Minoas Greek Taverna
3823 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

I interrupt my Tacoma post for Minoas Taverna!

For the most part, most food blogger gatherings have been done by Sherman and myself, though, for the last one, it was Jenny who organized it. Out of the blue, Elaine drops some of us an email for an impromptu mini-gathering of sorts. The place? Minoas Greek Taverna, a restaurant in Kingsway where I have seen countless amount of times (mainly because I take Skytrain) which has made me wonder for the longest: how the restaurant manage to survive in such odd location? Is it because they serve something good? One way to find out! In this round, it was Chris and Elaine, Sherman, Jessica and M, and me. Others were also invited but due to external circumstances, they couldn’t make it. Oh, well, I guess it should be still enough people to sample several dishes, hehehehe.

I was the first one to arrive probably because I was taking Skytrain (to Patterson Skytrain station and then a short walk). When I walked in, one of the oddest thing occurred. While I was expecting the dining room to be right there, instead, I saw a flight of stairs. I was somewhat confused: is this a restaurant or somebody’s house? I hesitantly went upstairs and there was the restaurant! I asked for Elaine’s reservation (or a table for six) but they were looking at me funny. As a result, I told them I will wait for my dining partners and be back in a moment. Eventually, the rest of the gang arrived with Sherman being the first one (which resulted in such choosing where to seat).

So, here is the deal with Minoas (and the reason why Elaine wanted to come here): On Tuesday, Wednesday and Tuesday, Kleftico or lamb should is $14 (otherwise, $18). However, at the same time, Jessica and Sherman had coupons. Now, we are no b@$7@rds and demanded both discounts; instead, we chose to use one of them instead (which ended up being the coupons). So, a couple of minutes after we made our orders, we got what seems to be a stereotypical Greek dish…

Greek salad: It was quite simple and refreshing. The only oddity was that the tomato wasn’t that sweet but, then again, heirloom tomato or cherry tomato aren’t necessarily cheap (even in summer). Still, it worked fine for me.

One of the “issues” we have in a food blogger dinner is the part of who orders what to avoid having one (or hopefully not more) repeated dish. However, Chris is not a food blogger and, instead, try to spoil or fun a little bit (JK!). So, in the end, he ordered fasolatha, a bean and vegetable soup. He seemed to enjoy it but I will defer how it was to Elaine’s post!

Based on the savings we would get from the coupons, we decided order their hot appetizer platter which has spanakopita (spinach pie), calamari, dolmathes (grape vine leaves stuffed with ground beef and rice), manitaria (sautéed mushrooms), hummus and tzatziki. For the most part, these were different from what I have tasted in other Greek restaurants but in a good way. For example, the spanakopita had a minty hint in it and the hummus was chunkier than some (though in no way dry). The calamari wasn’t chewy at all and quite well seasoned but wasn’t that crispy. The tzatziki was garlic-y, but in a good way. The odd one out was the sautéed mushrooms, which I found strange to be served this way but, regardless, it was quite tasty.

Moving to mains, Elaine went for the biftekia (spiced ground beef patties). Despite it looks really charred outside, inside was still quite moist and spiced. Furthermore, three patties? How can you go wrong here!

I will have to accuse Jessica for ordering something “strange”. Could it be that because she hasn’t blogged in a while, she chose to order something… Different? Here the lamb loin chops. I had mixed feelings about it, as the piece I tasted was somewhat overcooked; however, according to Sherman, his piece seemed to have some juiciness (sp?) in it. Uneven cooking? In my case, I will call it a pass.

I went for something somewhat stereotypical: moussaka, which was actually Jessica’s first option (but which I ended up calling shotgun first!). This was actually quite good. A decent portion size, with the vegetables not being sliced too thin to the point it “disappeared” under the sauce or other larger components and being able to say “I am here!”. Furthermore, it wasn’t overloaded with bechamel sauce which allowed the vegetables to shine. The one thing I would have preferred is the ground beef having a bit more presence. It was visually there; just not from a taste perspective.

