Susie Davidson Powell with 3 quick

Dec 03, 2023

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Mixed grill from Grill Mediterranean and Mega Istanbul Food Court in Troy.

The front of Grill Mediterranean and Mega Istanbul Food Court in Troy doubles as hookah patio.

The interior of Grill Mediterranean and Mega Istanbul Food Court in Troy.

Lahmacun, a flatbread often called Turkish pizza, at Grill Mediterranean and Mega Istanbul Food Court in Troy.

A beef-lamb combination, left, and chicken twirl and roast on spits for shaving onto doner kebabs at Grill Mediterranean and Mega Istanbul Food Court in Troy.

Dinner items from Grill Mediterranean and Mega Istanbul Food Court in Troy.

A spread of Turkish breakfast items from Grill Mediterranean and Mega Istanbul Food Court in Troy.

A liquor license is said to be in the works for La Victoria, a Mexican restaurant that has taken over part of the former Troy Food Court.

Steak- and egg-topped chilaquiles are available with red or green sauce at La Victoria, a Mexican restaurant that has taken over part of the former Troy Food Court.

Birria tacos from La Victoria, a Mexican restaurant that has taken over part of the former Troy Food Court.

The Mexican restaurant La Victoria has taken over part of the former Troy Food Court on Congress Street in downtown Troy.

Booths at La Victoria, a Mexican restaurant that has taken over part of the former Troy Food Court.

Portion are generous at La Victoria in Troy, meaning you get three thick sopes piled high with refried beans, lettuce, queso fresco and shredded chicken, sausage, beef or pork to an order, along with pico de gallo.

The innuendo-adorned interior at River Street Poke Bar in Troy echoes its siblings in Albany and Loudonville. Customers order build-you-own bowls as they move along the counter.

Dozens of fillings and toppings are available for build-you-own bowls at River Street Poke Bar in Troy.

River Street Poke Bar in Troy.

River Street Poke Bar in Troy is near the popular Tara Kitchen, on River Street between State and Congress streets.

Springs rolls from River Street Poke Bar in Troy.

Maximizing space, River Street Poke Bar in Troy offers a solo window seat.

Barely five months into 2023 and already it's time for another Troy roundup to assess a spate of new arrivals on the dining and drinking scene. Enough activity in the former Quang's Vietnamese space on Third Street prompted someone to text me, "There's some sort of taco shop in there." Sure enough, in spite of the hand-painted sign and cardboard menu tacked in the window, it's now Sabroso Mexican Food, more of a takeout option than dine-in. But I was en route to 77 Congress St. to check whether Calypso Restaurant and Lounge was still serving up the oxtail lunch and shrimp and grits promised on its still-active site, only to find myself in another iteration of the erstwhile Troy Food Court newly festooned in Mexican flags. It's the very recent opening of the dine-in La Victoria Mexican. Then heading in both directions along River Street, I stopped at the brand new Troy Poke Bar before going north, far beyond Brown's Brewing, to the Turkish Grill Mediterranean Cuisine and Mega Istanbul Food Court, whose expansive hours and offerings fit its equally long name.

This might be one of the most ambitious new additions to the Troy scene, as the use of "mega" in its title suggests. Heading north, past the River Street Food Hall in the Hedley building, Marriott Courtyard and under the Hoosick Street bypass (look for the murals underneath), you’ll come upon a large, neatly updated plaza that formerly housed a barber, fried chicken and pizza shop and bottle-and-can return. Now the forecourt is dotted with bistro tables topped, in the evening, with hookah pipes in cherry red and electric blue. Part restaurant, part event space, part hookah lounge, Grill Mediterranean is soon to expand with a smoothie cafe in the former bottle-and-can collection shop and a freestanding ice cream parlor and garden once the city approves construction in the side lot. That's the concept of the multi-option food court while Grill Mediterranean offers all-day dining with a Hudson River view, albeit across the street.

Firat Karatas moved from Istanbul to North Carolina after visiting 102 countries in the seven years he spent working in the cruise industry. But he chose Troy to open his first restaurant, bringing in his brother and cousins to help with construction and cooking. Because it's open seven days a week, you can start with breakfast, perhaps menemen (scrambled eggs, tomato and green pepper), sucuk (Turkish sausage) omelet and Turkish coffee at 9 a.m.; dine in for the all-day buffet; or take out a doner kebab shaved off twirling spits. Save room for homemade grape leaves, falafel in sauce or Turkish desserts made by Karatas.

