I know it's early March, but dinner at the Istanbul Grill might have been my best meal of 2011, what all other meals will need to live up to from this point forward. The food was so tasty, and the atmosphere was great: warm, comfortable and even a little hip - it made the meal feel special, and was the perfect place to spend a dreary March evening.
We had the Soslu Patlican, an eggplant and red pepper spread with grilled pita, and then the Shish Kebab and the Iskender Kebab with yogurt sauce - my lamb was cooked beautifully, the larger pieces still slightly pink in the middle, and the Iskender was Turkish comfort food: spicy, creamy, buttery - delicious. Service was friendly and well-coordinated; our plates were well-timed.
If I lived closer, I would hang out at Istanbul (lots of people had the same idea; the bar was full by the time we left), and I would definitely bring people here for something special and to impress them with Cleveland dining options - no fuss, just relax and dig in to great food.