Pizza Quest: Turquoise Grill. whaaaaaaaa!!!

What it do. It has been a week or two since my last post. I am currently in school, and pizza quest proves to be a little more difficult when you have little time (and little money). My latest pizza experience happened on accident. And what a wonderful accident it was.

My father's piano store, so cleverly named The Piano Store by yours truly, was located near the intersection of Richmond and Kirby until it was closed. In the same building there is a little Turkish-Mediterranean restaurant called Turquoise Grill. Sometimes my father would have events and the Turquoise Grill would cater and serve a bunch of snobby people listening to excellent pianists. The first thing you should know about Turquoise, if you have never been, is that the moment their food enters your life you are treated like a part of the family. It is the same in the cafe as it is when they cater snobby events. The Turquoise staff caters to your every need and desire, going beyond food. Few establishments even try to do that. I also love the pride they have for their food. It is their passion and they tell you all about it without hesitation. It makes me feel all gooey inside.

Friday, June 3rd, the lady and I were dropping off the rent check across the street from Turquoise and decided not to f- with going home, and just eat out. We walked in to the late afternoon crowd of five or six. The color pallet inside is as charming as our server. He walks over and begins to woo us with his recommendations in a soft, alluring tone. I have eaten the food of Turquoise many times, but for some damned reason I have passed over the Turquoise Lahmajun every time. I asked him about it. He goes on to tell me about how it is prepared and that it is Turkey's version of pizza, but better. It is a thin crusted pie with ground beef, onions, red peppers and spices. I had a knee-jerk reaction at first to say "no," but I went ahead and ordered the pizza along with salad. "Why JR?" you ask, "It's pizza." For all future purposes, I generally hate ground beef on pizza. It is never of good quality nor flavor. But I have a quest, right?

The pizza takes a while. The salad comes out first, which is below par, served with wonderful fresh baked flat bread. Turquoise also serves the Turkish beer Efes Pilsen, which is the the big name in Turkish beer. It is very tasty, hoppy and refreshing. A good summer beer. As I finish off the beer the pizza comes out. The lady and I share the 12" seen above. Our server explains that the best way to eat it: put the fresh shredded lettuce and cabbage on top, add some lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, then fold it up and eat it like a tex-mex fajita. "This is as they do in Turkey, " he says. So I did as they do. Best pizza I have had so far on my quest. The ground beef, spices and oil, along with the lemon, red pepper and cabbage had me regretting only ordering one. And the crust was a dream-crust: thin, crunchy but not too dry and a little smokey flavor. I was destroyed.

Head over to Turquoise Grill. Order this pizza and an Efes and tell me I am wrong. I can't wait to go back and try the rice pudding which is said to be the best in Houston.

Pizza Quest continues...

Turquoise Grill
3701 Kirby Dr #160
Houston, TX 77098
(713) 526-3800