A Turkish Delight

Last Friday, I was in Bloomington with Connie and we went to quaint little restaurant located in the ethnic block located on 4th Street. She had eaten at this restaurant before and highly recommended it, so I thought why not.



The restaurant that we went to is named Anatolia. Located at 405 East 4th Street in Bloomington, Anatolia’s menu offers selections of Turkish and Mediterranean Food. The atmosphere was not what I expected. They had plenty of table and chair seating, but what set it apart was they also offered traditional Turkish seating. For those of you who do not know what this is, it is you sit on the floor upon cushions over low cut wooden or copper tables. The lighting was excellent and the wait staff was happy and plentiful.


The menu offers a wide variety of choices. Everything from appetizers, entrees, Sea Food, even Vegetarian and Vegan choices. The menu lists meals by their traditional names but then gives the reader a description of the meal that they can understand. The prices were listed were priced moderately and the portion sizes were excellent.

I love eggplant so we started our meal with an appetizer of Babganus, which is char-broiled and mashed eggplant mixed with fresh herbs and tahini sauce served with their fresh baked bread. I spread some of the babganus on their bread and then tasted it. This was best babganus I have ever had. I couldn’t get enough and I am looking forward to having this dish again.


You also have a choice of soup with comes with your meal. I chose the white bean which is northern beans cooked in tomato based with fresh carrots, green and red peppers. Connie had the red lentil which is red lentils cooked in tomato base and spiced to perfection with mint, oregano, a touch of garlic and other spices then puréed. We tried each other’s soup and they were both delicious, but I preferred the white bean soup because I like the textures of the ingredients more than a pureed soup.


For my main course I ordered Stuffed Cabbage which is cabbage leaves stuffed with ground beef, rice, onions, and spices. It was served with rice and salad. Connie ordered Mucver, which are zucchini fritters with feta cheese and carrots served with rice and salad. Our meals came and I started with the salad. It was the traditional Greek style salad but there was a flavor I recognized but couldn’t place. It was so wonderful. Connie asked if I could guess it and I couldn’t. She told me it was sumac. She couldn’t guess it either on her first visit, so she asked the chef. My stuffed cabbages were filling and very pleasant. I tried her Mucver. It too was delicious but we both thought a bit heavy.


For dessert we ordered Baklava, which is a dessert made of layers of flaky rich pastry with walnuts baked until crunchy topped with syrup with a touch of cinnamon. Baklava is a very traditional dessert of the eastern Mediterranean and this was very tasty.


I highly recommend Anatolia to all and I can’t wait to go back. I already know what I am going to order, Kuzu Incik (lamb shanks topped with marinara sauce).