The big screen “is back to the velvet underground,” as Stevie Nicks once sang, with the release of “Gypsy Caravan,” a documentary about the modern lives of gypsies across the globe. Dinner & A Movie follows along, surveying neighborhood eateries with a Eurasian touch. Who knows? You might “see your gypsy” during your jaunts around the city this weekend.

DINNER

Pera, which opened recently in a bright, marbled hall near Grand Central, is conceived as a fancy Turkish place. For the considerable difference in price, Pera offers a lot more than its street-cart kebab competition: not just chairs and courteous service, but serious frills such as wine and appetizers. A raft of meze starters can be had individually or in a sampling platter ($16) that shows off the varied technique of chefs Sezai Celikbas and Jason Avery. The house hummus ($8) has a fresher chickpea taste than most. It’s served warm, and festooned Turkish-style with stiff, savory strips of dried beef. Turkey is renowned for its seafood, and Pera’s renditions, like those synopsized in another appetizer sampler ($14), stand out. Salmon cured in licoricey raki and set among juicy golden raisins and braised fennel has enough punch and complexity to rate main course status. Punch isn’t everything, though, as illustrated by an elegant, delicate timbale of avocado and tender crab, and juicy raw sea bass in thick paprika-pinkened yogurt. The central section of the menu is called “From the Brasier” and includes grilled lamb, grilled chicken, and grilled beef in various configurations. Ground lamb, shaped into elongated spiced patties ($23) laid on lavash, is perhaps the tastiest, with its oniony, cuminy, gently charred aroma. For $42 a person, the “Pera Tradition” is a meat-lover’s tasting menu that includes brochettes, a choice of patty, flatbreads paved with ground lamb, and very tasty little lamb ribs that are tougher than chops but with more flavor. The presentation includes a sampler of salads and dips as well, which break up the relentless carnivory just enough. All desserts are $6. A poached quince is bright red and bright-flavored. Kaymak, a thick Turkish clotted cream, perks up both the quince and an interesting pancake of shredded wheat, tastily sodden with sugar syrup and filled with oozy melted cheese. It is an unusual sight in a dessert, but one that I could get used to (303 Madison Ave., between 41st and 42nd streets, 212-878-6301). — Paul Adams (Reviewed January 24)

The Sun also selects:

Beyoglu – This tiny restaurant specializes in all kinds of meze, including a cooling cacik (yogurt and cucumber) dip, and grilled sardines wrapped in grape leaves (1437 Third Ave. at 81st Street, 212-650-0850).

Veselka — A stalwart of the East Village, this diner/restaurant offers the best sweet potato pirogies in town (144 Second Ave. at 9th Street, 212-228-9682).

MOVIES

The majority of gypsies are part of a group of ethnic groups called the Romani, located across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Jasmine Dellal’s film “Gypsy Caravan” (2006) documents five groups of Romani tribes as they travel across America during a performance tour, and return to their individual homelands, including Romania, Spain, India, and Macedonia. From their public to their private lives, the details of existence as modern Gypsies are captured in sometimes surprising ways. A cameo appearance by Johnny Depp — a fan of the Gypsy band Taraf de Haïdouks — is also featured (Friday, 5, 7, and 10:20 p.m., Angelika Film Center, 18 W. Houston St. at Mercer Street, 212-995-2000, $11 general, $7.50 children and seniors).