The Greeks is a new restaurant located in the bottom of Beech View Place on Beechurst. A few others are set to open in that building, but The Greeks is leading the charge. A little more Greek food in my life? I'm happy with that.

First things first, don't do what I did and drive around hunting for parking. If you go to the bottom garage and on the side NOT closest toward Lavender Cafe - the other side - go there and park. Apparently when you eat at The Greeks, they'll give you a token to use, which I'm assuming will pay for your parking.

Inside, there is a menu behind the counter: potatoes, gyros, salads, souvlaki, platters, chicken and more. I went for a "gyro meat" gyro (lamb(, which comes with choice of spread, tomatoes, onions, parsley and fresh cut fries. I like that there is the rotisserie of meat in the back, and the folks working gave us samples of the spreads - a spicy cheese, hummus and tzatziki.

I love their spicy cheese! But I wanted the full gyro experience with the tzatziki sauce. The guys working were super helpful and eager to please. The gyro was so good. Fresh veggies, well-seasoned meat and a thick sauce. Definitely delicious. Best in town.

AND if you venture around to the back side of the restaurant, they have a little cafe with crepes and coffee. Plus a nice little view of the interview of the apartments, which is very nice.











The girls making the crepes were new and clearly not part of the Greek family on the front end. Instead, these are students learning. Which made my crepe turn out less than ideal, but I think they just need some more practice.

I ordered a sweet crepe with The Greeks Bougatsa Custard. Sounds good, right?

 


OK, so the image is questionable. BUT it was good. It was like a cinnamon rice pudding sort of thing. There was just way too much, and the technique wasn't quite right. So it was a bit of a fail.

But the flavors were there, and I think I would give it another go.

Grade: B

Acropolis is Greek-themed (go figure), with figurines and fake green plants lining the dining areas.

The menu had a bunch of lunch specialties, and a few caught my eye. But first, we were brought a basket of pita chips with this sort of cinnamon butter. It was odd, considering the pita chips were savory - garlic, etc.


First came a small, basic salad. A bed of romaine lettuce with a piece of tomato and some feta (I do like feta!). These salads bore me so much. Add some veggies, would ya. I ordered the gyro tortellini, which was lamb/beef with tortellini in a creamy garlic sauce. This was a typical dish I would order (mm carbs), with the added greek twist of the lamb meat. I was a fan. Creamy and hearty.


And then dessert! Baklava. It wasn't as crunchy as I've had - more soft, but good.

However. I don't know if it was the tortellini or salad or dessert or whatever. But I definitely was not feeling great later. And neither was Kayla.

Grade: C

You have not had a gyro (Jy-Roh or Yir-Oh - doesn't matter), until you've had Yorgo's.

Situated in an otherwise unassuming area of Steubenville, this restaurant is well-known in the area for having the best gyros. They're huge, delicious and cheap. I'm not really sure what else you could want.

When I was visiting home, my parents and I went over to fill our bellies. My family and I walked in and already knew what we wanted, really. I ordered their classic gyro. I state time and time again that french fries are not typically my favorite, but because "potatoes" is also in the name, I had to try it. We got a giant plate of fries with cheese to share. You order at the counter and they hand it off to your when it's finished.

Oh, and I somehow convinced my parents to let me have a piece of baklava, too. Hey, it's nice when mom and dad buy.

They slice of slivers of lamb from a giant skewer, pile it on a fluffy pita and top it with lettuce, tomato, onions and their delicious cucumber sauce. By the time it was handed over to me, it was this giant behemoth of a sandwich that looked at me intimidatingly.

Devoured. Here's the problem, though. If it's really a problem. It's so huge that you actually run out of PITA before you run out of meat. Unheard of. But it happens here. I had a few chunks of meat leftover because my stomach would hate me (more so than it already did) if I finished it off.

But it's Grade A meat. Not a single imperfection. The toppings are fresh as could be, and the tzatziki sauce is what dreams are made of.

The french fries were also pretty bangin. It was a huge plate - crispy on the outside, soft potato on the inside. And just topped with cheddar and mozzarella cheese and melted atop the steaming batch.

The baklava was the best I've had. I sometimes find with the nuts that it gets dry and too crunchy and brittle.

This was so good. It was soaking up the perfect amount of honey that made is a sticky, sweet triangle of deliciousness.

Oh, and they give free refills.

Grade: A

I only just recently visited Adelphia on Capitol Street, but I noticed this Adelphia Limited on my drive to work. It's a smaller lunch service cafe that's only a block or so from work, so it's a perfect location for me. Not only that, but it's also the opposite way of Capitol Street - which is usually where I find myself during my lunch break, so it's nice little change of pace -- not to mention a little less foot traffic in that area.

