Exploring Nashville

As I indicated in my last post, my good friend Phil and I get together once a week for a lunch in Nashville at a place that neither of us has been to before.  We are finding some great places.  Last week was a trip to Istanbul Restaurant ( no web site) on Nolensville Road in Nashville.  Owned and operated by a Turkish couple who obviously spent many a day at their grandmother's knee learning to cook real, honest and authentic Turkish food, Istanbul was as good as it gets. We both went with the lentil soup, a hummus appetizer ($3.95) and the combo plate ($8.95) for an entree.  The hummus was rich, smooth, creamy and just enough garlic and of course coupled mounds of fresh pita we could have stopped there.  Although the Doner was tempting, I went with the combo of Gyro meat, beef kabob and chicken coupled with tabbouleh and cucumber salad. Frankly we should have split one compo and we both left mounds of food on our plate.  Absolutely terrific and I hope more Nashvillians expand their culinary horizons beyond BBQ and catfish and enjoy the culinary diversity that does, in fact, exist in Nashville.