Finally, the dish we went for and which M and Sherman ended up ordering: the lamb shoulder. Based on the pieces I tasted, it was quite moist, though slightly lacking in the gaminess department. So, depending on how you like it, it can go both ways. A little bit more spices (oregano?) would have done wonders but, otherwise, it is still good.

Except for Chris’ order, all of our mains came with some vegetables in the form of carrots, potato and rice. The potato was OK, though with some greasiness on top (not necessarily bad). The carrots were OK but the rice was terrible as it was somewhat mushy.

Overall, some dishes went sideways but, otherwise, I thought the food was quite good. The one point some people might have to consider is that we ended up splitting the bill to ~$22.50 (tax included, discount applied, tips based on the amount pre-discount). Depending on your perspective, it could be moderately priced or expensive (specially if you compare it to Stepho’s). In my case, I would certainly come back if I had a coupon, not sure if I would do so without it. (Which, we actually received!).

After we finished the meal, I checked with everybody to stay for a moment. The reason? Well, it just happen that Mijune was back from a business trip and brought some stuff for us to try:

What are these? I will let Mijune answer the question instead! But, yes, that donut is BIG!!!

White Tower
1359 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC

If you are looking for Greek food in Vancouver, you can pretty much go anywhere. Probably you might have favourites but, if you go around town, there will be one every dozen or so blocks. In the case of Downtown Vancouver, for most people, there is even a “default”: Stepho’s, a restaurant that, in a way, has mastered the art of generating enough volume of customers to make it possible for them to lower there prices to an almost ridiculous level – to an extent that people are willing to queue up just for a plate of Greek food. But, then again, there is Takis Taverna a couple of doors from Stepho’s. If you move to Denman, there is Olympia Pizza and Pasta and Maria’s Taverna. After walking so many times in Robson, I thought there might not be any… That was until a day, PO and I were looking for something quick in the area and we ended up going to a place I believe has been there forever: White Tower.

When we walked in, the oddity was that the restaurant was empty! Probably because it was a sunny day? Regardless, after we sat down and as the meal went, there were some suited businessmen taking another table and a small family yet another table. As we looked at the menu, we ended up going for the easy way out: their lunch specials. In their case, they had two so PO ended up ordering one and I ordered the other one. First, the bread from each of us orders:

In PO’s case, his order came with a piece of toast, in my case, a piece of pita. The toast could have had a bit more of garlic (as in garlic toast?) but, otherwise, it was OK. As for the pita… Well, again it was OK. Come to think about it, it was just average at best but, oh, well, it is bread so we weren’t to picky about it.

PO chose special #1 ($9): lasagna. OK, OK, this does not necessarily shout Greek but Italian. But, you know what? Lasagna might have some Greek background, not to mention there is a similar Greek dish called pastitsio! In the end, if it is good, that is what matters the most. As for the one here, the sauce could have had a bit more spices but, otherwise, the pasta had a nice fresh texture to it. PO finished the whole plate, which, by then, I had to ask: how does it compare to the one from Ciao Bella? He thought it might be apple and oranges, in the case of White Tower’s, it had a bit more “home” feeling. And, from the sample I had, I will have to agree.

As for myself, I went for special #2 ($10), chicken souvlaki, served with rice, Greek salad, roasted potatoes and tzatziki, which I used mostly as a spread for the pita. The rice was almost the parboiled type but, at least, it had some seasoning hint in it. As for the salad… Well, it is quite similar to the ones you can find in almost all Greek places so I am not sure how to really separate them from the rest. The potatoes was OK; not the biggest fan of potatoes but, at least, it did what it was supposed to do. And, finally, the chicken souvlaki… I will have to admit it was nicely grilled but it was slightly dry. A slight squirt of the lemon did some wonders but not enough to counter the dryness.

I will have to admit that despite some issues, the food was good. Unfortunately, given it is walking distance from Stepho’s, there will be that comparison. But, if you let that go, not to mention if the consideration that “other” dishes are available here (including pasta and pizza), which can prove to be a plus if you have a party and people wants different dishes. In the end, the food is good in its own ways and that is what matters.

