Eat Something Good

Though Steve is half Greek, we haven’t been eating too much greek food lately.  We used to go to a place called Lefteris Gyro (Tarrytown, NY) a lot.  I really love their food and it’s a good value.  Over the years, the prices have gone up a little but not by much and it certainly doesn’t stop the crowds from congregating inside and out.  They have a nice, out door seating area right on the sidewalk.   There’s no parking lot for this place (and there’s limited street parking) so you know it’s gotta be good because people go out of their way to eat there.   But it’s a small town, so you’re bound to find a spot not too faraway.  Anyhow, Steve’s mom discovered a new Greek restaurant not too far from Lefteris Gyro and she was eager to take us there.  Overall, it was good but there were certain things that didn’t please me.  But then again, my knowledge of greek food is somewhat limited, so I don’t necessarily know what the typical or traditional  way a dish is served.  Everything I know is based on my experiences at Lefteris Gyro, a couple of trips to “little Greece” in Astoria Queens with Steve, and also his mom’s cooking.  She makes a great spanakopita (like a spinach pie.)

The food.  First we all started out with avgholemono soup.  The recipe uses chicken stock, tempered (think that’s the right word) eggs to thicken it, lemon and a little rice (or sometimes orzo which looks like rice but is actually a pasta.)  The consistency is a little thick, a little creamy.  Steve and his mom both squeezed a little extra lemon into their soups and decided it was a very good soup.  I liked it as is, but I wouldn’t have minded the extra lemon.  If I were to make it at home, I’d probably go a little heavier on the lemon although I liked the idea that it wasn’t so strong that you couldn’t add some extra fresh lemon juice by yourself.  Oh, I forgot. Before the soup, they put out some pitas that had been cut like a pizza and with herbs sprinkled on top.  Maybe brushed with a little oil as well.  They also gave you complementary hummus which is something Lefteris Gyro doesn’t not do.  It was a nice touch.  Not the best hummus I’ve had but it definitely wasn’t bad.  They put whole chick peas on the top, in the center.  I’ve never seen hummus present that way.  I didn’t like what it did to the consistency.  I like my hummus as smooth tasting as possible.

saganaki

Next, we had the saganaki which is kefalograviera cheese flamed in greek brandy and with fresh lemon.  I was expecting flames but no.  At  Lefteris Gyro, the waitress ( a real greek lady) brought you a flaming cheese dish and then she would squeeze lemon over it to put out the fire.  I like flames and fire though it scares me.  I’m not sure what the draw is.  But when they brought out (see pic) almost like a deep fried loaf of cheese, I was like…what the heck is this?  Despite that, we all gave it a little try.  The cheese for saganaki is pretty darned strong tasting and very salty.  I was a little upset because I was looking forward to dipping my pita into soft, bubbling cheese with “burnt” edges.  This “loaf” had the consistency of luke warm mozzerella cheese and it was breaded or something.  So I didn’t love it.

beef souvlaki platter

For our main course, Steve & I both got the beef souvlaki platter which is what we usually order at Lefteris Gyro.  There were differences though.  On the platter, you get either french fries or rice and some well-done, super tender - almost overboard but I didn’t mind - green beans cooked with tomato and dill.  On my plate, the green beans, though only luke warm were my favorite part.  Steve enjoyed it as well.  I had a bit of Steve’s rice and it was very good.  If my rice at home turned out like Santorini’s, I’d be very pleased.  The kebab.  Warmer but not hot (which I would’ve prefered) was okay.  You only got one long kebab and it alternately had beef tenderloin, onions & green peppers on it.  At Lefteris Gyro, they gave you more meat and no vegetables.  And again, I must say, I like theirs better.  Oh, and when I order the beef souvlaki platter, I always get it with patates (steak fries).  At Lefteris Gyro, without fail, their fries are super duper hot and crispy.  If you ate them right away, you’d burn your mouth a little.   The fries I got at Santorini were luke warm and not at all crispy.  I ate like 1/3 of them.  And on the Lefteris beef souvlaki platter, they serve it with thick’ish pitas(I think most greek pitas are thicker and softer than the typical middle eastern ones) and they are always warmed, very warm.  They also give you a nice serving of tzatziki (a white cucumber-yogurt sauce.)  None of that at Santorini.

galaktoboureko

The dessert.  As Steve’s mom put it, the dessert was the best part.  I had the galabtoboureko which is like a semi-firmly set up custard with filo dough on top. Steve’s mom told us there’s farina in the custard. Oh my goodness.  They only charged $3.95 for a giant piece.  So big that everybody had some and I still took half of it home.  Steve had the greek yogurt with walnuts & honey and his mom had the Kataifi which looks like a giant shredded wheat biscuit.  It was pretty darn good and she gave me her leftovers.  Yey!  I have yet to eat it.  I like shredded wheat

kataifi

cereal so I was liking the dessert.  I may order it next time.

All in all, I think the food at Santorini is seasoned a little better and the restaurant itself it decorated a little fancier but not necessarily nicer than Lefteris Gyro.  Another thing I didn’t like were that our dishes were served on rectangular, white plates.  I wasn’t liking that for some reason.  I felt like they were trying to be too fancy.  The only time I welcome a boxy plate is when I’m eating sushi which I haven’t done in ages.  Most of the entrees were around $10 - $15 so it made me laugh that they had valet parking.  Steve & I prefer our usual place better.  Better service too.  Our waitress who I recognized as someone I went to high school with (and that I did not mention) was very unprofessional. And they didn’t  keep an eye on our beverages.  Steve had to wait forever to get a refill of water (as did I) and that upset us.  But I’m glad I had this food experience.  I love dining out!  Oh, I forgot.  Steve said the greek coffee was very good.  I have a pic but I think if I put one more in this blog that it will be overkill.  (Also, I couldn’t figure out how to do it )!  Alrighty folks, take care and as always, Eat Something Good!

Santorini Greek Restaurant
175 Valley Street
Sleepy Hollow, NY