My one-word review of Istanbul Grill: Go. Read on for the deets.
(And if there's a better $25 appetizer in DSM, I want to hear about it.)
Review of Istanbul Grill Café and Bakery
3281 100th St., Urbandale; (515) 207-1292
Open daily for lunch and dinner.
What I seek when I walk into a restaurant is that rare, unmistakable hum of yes. As in, yes, I’m in good hands, and yes, out of all the restaurants I could have chosen, I’ve come to the right place.
I got that exact yes feeling last week at Istanbul Grill Café and Bakery, when the pro who greeted us literally brightened when we walked in the door. After we requested a booth, he responded with genuine delight: not the usual sense of “lucky you, we have one available,” but something closer to “lucky me—I get to make this happen for you.”
Throughout our meal, our server (who was the pro who seated us) effected the same level of enthusiasm. I loved the way he precisely described the menu items and steered our choices; even so, at one point when we just couldn’t quite picture the Turkish Pizza, he graciously showed us a photo on his iPad. (Most other dishes were easy to visualiz…