a layered, multiethnic restaurant town. Is it immigration, globalization, the university? Whatever the reason, as diners we should be grateful for the wide array of tastes and cultures now available.

The latest offering is Istanbul Palace, a trove of Turkish delights. Not the candy, though, more like the grilled meats and vegetables found in many Mediterranean cuisines, but with their own Turkish edge.

For example, the appetizer sampler features standards like hummus; baba ghanouj; tabouli; and grape leaves stuffed with rice, onions and fresh herbs.

What was new to me was haydari, a thick cream of yogurt mixed with walnuts and fresh dill that can be spread on pita bread. The haydari was rich and salty and tempered by the nuts and herbs, and I almost spoiled my lunch by eating entirely too much of it.

On another visit, we also tried the cigarette pies, something like spanakopita, filo stuffed with feta, but instead of spinach, parsley and fresh dill.

My new absolute favorite is mujver, a pancake of chopped zucchini and other vegetables, which is pan-fried and doused with garlic yogurt sauce. Its crunch gives way to soft, perfectly seasoned veggies -- as far as I'm concerned, it's the only way we should ever eat zucchini.

On both my visits, we ordered the Palace Silver Platter. At $20.95 for two, it's a steal and features smaller helpings of many of the meats offerings. So there's the grilled beef and chicken used in gyros, a chicken kebab, hummus, mujver and salad. Also included are some more new favorites: the Istanbul chicken and the Adana kebab. The first, obviously, is chicken, the second lamb, and in both cases, the meats are hand-chopped with a spicy red pepper sauce and herbs, then reconstituted onto a kebab and grilled. All of this is served over delicious rice, and sides of onions and pickled cabbage.

We also tried the salmon kebab, grilled with big chunks of onion and green pepper, which was a little dry and didn't quite live up to the rest of the food.

I'm dying to try other dishes as well, like the Iksender kebab, a meat gyro layered on bread croutons, topped with garlic, yogurt sauce and tomato sauce.

As for dessert, the baklava was a sublime, buttery, nutty confection. We also tried the brown top pudding, which is like a less sweet, slightly harder version of flan. Delicious, rich Turkish coffee is also available.

Istanbul Palace will be a boon to St. Joseph Hospital, as it is just across the street in the small strip mall on Waller Avenue. (It looked as if there already was a brisk market in gyros and fries to go.) The interior gets past the strip mall anonymity with Turkish rugs, evil eye deflectors and gorgeous travel posters of Turkey.

Another upside to interesting ethnic food is its affordability. Gyros are less than $4, and entrees at lunch or dinner range from $9.95 to $14.95. I think we spent about $40 on both visits and took home overflowing to-go boxes because there was so much left.

Istanbul Palace also has a wide variety of salads and vegetarian options, including specialty kebabs and casseroles.

RESTAURANT REVIEW

Istanbul Palace

Address: 393 Waller Ave., No. 16.

Phone: (859) 231-1792.

Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Sat.

Other: All major credit cards accepted.