Their menu has a few gyros, quesadillas, wings, burgers, fries, and grilled cheese sandwiches. I ordered a Greek quesadilla, which is flour tortillas stuffed with gyro meat, feta, blended cheese, red onion, diced tomato, cucumber and served with Yia Yia's tzatziki sauce. I called this in, and they told me it'd be about 15 minutes.

A couple co-workers and I went to the building. There is some outdoor seating, but you go inside the actual building, and the first left is the restaurant. My total came to around $8, and I was on my way back to work.

After I opened up that styrofoam container, four small triangles stared up at me. It was a little on the spicy side, but not overwhelming. The flavors were a little muddled in the heat and spices, but it was still good.

It has the gyro elements, but I didn't realize how much the bread really pulls those flavors together and maybe the starch helps balance out those flavors. With a thin tortilla, I didn't quite get that same effect. For what it was, it was good. But I think the spices were a little heavy-handed, and I would've liked the tomatoes and cucumber to shine through a little more.


Grade: B

Adelphia is one of the few "classic" restaurants that I hadn't been to in Charleston. There are a handful of classic restaurants - Bluegrass Kitchen, Tricky Fish, Vandalia Grille - that I think of when folks come to town, and these are usually some of the first restaurants people try here. I finally was able to try Adelphia - which is this interesting combo between Greek food and sports bar.

It's located on Capitol Street, so parking isn't so fun. However, it's worth it once you get there. There is some outdoor dining available - and we actually saw a couple with their dogs outside while they ate. So, that's cool.

The menu is a hybrid between sports bar and Greek, complete with tons of large TVs adorning the walls and miniature speakers for the table to tune into the TV of your choice.

I decided to go classic and tried their gyro. We also got an appetizer of fried feta cheese because the menu said it was their original. If you want to essentially have bar food but feel a little classy in the process, get it. It's deep-fried goodness. Giant chunks of fried feta cheese atop a piece of pita lightly seasoned and topped with an olive? Um, yes, please. Two, actually.

The gyro was also tasty. The ingredients were all fresh and not greasy - I tend to think of a festival gyro where it's soaked with sauce and dripping. But this had perfectly seasoned strips of meat, enough sauce to taste it and fresh tomatoes and onions on top. Very good. Also - the sweet potato/waffle fries came with a cream cheesey cinnamon sauce that was an interesting combo. But good. I'm a fan of the sweet/salty, so it won me over.

I also got the baklava, which was decent. It was heavier on the honey than what I'm used to, but if that's your boat, get to it, gravy. They have some other desserts that look pretty tasty though.

Grade: A

Located at Pierpont Landing, Penny's Diner is a little out of the way of the main restaurants in Morgantown. On the plus side, there is ample parking, and it's easy to get to. I met my friend Kayla, avid diner-goer, her boyfriend Michael and her friend Megan there for some grub Wednesday night.

I was meeting them there, so I was a little rushed as I walked in. As soon as you open the door, there's a stand with a hostess asking how many, etc., which is nice, considering this isn't what I expected for a diner. The interior is warm, comforting and very clean. There were dark accents of blue with the modern diner booths. The table stuck out over the edge so extra chairs could be added, too.

The menu features typical diner fare - breakfast, sandwich plates, some dinner plates. But Penny's also had a good portion of the menu devoted to Greek dishes. That's definitely different. I decided to be extra adventurous and try the "moussaka," a Greek classic specialty with ground beef with Greek seasonings, layered with eggplant, potatoes and baked in Bechamel sauce. For $14.99. Kayla got a breakfast plate with an omelet and potatoes. Michael and Megan both got gyros.


The dish came with a house salad. The veggies were fresh and crisp, but only boasted one tomato, two cucumbers slices and a few slices of onion. I had it topped with French dressing, which was good, but not homemade. Everybody else cleaned theirs up, though, so they were happy. I just wish I had more veggies to balance out the lettuce.
I was really excited for my dish to come out, because I really didn't know what to expect. Mine came out as a square layered lasagna with feta cheese, olives and a tomato on top. I also had a roll with butter on the side. The layers were eggplant, potato and finely chopped beef with delicious savory seasonings. It was really quite tasty. The meal with kind of heavy, but it fgelt light at the same time. The feta cheese added just the right amount of of flavor and lightness to the heavy, starchy potato and meat. The eggplant kept the meal solid, and it was a new combination of flavors that I was a fan of.

I'm not really a fan of the pricetag - I think it could've been cheaper, but it was good nonetheless. I also ordered a sweet potato cheesecake. Creamy and smooth, the cheesecake was good, but the flavors were slightly muted. It was also a tiny portion for $6. I would order the moussaka again, but the price for the cheesecake wouldn't warrant another order. My bill's total was $22.24, without tip.

Grade: B