Best Greek
Athens on Fourth
500 N. Fourth Ave.
READERS' AND STAFF PICK: Athens on Fourth serves better
food than you're likely to find in Greece. Everything--from a
simple spinach in filo pie, the spanakopita, to the arni
kokkinisto, "reddened" lamb shoulder that cooks
for hours and often sells out for dinner--is done by owners Andreas
and Helen Delfakis with good taste and infinite care. Inside,
the walls are painted Aegean white, with just touch of red. White
table linen offsets the cherrywood tables and chairs, and the
honey-walnut colors of the parquet floors and wall paneling. They
make a good place to set specials like shrimp in a light tomato
sauce over pasta, garnished with fragrant kalamata olives. There's
also gyro stin pita, the rotisserie broiled spiced, ground
lamb and beef combination served with fresh tomato, red onion
and a tzatziki sauce of finely sliced and de-seeded cucumber
in yogurt and a bit of sour cream. For dessert, have rice pudding,
tasting of cinnamon and sweetened, thick cream, or rich cake flavored
with brandy. Add a cup of strong, sweet Greek coffee on the patio
under a starlit sky, and you might think you were in the Greek
Isles.
READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: Olive Tree Restaurant, 7000 E.
Tanque Verde Road.
