There are probably a hundred places like Tiger Lilly in NYC but on Long Island it seems to be mostly one of a kind. The cafe/restaurant employees a tough but sweet group of (mostly) women whose ropy arms, tattoos and matter of fact manner signal that despite the vegetarian fare and bohemian vibe this is a restaurant that is run as tight as a Marine mess hall.
The restaurant appears to be, on the surface at least, completely vegetarian. Not so! The other day, I had a great grilled chicken salad and Lynn had a lightly breaded crab cake that was first rate. The vegetarian fare is real stick to your ribs stuff such as the Balsamic Roasted Vegetable Wrap (Grilled zucchini, eggplant, yellow squash, onions, peppers and scallions, with fresh hummus, kalamata olives, mesclun greens and house balsamic vinaigrette) and the Falafel with the Works (Homemade falafel, fresh sliced tomato, cucumber, Romain lettuce and sprouts in a honey-wheat wrap with Tzatziki sauce or Tahini Sauce).
Recently, a back porch opened (nicknamed "Medusa's Lounge") at TL where you can dine in louche splendor out of doors. There are also special events that are held there on a regular basis (mostly live music). This is in keeping with the consistent upgrades that the restaraunt seems to be enforcing upon itself; Mark and Lynn had always liked the coffee at TL, but the food has gotten much more consistent and creative over the last year or so and the atmosphere has evolved from hippieish to something more sophisticated and mature...
www.tigerlilycafe.com
Tiger Lily Café
156 East Main Street
Port Jefferson, NY 11777
p. 631 476 7080
f. 631 476 7084
open daily
7 days a week
Sun. - Thurs. 11 am - 6 pm
Fri. & Sat. 11 am - 8 pm
