If you have never dreamed to have Turkish neighbors inviting you over for meze platters and kebabs, a new Broad Ripple spot may be the next best thing. In April, Istanbul residents Sakin and Gulay Demir opened Mediterranean restaurant Usta, the perfect place to taste a dry Turkish wine while munching on haydari, yogurt dill dip with a splash of garlic. , or ezme, a pepper relish with lots of fresh herbs. Other appetizers include the sigara borek, the cigar-shaped phyllo pastries stuffed with feta and parsley, and the lightly fried zucchini and carrot pancakes accompanied by a zipped tzatziki. For a starter, any kebab in Usta will satisfy, although Adana’s juicy lamb and ground beef kebab is a real taste of Istanbul.

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

Terry Kirts joined Indianapolis Monthly as a Contributing Editor in 2007. Lecturer in Creative Writing at IUPUI, Terry has published his poetry and creative non-fiction in journals and anthologies including Gastronomica, Alimentum and Home Again: Essays and Memoirs from Indiana, and he is the author of the 2011 To the Refrigerator Gods collection.