Before Urban Standard, Baked, and Mud, for me there was Tiger Lily Cafe in Port Jefferson. It was a 10 minute drive from Miller Place and it’s safe to say that I spent time there every weekend for over a year. In high school I wasn’t particularly adventurous and never tried their wheatgrass shots or any of their more interesting freshly juiced combinations, but the veg/vegan friendly cafe hooked me on their Provincal and Roma sandwiches (sliced brie, pear, crushed walnuts, mesclun greens and house white wine honey mustard; and fresh mozzarella, Roma tomato, mesclun greens, and basil pesto mayo, respectively). When my mom and stepfather left Miller Place for Williamsburg circa 2003, I found fewer reasons to be down Port.
Last weekend, I found myself with some spare time before meeting up with Vinny, so I wound my little car up, around, over and down Belle Terre hill (a half-mile stretch that still haunts my dreams due to the number of laps run during cross country training) and took a seat at the window. It was a strange time between breakfast and the hamburgers I’d planned to have with Vinny, but as I was hungry, I tried my first wheatgrass shot while deciding on a more filling option.
Tiger Lily Cafe: Wheatgrass Shot. Photo by Dan Schumacher
I am glad to now know that I am no fan of the wheatgrass shot. Its ounce of pure, just-mowed-the-lawn, slightly sweet, spicy soupiness (with more than a bit of garlic essence) is too much for my delicate self. It did help me decided to buy some food to help kill the taste. Yeah.
Tiger Lily Cafe: Cold Case. Photo by Dan Schumacher
Of the vegetarian and vegan options, I opted for a slice of tender roasted vegetable and cheese frittata. It did the job and held me over until our hedonistic burger fest a few hours later. It felt good walking through Tiger Lily’s door nearly 10 years later and finding that its heart (along with most of the menu) had stayed the same, a bit like a grandparent’s house (without all the fake plastic fruit).
Skip produces The Gourmetro. He dislikes wheatgrass shots about as much as mowing the lawn on a hazy August afternoon. Check out his published works on Aisle 9, and talk with him on Twitter.