Greek Day
3230 West Broadway Street
Vancouver, BC

Greek Summer Festival
4641 Boundary Road
Vancouver, BC

Last year, around this time, I went to several festival (for eample, the Scandinavian Mid Summer Fest, Latin Summer Fest, Powell Street Festival and so on). One that I couldn’t make it was the Greek Day, as it conflicted with another personal matters (as mentioned in my Scandinavian Mid Summer Fest post above). Despite I went to Greek Summer Festival, in-lieu of the Greek Day, well, it isn’t necessarily the same. So, this year, I made sure I went to that festivity, despite the weather was un-summer like. But, hey, weather hasn’t stopped me before! So, without further ado, a small photo essay of this event.

The event took place in Vancouver West Side in West Broadway between McDonald and Bleinheim Street

Greek goodies…

More goodies…

Did I say goodies?

You got to have a stage, right?

I guess there ought to be some people in costumes…

Did I say food??? However, most of the same stands were selling the same dishes…

Preparing gyros

My gyro… Not from the stand mentioned above. It was a fail because it was more in lines of ground meat rather than that sliced version.

I didn’t order this; instead, I took it from somebody else… Without her noticing! Shame? What shame?

I also ordered a pork souvlaki…

I also ordered a chicken souvlaki from a different stand. It was better prepared than the one from the pork soulvalki.

At least Greeks are better than Chinese, from the dessert’s perspective…

Ended up ordering a galaktoboureko, custard sandwich between phyllo with a hint of orange. Yumm!

Now, as the subject of this post suggests, I also went to the Greek Summer Festival. This event will be up until July 11th so you still have a week to go! Now, I went twice already and there are chances I will go again so the pictures below are based on what I have ordered so far. Since I don’t expect things to be that different from last year to this, things like lamb will be… Oh, well, almost the same as last year! But, as for what I have ordered so far this year…

Pork souvlaki dinner, with salad, bread, tzatziki and rice – $14

Greek yoghurt with honey. Disappointed it was scooped out from a commercial container… And charge $3 for it!

Spanakopita (appetizer), served with tzatziki – $4

My Big Fat Greek Restaurant
4218 N Scottsdale Road
Scottsdale, AZ

Somebody will have to explain to me where that phrase came to exist. I mean, I know of that sleeper movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” which was followed by a TV series “My Big Fat Greek Life”. And then there is an unrelated show called “My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance” and “My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss”. I will not push that “My Big Fat” theme any longer, other than, when I saw the name of this restaurant, My Big Fat Greek Restaurant, all the worst cliches of the world came to my mind…

But, to be fair, I shouldn’t be judging a restaurant by its name (I will even give some allowance to a restaurant with Golden Arcs but that is another topic). Instead, I will put aside it is a chain restaurant and order the food as if it is was a regular restaurant. However, since I live in Metro Vancouver and (I think) most of my readers are from this area as well, I will have to self-impose one yardstick: Stepho’s. Now, in the case you are NOT from Metro Vancouver, Stepho’s is the most (in)famous Greek restaurant known for its “cheap” entrees and long lines. It is something to be seen… No, not the food but the line of people standing outside – sun, rain or, if hell freezes over, snow – for some cheap food. And, just for reference purposes, I have blogged about Stepho’s in the past – check it here.

One of the “funny” things about Greek food here is the motif. I am not sure if there is a reason behind it but most Greek places I have been seems to decorate the interior to the point it starts to feels odd, as if I was invading somebody else’s home. Yes, cozy to an extent (stretching it, though) but somewhat distracting as well. Anyway, unlike restaurants here, at least in the US, it seems every restaurant has a TV and a bar, almost to the point of it being a sports bar in addition to it being a restaurant. I chose to sit in the dining room because, well, the sports bar was quite dark (modern looking though). Unfortunately, similar to PF Chang’s, lightning conditions were barely better…

For drinks I asked for pop/soda and, bloody hell, it was a large serving! I did take a (bad) picture of it but did not put it up as it didn’t add too much value. It was a 32 ounce glass rather than the more conventional 12 ounce! (I know that nowadays, a lot of places have already switched to 16 ounces as “default” glass size). I mean, I had the option for refills but, was it really necessary to provide the full 32 ounce at once? Americans and their eating habits do not stop to amaze me… Anyway, for the dish above. I had the option to add a “Greek” salad to my entree and chose to do so. So, as seen above, their Greek salad with a mix of cucumber, onion, tomato, lettuce (?), green peppers and feta cheese. And, of course, the lonely olive. It was lightly dressed and had the option to ask for more olive oil. For the most part, it was good, heck, it is a simple dish! Two notes I should mention: Some of the vegetables were chopped a bit too small to my liking and I still can’t think the reasoning behind the lettuce other than to act as a filler to the dish. If you can come up with another reasoning, by all means, let me know!

