Wood-fire rotisserie · Three towns
Chicken off the spit since 1994.
Half a bird, potatoes from the drip tray, bread from the hearth. Lunch through dinner. Kids welcome.
What we cook
One fire. Four things.
The bird turns over oak, and everything else on the plate is cooked by the same fire. That is the whole menu, more or less.
The bird
Brined overnight, rubbed with thyme, lemon and black pepper, then turned over oak for ninety minutes. Nothing else is done to it, because nothing else helps.
Half bird $19 · Whole bird $36
The potatoes
They sit in the tray under the spit and catch everything that falls. This is why the potatoes are not vegetarian, and why people order a second scoop.
With every bird · $7 on their own
The bread
Marian's loaf, baked in the hearth beside the fire every morning and out by 11. Torn, not sliced, with salted butter.
Half a loaf $6
The sides
Ten of them, all built to sit next to chicken. Most are vegetables. One is macaroni. One is a jug of gravy and we are counting it.
$7 each · Any three for $18
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Today's specials
On the board today.
Seasonal dishes that change with the day of the week. Ada Merrow writes the board on Mondays, when we are closed and she has the chalk to herself.
Friday
Porchetta Friday
- Porchetta$24fennel, garlic, salsa verde
- Porchetta roll$16with a shard of crackling
- Cider-brined pork chop$27roasted apples, mustard
On the spit from noon. Gone by eight, most weeks.
Our three rooms
Three towns, same chicken.
Huntington since 1994, Northport by the harbor since 2006, Greenport by the ferry since 2018. Each line below is live: who is open, and the next free table.
Catering
We bring the birds.
The same food, for ten people or two hundred: picked up hot, delivered and set up, or served by our own crew. Cal Okafor has run the van every weekend since 2012.
- From $19 a head
- 3 days notice for pickup
- 25 miles from any kitchen
A quick estimate
$880
About $29 a head for 30, tax included, picked up hot. Delivery and staff are extra.
Events and tickets
Suppers, a class and one very large turkey.
Three dates this autumn. Tickets are limited by the number of chairs, loaves and turkeys, in that order.
- Oct25Sun
Dinner · Northport
Sunday supper: the whole bird
Long tables, platters passed, one price a head.
$38 a head21 seats left
- Nov8Sun
Class · Greenport
Hearth bread, hands on
Mix, shape and bake Marian's loaf before the room opens.
$65 a head4 places left
- Nov25Wed
Holiday · Huntington
Thanksgiving to carry home
A whole wood-roasted turkey and five sides for eight, ready the day before.
$185 feeds eight46 boxes left
Our story
Paul built the first rotisserie himself.
Paul and Marian Merrow opened Turnspit on Gristmill Row in 1994 with one spit, eleven tables and a chalkboard.
That rotisserie is still on the wall in Huntington, and still working. Their daughter Ada grew up at the pass, left to cook in other people's kitchens, and now writes our specials on Mondays.
- Open since
- 1994
- Rooms
- 3
- Birds a day
- 340
- Bread recipes
- 1
From the pantry
Take the gravy home.
Three things from our kitchen are sold in jars at Seventeen Jewels, the family's bottle shop in Huntington. They ship, and they keep.
Follow along
Mostly chicken. Sometimes cake.
What came off the spit this week, posted from our three kitchens. One reel, six photographs, no filters worth mentioning.
Reel Still turning.
The Monday letter
This week's board, in your inbox.
One email a week, Mondays at 10 am: the specials for each room, and first word when event tickets go on sale.
The family's other rooms
Two more doors, ten minutes from ours.
Turnspit is the oldest of the three Merrow rooms. The other two share a building on Tallow Lane in Huntington. One gift card works in all three rooms.
