The Dark Horse: Living Up to Its Name in Riverhead

For some reason the Dark Horse Restaurant in Riverhead seems keep slipping under my fine-tuned dining radar. Haven’t been there in many years, and we recently decided to try give it another try.

Born and raised in Queens I have a penchant for city dining, so I really like the urban vibe they’re going for. The view outside the big windows gives way to a neat row of attached brick buildings, which gives the illusion of being on a cool city street. The ceilings are high and painted black, with enough exposed pipes to brand the space “industrial.” Add to the mix some throwback art and black leather seats, and we’ve got ourselves an art deco eatery on the east end.

Now to the food. The menu definitely drifted outside the box with choices like artisanal grilled cheese, beef carpaccio with truffle oil, and wild mushroom pasta in a cognac cream sauce. I ordered a chicken burger, which probably makes you want to yawn, unworthy of even mentioning. But it was the best darn chicken burger I’ve ever had. Even my carnivorous husband said so. The secret? The waitress was happy to explain it was chopped thigh meat ground fresh on premises, blended with awesome combination of herbs and spices.

The other winner at the table was the Beijing duck wrap made with Crescent Farm confit duck straight from the one of the last duck farms around right here on LI. Talked about it for days after.  And even though bathing suit season is waving its evil wand our way, all bets were off in the once those fat French fries hit the table. They were golden brown and smelled like a perfectly oiled waft from heaven. Thankfully the portion fit into a small tin cup.

We have actually been back again since in such a short time, and plan on future visits. Had to try the fig and arugula grilled cheese, which was very good but on the sweet side, as well as the kale salad cranberry horseradish dressing (they had me at the horseradish). Lots more on the menu we’d like to sink our teeth into. We’ll be going back for more.