One quick note about the picture. I know in yesterday’s post on P.F. Chang’s, I did some collage with pictures of the food and it seems I am having a bit too much fun with it as well. I must mention there is yet one other post with a similar collage. It is not easy work as I have to make sure it “fits” but does not forces me to go to large either. However, there was one reason why I did the collage: because the “normal size” pictures was a bit too blurry and the only way to “hide” it is by reducing its size. I know, I cheated here but…

Since I wanted to do a comparison with Stepho’s, I had to order that one item to do so: lamb. In this case, the dish was bone-in roasted lamb. According to their menu, “20 ounces of slowly roasted lamb, seasoned and cooked to perfection”, “all dinners served with roasted lemon potatoes, sauteed vegetables & rice”. The potatoes were decent though I did not taste that much lemon in it. Now foul, as I would have rather had some herbs than lemon on roasted potatoes. I had mixed feelings about the sauteed vegetables. It was good but it wasn’t sauteed, as it still had quite a bite on some of the vegetables. I have the odd feeling they quickly boiled it and tossed with some oil. The rice was, oh, well, disappointing as it had that taste and texture of parboiled rice but, then again, this is a Greek restaurant and I have never had any expectations of rice in such restaurants. Of course, the opposite can’t be said if it was an Asian restaurant…

Finally, the lamb… Not sure how to describe it other than mixed feelings. On one side, it was really tender and had that unique lamb taste (though not too overpowering). But, there were one and a half things that also distracted me – the half being the size. Now, normally, that would have been a “full” issue but I “scaled” it down to half as I wasn’t feeling like eating a lot. But, that did not look that much as a 20 ounce slab of lamb goodness (don’t try to pull that “weight before cooking” statement…). Worst of all? The pieces of fat still hanging. I know flat is flavour but I wasn’t expecting it there, specially if it has been roasting for a while! Despite all that, I think the lamb flavour won me over in this dish.

Overall, while my dinner was interesting, it is not a place I am in a hurry to come back. It is just that there isn’t that bigger “push”/”wow” factor I thought it could (and had some potential). As for the comparison, food-wise, they are about the same – unfortunately for My Big Fat Greek Restaurant, I live in Vancouver and you don’t have a location here. Also, Stepho’s food is cheaper than yours…

Olympia Pizza & Pasta Restaurant on Denman
998 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC

There are some cuisines that, well, I sort of have put them on a side-line. Not that they are bad, just that I feel “attracted” to other options found nearby. One of such cuisines is Greek. While there are Greek restaurants around, the best known is Stepho’s, which I have blogged previously here. So, one day, for lunch, I wanted to go for Greek, instead of the usual Japanese/Chinese options that so abound in Vancouver Downtown/West End. That place ended up being Olympia Pizza & Pasta Restaurant on Denman.

In an unfortunate way, Olympia is better known for its trademark “fight” with the International Olympic Committee (an article describing it can be found here). While I have an opinion about the issue, this blog is not about trademarks and naming conventions but about food so I will skip that topic.

Olympia has a nice “patio” that overlooks Denman Street. For good or for bad, it was a cloudy day so it worked in its own way to take pictures. However, that caused an odd problem. Since the waitress (yes, there was a single waitress for lunch for the whole restaurant) couldn’t really see you, if she was busy, service would be almost nill. However, provided the basic was provided (menu, take order, bring food, drinks and bill), I won’t care about that at all.

