Arts & Life, Features

Flavor Focus: George’s Greek Cafe

Did you know that a Mediterranean diet is found to be associated with significant health benefits that include lower rates of heart disease, cancer, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s? At least it is according to the British Medical Journal. The diet has its own food pyramid, where it shows vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, beans and olive oil as the main food group.

I went with a friend to eat at George’s Greek Café on 2nd street in Long Beach (they also have locations in Lakewood and Huntington Beach). Before you ponder, I understand I just went from talking about Mediterranean food to saying I went to eat Greek food. Just know they are so similar that people can almost never distinguish between the two.

Here’s what I ordered:

1.  Tomato soupa: $4.75 for a small bowl. Comes with pita bread.

“A zesty blend of fresh tomatoes, cream, chicken broth and spices”

Opinion: A little bit too salty for my liking, but it went great with their warm pita bread.

2. Spanakopites: $5.75

“Baked mini filo [type of dough that comes out flaky] triangles stuffed with feta cheese, spinach and spices”

Opinion: They top it with two sliced tomatoes. You wouldn’t think sliced tomatoes would taste so good, but they complimented this appetizer perfectly. The portion seemed small, but the stuffing was filling. Being a fan of cheese and spinach, I could be bias in expressing how good these triangle pastries were. But really, the crust had the right amount of flakiness and the stuffing was very flavorful.

3. Lamb chops: 4 chops for about $20. An extra $6 will get you 2 more.

“New Zealand lamb cutlets marinated in lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, oregano and Greek spices”

Opinion: The entrée comes with rice or fries. My fat-self, got both. If you like garlic, then the garlic fries are a must-get. They top it with fresh minced garlic and feta cheese. The spiciness from the garlic and creaminess of the feta made the fries to die for. If you like your fries crispy, you might want to ask them to make it crispier.

I always go for chicken when I go out, but the server convinced us to get the lamb chops that “were marinated for almost 48 hours.” Darn those advertising skills. They were good. But they didn’t make my taste buds jump with joy. Maybe the server over-hyped it just a little.

As for desserts, there weren’t many options. But you’ll know when you see them. Yes, I believe the servers are required to bring over a plate of the actual desserts to lure you in. More advertising tactics. We got three cookies with vanilla ice cream. I unfortunately couldn’t find the names of the cookies, but we had the round, powdered  one and the nutty one.

My suggestion: go down the street for some Rite-Aid ice cream or Yogurtland. The cookies weren’t horrible, they just weren’t worth the price.

Overall, service there was amazing. Our server was friendly and knew how almost everything tasted like. The manager checked on us over three times. You can choose to sit indoors or outdoors.

My overall rating:

4/5 stars

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