Turkuaz Grill in Riverhead: Fine for vegetarians
A mixed appetizer platter served at Turkuaz in Riverhead in August 2014. Credit: Newsday / Joan Reminick
Where do you go for a quick and healthy lunch in Riverhead if you’ve got a vegetarian in your party?
The answer I came up with, one weekend afternoon, was Turkuaz Grill, a pretty little place with seating both indoors and outside, plus a view of the Peconic River. This turned out to be an ideal choice.
To start: a resonant, comforting bowl of red lentil soup. This was followed by a platter of mixed cold appetizers – a first-rate hummus, a nuanced eggplant salad, subtly fiery acili ezme (or spicy mashed vegetables), a bright green lentil salad, a pleasingly sweet carrot salad and a fine tabbouleh, or bulgur salad with mixed vegetables.
A winning nonvegetarian choice was a wrap with house-made doner (or gyro), made with marinated lamb stacked on a skewer, spit-roasted and sliced off. It had me cadging one bite after another from my tablemate.
Turkuaz Grill is at 40 McDermott Ave., Riverhead, 631-591-1757, turkuazgrillriverhead.com