Yes, being in a Greek restaurant, I would order that one stereotypical dish: roasted lamb. Well, I could have ordered other dishes; however, for comparison purposes, this was the dish. The first thing you would notice is the portion size. If we were to compare it to Stepho’s, it would be smaller; however, portion size is not everything. It was as tender as the lamb I have had in other places so, from that perspective, I won’t complain. It was also well seasoned… Wait, let’s try again: so far, no roasted lamb I have had so far has failed so, until then… ^_^;

The garden/Greek salad had some “bite” but that “shaved” feta lacked some bitter taste. Regardless, it was good. The roasted potato was interesting in the sense it was completely roasted to the point some charred pieces were on one side. That is always good. The most noticeable/different part was the tzatziki (aside from the fact it is in a plastic container). I didn’t take a picture of that but it had actual grated pieces of cucumber. Now, if it wasn’t because it was a bit too runny… The rice, well, let’s just say that, so far, no Greek restaurant makes the rice “good enough” (Asian standards?).

Overall, it was a satisfying meal. However, having using Stepho’s as a reference point it would be unfair. Would I come back? I will make that assessment after visiting the two other Greek restaurants in the area (but not in Davie). Until then, this place is an option.

Vancouver Greek Summer Fest 2009
4541 Boundary Road
Vancouver, BC

On last Friday’s post, I mentioned about the Greek Summer Festival, which opened on, well, Friday. While the ideal situation would have been going there for lunch, my workplace is nowhere near Boundary (not to mention I had already scheduled a lunch with friends), so the only option remaining was to go after my “usual” Friday night activities. And, here it goes, the Vancouver Greek Summer Festival!

The “bad” part was that it was a bit late already, around 10:00 p.m. But, there was still food, right?

By 10:00 p.m., it was already dwindling down for the day…

But tell me there is still food!!!!

So, I just queued to buy my “ticket” for my order.

And, what to order? Here is the menu! (For a larger version, check the Greek Summer Fest site).

Let’s face it, when you are hungry (like I was, after all, it was 10:00 p.m.!) and you are in a Greek restaurant, no matter how large is the menu, you will end up ordering lamb! Unfortunately, I was a bit hungrier than what I thought and did not have that much patience trying to adjust the settings of the camera. Hence the fuzzy picture… I apologize for that. -_-;;;

It was served with Greek salad, rice and bread. The later was, well, not much to talk about. The rice, oddly, was better than most Greek places but not at par of most Asian shops (I am biased on this thought, tough. After all, I am Chinese!). The salad was actually good. The cucumber still had a crunch and the “bitterness” of the feta was still there. Best of all, the salad was not too “wet” (as in there was not too much liquid due to the vegetables). And the most important question: How was the lamb? Actually, it could have been better. The reason is that, given the time of the day, the pieces I had must have been sitting there for a while, hence, slightly dry. Likewise, I felt cheated as the pieces were on the bony side (good for taste; but there was too much bone…). However, that was not necessarily a bad thing because that gave me the option of going for dessert!

Loukoumades, can anybody say the Greek’s version of timbits? ^_^;;;

I ended up ordering bougatsa, a custard wrapped phyllo. It is not that sweet but satisfying…

At this point, I would have called it a day. However, notice something odd from the initial set of pictures? How about the fourth picture, the one of the queue to buy the tickets to order food? If I went on Friday night, how come the picture seems to have been taken in the middle of the day? Well, it just happened that I went there again on Saturday noon! This time, I took my time to take pictures of the cooking area as well as the queues…

Plates ready for the lamb/souvlaki/spanakopita/etc plates.

Souvlaki wraps being made! ^_^

Where all the phyllo based dishes (cheese, spinach, custard, etc.) were kept

Hmmmmm….. Lamb! That’s a lot of lamb!

Unlike other festivals, it seems the Greeks are more than happy to pose for a picture!

And, the queues, hehehehe.

As for me, I did not order the lamb. What?! I did not order what!? What happened is that I dinner plans with fellow bloggers that night and did not want to have a too heavy lunch (HA!). So, this is what I ordered:

Chicken souvlaki with tzatziki. I found the chicken slightly dry for my liking; however, the tzatziki made up for it. Personal preference, anybody?

