Greek in Green Hills

For all the talk about how Green Hills is so NOT the mecca of great food in our fair city (but there are standouts: Table 3, Firefly, F. Scott’s, Macke’s…), there are some pretty good places to grab a Greek Salad. In fact, there are three counter service cafes that all center around Greek food: Kalamatas, Taziki’s and Zoe’s.

We decided to try the Greek Salad from Zoe’s and Kalamatas, along with the Mediterranean Salad from Taziki’s all at the same sitting. By the way, Taziki’s took first prize of friendliest on the phone. That surprised us. The guy on the phone was so nice I developed a bit of a phone crush.

Each salad was good and each is one that, we’re sure, we will enjoy many times over. But, we need a winner.

The first salad we sampled was the one from Zoe’s. The caramelized onions on top and the mound of potato salad hidden under the lettuce are always my favorite things about this selection. And, the dressing is addictive. This salad isn’t really all that unique, but it’s executed well and I find myself craving it often. The lettuce is always crisp, and the salad is really, really good. It simply hits the spot. Both Elizabeth and I agreed that it was good, except that we had to eat it with plastic cutlery while dining in.

The familiar salad from Zoe’s.

Next, we tried the Greek Salad from Kalamatas, a locally owned and started restaurant. This one had grilled red onion and bell pepper, some chicken off of a kabob, and a garlic knot roll. If I were a bread gal, I’m sure the garlic knot on its own would win me over for favorite salad. The chicken was quite good and the salad showed off what Kalamatas in known for: providing fresh, tasty food with an unexpected twist. We have always enjoyed eating at Kalamtas and we’d really love to get a metal fork when dining in (do you notice a theme today?). Come on, Kalamatas! Your food is too good to eat with a plastic fork!

From Kalamatas: With the Garlic Knot Roll

Kalamata’s Greek Salad without the Garlic Knot Roll

Taziki’s is the new kid on the block and is located on Bandywood. We ordered the Mediterranean salad with lamb meat. Yes, this means it wasn’t a true comparison, as it wasn’t their Greek Salad. But, that’s what we did, and I’m glad we ordered this way as we absolutely, hands down, loved this salad best. The lamb was tasty and plentiful. The pecans, finely chopped, and mixed in with the feta cheese, garbanzo beans, red peppers and red onion were unexpected and delicious. We liked the amount of vegetable ratio to lettuce greens, which even included some baby lettuces. And, Taziki’s does offer metal utensils for their dine-in patrons. Now, if we can get them (and Zoe’s and Kalamatas) to switch to a paper recyclable to-go packaging option, we’d have perfection!