A Different Type Of Cuisine In Broad Ripple Than You’re Usta (Mediterranean Restaurant) – Indianapolis Monthly

Usta Mediterranean Restaurant brings traditional dishes of Istanbul to Broad Ripple.

If you’ve ever dreamt of having Turkish neighbors to invite you over for meze platters and kebabs, a new Broad Ripple spot may be the next best thing. In April, Istanbul natives Sakin and Gulay Demir opened Usta Mediterranean Restaurant, the perfect spot to try a dry Turkish wine while snacking on haydari, a yogurt and dill dip with a punch of garlic, or ezme, a pepper relish with plenty of fresh herbs. Other appetizers include sigara borek, cigar-shaped phyllo pastries stuffed with feta and parsley, and lightly fried zucchini-and-carrot pancakes paired with a zippy tzatziki. For an entree, all of Usta’s kebabs will satisfy, though the juicy ground lamb and beef Adana kebab is a true taste of Istanbul.

6334 Guilford Ave., 317-970-3601, ustarestaurants.com

Terry Kirts joined Indianapolis Monthly as a contributing editor in 2007. A senior lecturer in creative writing at IUPUI, Terry has published his poetry and creative nonfiction in journals and anthologies including Gastronomica, Alimentum, and Home Again: Essays and Memoirs from Indiana, and he’s the author of the 2011 collection To the Refrigerator Gods.