Turkish culture served up

A stately stained glass door opens to release sounds of Turkish music playing quietly in the background as patrons savor their Turkish-inspired cuisine from colorful cushions on the floor. Anatolia, the latest ethnic restaurant to open its doors on Fourth Street, offers a taste of Turkish history, culture and cuisine.\nThe street is lined with ethnic restaurants, from the spicy taste of Thailand at Siam House to the rich sauces of Italy at Puccini's. Anatolia's owner and manager, Ismail Tezer, said he picked this location for his new restaurant because he liked the diversity of the area.\n"Bloomington has many different cultures. I wanted to add Turkish culture," he said.\nTezer said he chose a name for his restaurant that would allude to its Turkish roots.\n"Anatolia is my country's old name. The area between the Middle East and Europe, people used to call that Anatolia," he said.\nTezer said he had to consider Turkey's varying tastes when developing a menu. Turkish tastes differ from region to region. Kebabs, Tezer said, are a favorite in southeast Turkey, while western Turkey loves döner -- what most of the Western world calls a gyro.\nSuch diverse tastes find explanation in Turkey's cuisine history. A man named Iskender Kebap invented döner in 1867 in the western Turkish town of Bursa, according to www.turkeytravelplanner.com. Eventually, Anatolia will serve a dish named after the famed cook. \n"Most of our dishes are very popular in Turkey," he said.\nAnatolia offers kebabs and döner in its extensive lunch and dinner menus. Lunch entrees range from $8.50 for a meatball kebab to $12.50 for lamb chops, with other dishes like stuffed chicken and Mediterranean shrimp priced in between. All entrees come with soup (white bean or soup of the day) or salad and rice.\nFor dinner, prices range anywhere from $.75 to several dollars, depending on the entrée. A "Veggie Lover's" menu is also available. \n"I think the prices are in line with everything else around here," said Christopher Börk, a second-year master's student studying Near Eastern Languages and Culture. "The portions are great as well."\nAnatolia also offers two Turkish beverages: shalgam -- a purple carrot juice -- and ayran -- a yogurt drink flavored with mint. Tezer said he will soon offer Turkish coffees and teas. For dessert, the restaurant offers rice pudding, cream caramel and baklava.\n"I've had a lot of baklava, and this is some of the best baklava I've ever had," Börk said.\nTezer constructed many of the restaurant's unique architectural components himself, including the frame to the door and the legs to some of the tables. The walls and floor are paneled with wood. \n"We wanted to show off everything as natural," he said.\nAn archway near the front divides the cushioned floor-seating from regular tables. Börk said this section creates firsthand experience of Turkish culture as well as an intimate and unique dining experience.\n"My country's (people) used to live like this," Tezer said of the section. "The whole family would eat like this. Mother, father, children -- everyone together."\n-- Contact staff writer Patrick Doolin at pdoolin@indiana.edu.