The Anatolian mixed grill plate is your classic combo of beef, chicken and lamb skewers, and loose rice with grilled onions, tomato and pepper. Add warm, plouffy pita, shiny with butter, and a choban chopped salad speckled with tart sumac and a swirl of pomegranate molasses. Don't miss the chance to order lahmacun (lah-ma-chun), a thin, crispy Turkish flatbread ("Turkish pizza") topped with veggies or assorted meats. But it doesn't stop there. The cleanly revamped interior kitted out in blue and beige with traditional stained-glass Turkish lamps is already hosting weddings and catering group events, with plans to expand outdoors once they have enclosed the garden lot. While the cafe is still currently under construction, you can now order their new fresh pressed juices and smoothies inside the main restaurant. Fittingly, Karatas’ logo consists of a cruise ship and flaming doner spit, and though the growth of Grill Mediterranean into its "Mega Istanbul Food Court" is something to watch, it's already — quite unexpectedly — a place to go.

Grill Mediterranean and Mega Istanbul Food Court 908 River St., Troy518-203-7800; megaistanbulfoodcourt.comHours: 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. dailyPrice: Menu, $6.95 to $23.99; hookah pipe with assorted fruit flavors, $25 to $70.Parking: On-site lot. Additional parking across the street every day except Sunday morning.

This vivid-orange, flag-festooned Mexican eatery moved neatly into the bar side of the Troy Food Court that was recently (and briefly) occupied by Calypso West Indian restaurant. The name means "to victory" in Spanish and is the name of a grandmother and of the owners’ youngest daughter. Some will remember Cocina Vasquez on Central Avenue in Albany, which closed about three years ago when its lease expired. When a restaurant lease came up in Troy, owners Louisa Celestino and Alberto Vasquez, helped by their daughters, felt it was a second chance, hence the victorious attitude.

Though the sidewalk chalkboard boldly lists tacos within view of the colorful La Capital Tacos patio, the menu has some exciting surprises with a mix of crispy tacos dorados (flautas), tacos Mexicanos, empanadas, huaraches, burritos and sopes. Portions are generous: You get three thick sopes piled high with refried beans, lettuce, queso fresco and shredded chicken, sausage, beef or pork to an order, along with pico de gallo. Try the steak- and egg-topped chilaquiles with red or green sauce that could be a filling dinner for two, or the chunky beef birria trio with rich red dipping gravy. You’ll spot bistec encebollado, Oaxacan mole and enfrijoladas, a comforting dish of warm corn tortillas in folds smothered with black bean puree that's rarely seen north of the border.

Though they have Jarritos sodas, be sure to order their house-made tamarind or hibiscus water. They plan to apply for a liquor license.

La Victoria77 Congress St. (Troy Food Court), Troy518-629-9509 Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. dailyPrice: $10 to $20Parking: Street.

The first to bring Hawaiian poke to the Capital Region with the opening of Lark Street Poke Bar, Will Phan has now added a Troy sibling with the opening of the River Street Poke Bar, his third location after Albany and Loudonville. Having opened in February this year beside popular Moroccan eatery Tara Kitchen on River Street, the recent warm weather has seen the addition of tables and chairs in a parklet space out front.

Kitted out in signature black and white with faux-marble tables and the tongue-in-cheek "Let me poke you" and "I like it raw" emblazoned on walls and merch T-shirts for the college kids, it's a fresh addition to the former antiques row, where upscale loft apartment buildings have replaced furniture warehouses. The best seats are at the counters in the window, one nook with a single stool.

Keeping their signature Build-A-Bowl front and center, customers choose white or brown rice, zoodles, salad, or a 50/50 base to be topped with proteins, sides, crunchy toppings and sauces listed across four blackboards. Phan again has the hot Cheetos first popularized on sushi burritos and poke bowls in L.A. in a shrimp tempura bowl. It's one of the "house creations" focused mostly on cooked proteins like shrimp-and-crab salad, grilled chicken and baked salmon but raw salmon, ahi tuna and spicy tuna are bowl options too.

Beside bowls, there's a short list of sushi rolls and summer rolls, miso soup, a surprisingly good dessert selection from mochi ice cream to creme brulée cheesecake and an entire array of Hawaiian sodas in the cooler.

River Street Poké Bar184 River St., Troy518-874-1058; riverstpokebar.comHours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday, closed MondayPrice: Snack, $5 to $8.50; bowls, $13.50 to $16.50; desserts, $2 to $6Parking: Street