I also went a spanakopita, spinach wrapped in phyllo. I found this one to be quite good, specially when you dose it with a bit of the tzatziki side. The only problem with the phyllo dishes was that the upper layers if phyllo tend to breakdown too easily making a big mess!

Finally, while I did not have lamb myself, it is needless to say others did not. Like…

Would I come back? At this point, I am not sure. While I don’t mind watching people dance (yes, there is a stand for that!), if I go, it will be only for the food. However, there are so many other festivities in between, mainly Canada Day, it is the question of if I will have time! But, since it ends in July 5th, I might have enough, hehehehe.

Takis Taverna
1106 Davie Street
Vancouver, BC

Earlier this year, I wrote about Stepho’s Greek Taverna and, to those who are not familiar with this place, is one of the best known Greek restaurants in Vancouver, to the point people queue outside for plate of Greek food. Given such popularity, one might ask how good would another nearby Greek restaurant be. Takis Taverna is such place, which is a couple of doors down from Stepho’s and, similar to Stepho’s, it has been there for ages.

I got there for a reason: I wanted some Greek food and, guess what?, did not want to queue at Stepho’s! I was not sure if I did the right thing as, oddly, there was only one other table for lunch, which is seldom a good thing…

Why all Greek restaurants seem to have been decorated by the same guy/gal?

They have some lunch specials, particularly, roasted lamb, which is what I ordered. And then wait, and wait, and wait. While I will give them some slack because they opened about 30 minutes prior to me walking in, c’mon! Roasted lamb is not something you can cook in 30 minutes so I shouldn’t wait that long, right? At least that gave me some chance to snap some pictures, like…

Just salt and pepper… Oh, the ornament is artificial…

Eventually, the “bread” arrived. In this case, it was OK; not outstanding in any way. Slightly greasy, though. Regardless, it did the job it was supposed to do. And then, the food:

Wait, let’s try again…

Or another angle…

So how was it? The rice was horrible, something that should not surprise anybody. For some odd reason, no matter how it is made, in Greek restaurants, it ends up mushy and more often than not, bland. The salad had the basics but it was not much to comment about. As for the other veggies, surprisingly, it was simple but full of flavour, specially the carrots. And the star of the dish, the roast lamb… It was not as seasoned as it could have been but, still, managed to provide a subtle lamb game-y taste. And, yes, it was tender. That brings an odd question: How come I got two pieces? Hmmmmm….

Overall, I think if you are going for Greek, despite some shortcomings, Takis Taverna looks like a good option. Specially if you do not want to queue for who knows how long and don’t mind paying an extra buck or two.

Arris Pizza
5 Locations in Missouri, plus a location in Oklahoma
115 W High Street (Location visited)
Jefferson City, MO

Since I have been travelling “a lot” in the last six months (compared to the last 5 or so years), every time I stop at a new city, I ask the locals for something unique of the region. When I was in Baltimore, I went for crab cakes; in Merrillville, due to its proximity to Chicago, deep dish pizza; in Philadelphia, cheese steak; and so on.

When I was in Jefferson City, I asked my usual question and, at first, they were bewildered. In a way, they couldn’t think of something “local”. And I won’t blame them, some places with such a massive influx of people, it becomes a melting pot and no cuisine becomes “dominant”. And I can easily relate that, since there is no such thing as a “local” dish in Vancouver. Oddly, when I asked for a restaurant location (at that point “anything works”), I was able to find one of the regional “specialties”. And that is the subject of today’s post, Arris’ Pizza

It seems Arris’ Pizza is a local institution. After it was first mentioned, almost everybody agreed on that suggestion. Who am I to question the locals? Anyway, a 10 Km or so drive it was on a chilly, windy, dark night so it better be good!

On Sunday’s random post, I mentioned about condiments and here is the one found in Arris’ Pizza’s tables. One thing I found “odd” was the presence of artificial sweeteners by “default”. I mean, I understand they would provide it if you had coffee or tea at the end of the meal… However, I think I found out when a nearby table asked for iced tea and the waitress asked if they wanted it sweetened or unsweetened.

