Turquoise Grill

Turquoise Grill seems like an odd name for a restaurant. My mind (and google) immediately conjures up an image like this:

Thankfully their website gives a better explanation: “Turquoise comes from Old French for Turkish”. I learned something new today.

If you are a sandal-wearing, world music lover who boasts about not owning a television then you likely already know what Turkish food is.

Perhaps you are well-traveled Italian and have already encountered Anatolian cuisine in your pursuit for a better trade route to China.

I’m neither of those guys, so it was new to me.

As we walk into the dining room the sitar is pumping over the speakers loudly enough to make me think that I forgot to pay a cover charge. It turns out the reason for the loud, rhythmic tune was that Turquoise Grill brings in a belly dancer to perform on Friday evenings.

It was an odd thing to watch. On one hand it was a brilliant technical display with intricate motions seemingly impossible to anyone with a normal human skeleton. Truly fascinating. On the other hand I was acutely aware that I was essentially watching a scantily clad exotic dancer while sitting next to my wife. Awkward….

A couple of songs later and the show was over, allowing us to carry on a conversation without shouting. The bread was a great start to the meal and when the waitress came by to get our drink order, I felt daring enough to try something called Ayran. The description listed on the menu said “cold yogurt drink” which was brutally accurate. Imagine throwing half a pound of plain yogurt in a blender along with a tiny drop of milk to liquefy the mixture. Every time I took a sip the yogurt would leave a ring of residue around the glass like an old oak tree showing its age. There were many shallow rings on my goblet before I switched to water.* I can’t say that it wasn’t interesting, since it did complement the flavors of the food surprisingly well.

Which isn’t to say the food was bad at all. Quite the contrary. Mey ordered the Doner Kebab and I went with the Lamb Shank a la Turca which were both very good. My dish looked spectacular with the blunt-looking lamb covered with the delicate flavor of an eggplant. If you look back to my review of Shiraz, you’ll find that I ordered a similar entree which was done a little better – albeit at a higher price – at the Olmos Park establishment.

Mey’s dish didn’t look as spectacular, but the flavor of the slow-grilled beef and lamb was phenomenal. It tasted a bit like gyro meat, but juicier.

We sampled some rice pudding and baklava for dessert, but the main course filled me up so that I couldn’t properly appreciate the flaky pastry or the complex pudding. Both were good complements to the after-dinner reappearance of the jolly tambourine-playing owner and the belly dancer.

Ambiance: 3 Cuy (4 Cuy on Friday nights)
Service: 2.5 Cuy
Food: 4 Cuy
Value: 4 Cuy

Overall:

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Dating a down-to-earth girl who can look past the shady shopping center? Bring her here - but not on a Friday.

*But not their fault – I’m just not a fan.