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Pullng into the parking lot, the first thing I saw was a busboy walking back from the garbage bin with an empty trash can in tow. He was filthy, and I mean WOW. His white apron was actually more like the gray of the Confederacy, and the front was smeared with black stains up and down and sideways.
My family literally lives by the three second rule with any food dropped on the floor. We are a hearty bunch. We will actually start counting slowly as the food hits the floor and give a high five if he or she can grab it and gulp it down before three. If he or she can gobble it down before five they still get a whoa and proper respect.
First impressions can be misleading! So we barged on in, wearing only bathing suits, and sat down on the patio. We were greeted by a lovely young lady named Maira. What a sweetheart! Five-star service, ask for her section if and when you go. She knew the menu back and forth.
We started with the Turkish cigars and the fried feta. Go for the cigars. They are awesome, and I have absolutely no complaints. A delicious combo of spinach and feta, lightly fried in a thin flaky thingy. The fried feta was kind of frustrating because it was just too greasy. And I kept seeing the front of that busboy s apron in my mind.
For dinner I got the Sarma (little seasoned lamb burgers) and the wife had the Souvlaki (lamb kabob). The boys both got the kid s fettuchinni alfredo. As we ate, we kept having to swipe at all of the flies swarming our table. My eldest son started fixating on the fly problem and could not talk about anything but flies. What are flies good for, dad? Is it true that flies spit on your food every time they land on it, dad? (Yes, by the way). But like I said before, my family is a hearty bunch.
Well, everything tasted GREAT! I loved it! My wife and I like to share, so I was happy to taste the Souvlaki, and I grudgingly gave her a tiny morsel of my Sarma. Heavily seasoned, all of it.
The tasty garlic green beans come with every meal, and... well... GARLIC and GREEN BEANS... Thus, the name.
I have eaten at enough top quality Greek restaurants to tell you that if you want more authentic Greek cuisine, you probably have to travel all the way to Los Angeles to get it. But I kept thinking about that dirty busboy while I was eating.
So as the meal was winding down, I decided I wanted to go inside and check out the kitchen.
I half-expected I would have to sneak in through the swinging doors, but when I entered, I was pleasantly surprised to see the kitchen is right there in front of the entire restaurant. Anybody walking in or out has to walk directly past the kitchen.
So you expect a clean kitchen, right?
Unfortunately, as I stood there and focused on particular items, I was terribly disappointed. Everything was filthy. There was seasoning on some of the burners that easily dates back to the Eisenhower administration. The small refrigerator had dried crud all over the front, and I am pretty sure one of those old french fries under the grill moved. And yes, the crud was DRY. There is no way in heck it was only a couple of hours old.
I think half the problem is how old all of the equipment is. There are so many nooks and crannies in those old stove tops that you really have to spend a couple of hours cleaning them properly.
But you know what else I noticed? A dedicated staff working together as a team, with smiles on their faces, and an obvious pleasure of their work. This place has a lot of charm and a lot of talent. I am definitely going back. Soon.
Five stars for the excellent service, Maira. Four stars for the tasty (heavily spiced) food. Negative four stars for the nasty dirty stuff. And plus two for staff pride. P.S. Please buy staff new aprons.