As for the food, when I asked (my clients) what they would order, they did disagree a little bit; however, there was a constant: their Greek salad. Again, whom am I to disagree? And here it is:

I will admit it right away: this is the oddest “Greek” salad I ever had. The ones I have had in other places are mostly cucumber and tomatoes, plus other veggies, like green peppers, onions and olives, and, of course, feta cheese and olive oil. However, as you can see in the picture above, there was too much iceberg lettuce for my liking. But, the cheese/dressing used was able to detract the blandness of the iceberg lettuce thanks to its pungency/tanginess. Regardless, I was disappointed. As for the “main”, I ordered a pizza.

Why pizza? It just happen that there is such thing as St. Louis style pizza (on the same lines of Chicago or New York style pizza). From what I was able to gather, rather than mozzarella, it uses a blend of other cheeses (provolone, swiss and white cheddar), not to mention the crust tend to be on the crunchy side. As for the one I ordered, I chose the House pizza which has “ground beef, mushrooms, red onions, green peppers, pepperoni, cotto salami, and our Greek sausage“. Before I continue, notice something strange about the pizza above? For example, the slits? Yes, it was not cut into wedges like the one most people is used to (or at least I am); rather it is cut into squares. Again, it seems to be a local thing – so long and “forgotten” that, when I asked why, nobody from the staff knew.

As for the pizza itself, I found it strange. In a way, I am used to have some acidity from the tomato sauce; however, I couldn’t really taste it from this one. Before anybody comments “but, what about ‘white’ pizza?” Well, true but, in that case, I am expecting it not to have that tomato acidity. Here, I did not find it. Notice, I am not calling it bad; it was different. As for the rest of the pizza, there was a good balance from the ingredients. One thing that I think they could have improved was the type of mushroom – like using fresh rather than canned. Despite it was covered by the cheese, after eating so much mushroom, I could tell just by the texture.

In the end, I couldn’t finish it and packed half of it to go (yeah, my hotel room had a fridge). I was also given these two chocolates. Overall, I can’t say I love it; however, I can’t say I don’t like it either. Probably if I was served more of this, I might learn to appreciate it the same way the locals do. Unfortunately, I don’t think any place here in Vancouver serve them. Still I enjoyed the experience and certainly would give it another chance.

Stepho’s Greek Taverna
1124 Davie St
Vancouver, BC

Whenever I see a lot of people queueing outside of a restaurant, two things come to my head: They want people to watch them (hence, hinting where they eat) or the hype is high. Then there is the queue that sometimes form outside of Stepho’s in Vancouver’s West End. This is not a new restaurant; as for as I know, it has been there for ages, yet people keep lining outside to wait for a table. In my case, despite having lived at walking distance from this place, I never bothered to try it, mainly because I did not want to stand outside, waiting who knows for how long nor I bothered to order takeout.

By sheer coincidence, I was walking in the area looking for a spot for lunch and, behold, no queue! Since I have never been there, I seized the opportunity and walked-in.

Once seated and given the menu, a minute hadn’t passed before a waiter asked me if I already knew what to order. Usually, I would have hinted the staff I just sat down and haven’t had a chance to do so. However, since their menu is quite small, not to mention the fact I already browsed their menu outside, I knew what I was going to order. About 10 minutes later, my dish came, along with some bread.

As for my dish, I ordered their specialty: Roast Lamb ($10).

Just in case, I turned around the plate for a better look of the dish.

As for the dish itself, some parts of it was bland (rice and potato); others were quite tasty (salad and vegetable mix/stew were quite good and the lamb). But then, I have to admit I have not had lamb as often as other meats. Ah, the lamb, it was quite tender, almost falling off the bone… (Though not necessarily the absolute best lamb I have ever had).

In the end, I think Stepho’s have managed to apply the fine art of preparing a decent meal at an acceptable cost (for the customer), which results in higher volume and turnaround. After all, if I were to go to a grocery store/supermarket in Vancouver, I am sure a similar piece of lamb would go for at least $6. Would I go back? The answer will be “depends”! As long as I don’t have to queue, I ought to be OK, though I might as well try other Greek places. Now, if they just clean the place a bit more…