Chicago: Greek Islands Restaurant
I finished my first final of the quarter today and because I was so not in the mood to start studying for the next one, a couple of friends and I decided to get out of Hyde Park and celebrate. After a long and very jumbled Gchat conversation, in which we all demonstrated just how fried our brains were from the final, we somehow agreed to try out Greek Islands Restaurant in Greektown:
The interior was really cute and felt very much like a little Greek town (or a Greek themed amusement park), complete with a white and blue tiered dining room:
For our appetizer, we ordered the flaming saganaki cheese:
My friend described how the cheese would be set aflame, but nothing could've prepared me for the blast of heat that I felt next to me. It happened so quickly that I completely missed how the server lit the cheese, but I did catch how he squeezed lemon juice all over it to put out the flame. The end result was this bubbling mass that was warm and crispy on the edges. The lemon juice really helped temper the pungent flavor of the cheese.
After much deliberation, I went with the mousaka:
Nice, thick slices of eggplant, paired with the ground beef, potato, and bechamel sauce. As a big eggplant fan, I loved how the eggplant was front and center in the dish. The overall dish wasn't quite as savory as I would've like, but then again, I tend to like my food a bit on the salty side.
My friend took a chance on their daily special, the beef, lamb, and rice meatballs:
I got to steal a bite, well okay, half a meatball from her plate. The meatball was really...meaty, which is a good thing. A very good thing.
My other friend got the dolmades, which were rice, ground meat (I think it was lamb), and herbs wrapped in grape leaves and doused with egg-lemon sauce:
The meat filling was rich and matched really well with the slight bitterness of the grape leaves and the creamy tang of the sauce.
The restaurant was pretty busy, but I lost count of how many times my water was refilled or how many different people stopped by our table to ask how the food was. Definitely a fun place to hang out with family and friends and watch some cheese get set on fire.
We had a great time just laughing, relaxing and trying to forget the fact that we have three more finals coming up in the next week and a half. If only every day could be spent like that.
Greek Islands, thank you for taking me away from reality, even if it was only for a few precious hours.
Greek Islands Restaurant
200 S Halsted St
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 782-9855
http://www.greekislands.net/
The interior was really cute and felt very much like a little Greek town (or a Greek themed amusement park), complete with a white and blue tiered dining room:
For our appetizer, we ordered the flaming saganaki cheese:
My friend described how the cheese would be set aflame, but nothing could've prepared me for the blast of heat that I felt next to me. It happened so quickly that I completely missed how the server lit the cheese, but I did catch how he squeezed lemon juice all over it to put out the flame. The end result was this bubbling mass that was warm and crispy on the edges. The lemon juice really helped temper the pungent flavor of the cheese.
After much deliberation, I went with the mousaka:
Nice, thick slices of eggplant, paired with the ground beef, potato, and bechamel sauce. As a big eggplant fan, I loved how the eggplant was front and center in the dish. The overall dish wasn't quite as savory as I would've like, but then again, I tend to like my food a bit on the salty side.
My friend took a chance on their daily special, the beef, lamb, and rice meatballs:
I got to steal a bite, well okay, half a meatball from her plate. The meatball was really...meaty, which is a good thing. A very good thing.
My other friend got the dolmades, which were rice, ground meat (I think it was lamb), and herbs wrapped in grape leaves and doused with egg-lemon sauce:
The meat filling was rich and matched really well with the slight bitterness of the grape leaves and the creamy tang of the sauce.
The restaurant was pretty busy, but I lost count of how many times my water was refilled or how many different people stopped by our table to ask how the food was. Definitely a fun place to hang out with family and friends and watch some cheese get set on fire.
We had a great time just laughing, relaxing and trying to forget the fact that we have three more finals coming up in the next week and a half. If only every day could be spent like that.
Greek Islands, thank you for taking me away from reality, even if it was only for a few precious hours.
Greek Islands Restaurant
200 S Halsted St
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 782-9855
http://www.greekislands.net/
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