So, here we go, it has been a while. Too long actually.
I feel I have things I want to say in this blog, but am to analytical and
too full of self doubt to actually come up with something that I feel will be
at all useful to anyone. But here I am trying again, because of a really
wonderful experience that I would like to share.
For those folks who like instant
gratification, here it is:
If you live in Coquitlam and like Greek
food, this is the best I have found. Better than Kefi (just off Lougheed
near SilverCity) which I had considered best, though it has been quite a while
since I was there. Certainly better than the place near the IGA in Port
Moody, but again it has been a while, so long in fact that I won't name them,
as the place has probably turned over two or three times since I ate there.
I have eaten at many Greek places around
Vancouver, and for the most part they are solid eats. You always have a
fairly good idea what you are getting, and if they are average for the style of
cuisine, you are probably getting good value. If they are not so good,
you are still probably better off than you would be at one of the expensive
"upscale casual" places that are so popular now.
Pallas Athena exceeded my expectations by
a shocking amount, and my desire to give publicity to this restaurant has made
me rethink what I am trying to accomplish with my blog. I have decided
that I am not going to take photos of everything I eat, and then regurgitate
the images onto a page, along with a mess of type (though, when it is not
disruptive to take them, I will include photos). I aim to be helpful to
the potential diner, and, if they happen to stumble upon my blog, to the
restaurant that I am discussing. To that end, I will be writing about
places I really enjoyed, and those I really hate. There is no in between.
I don't have time for "average" restaurants, and neither should
you. I will probably name them as I come across them, but I won't be
giving much of a review at all, just basically "you can do much
better". If the place sucks, I will warn you. If you are
familiar with my sparse Yelp history, you will see that I am not afraid to call
a shitty restaurant a shitty restaurant:
So, with the Yelp link serving as a view
of the worst (and one of the best) think of this blog as my All-Star list of
places to visit.
All-Stars include (and I will happily
discuss the rationale for each in a later post, or in comments here):
Seattle:
Pike Street Fish Fry http://www.yelp.ca/biz/pike-street-fish-fry-seattle
Paseo Caribbean Restaurant http://www.paseoseattle.com/
The Blackfish at Tulalip http://www.tulalipresortcasino.com/Dining/Blackfish
Bellingham:
The Steak House at the Silver Reef Casino
Resort http://silverreefcasino.com/the-steak-house/
Boundary Bay Brewing http://www.bbaybrewery.com/
Vancouver:
Les Faux Bourgeios (inexpensive bistro) http://www.lesfauxbourgeois.com/
Tacofino http://tacofino.com/
Colony Bar http://colonykits.com/
Tri-Cities and Maple Ridge:
Pallas Athena Greek Kouzina http://www.pallasathena.org/
Joe Blow's - Maple Ridge (bloody hell, the
internet says they are closed. When I was there in March, there was
discussion that they wanted to sell and open up a chicken place. I had
both their fish AND their chicken, and if they open up a chicken place, it will
SURELY be on this list).
Now, lets talk Pallas Athena.
My Aunt an Uncle were here from LA for the
Labour Day long weekend. They were here three years ago, and we had a
great time travelling all over Vancouver, pretty much making up each day's
itinerary as we went along. As such, after Friday night dinner, lunch and
dinner on Saturday, lunch of Sunday, and a long day driving, (we went to
Harrison Hot Springs) we wanted to stay close to home. We thought of The
Keg (which I don't consider an all-star at all; while I have had a couple of
good experiences lately, in general I find them expensive and inconsistent), a
Thai place in Port Moody, a Greek place in Port Moody, and a couple of Italian
places. We are driving along Barnet Highway at Falcon, and I spot Pallas
Athena, next to a sushi restaurant. The sign looks nice, but being a
strip mall, there is nothing to go on when I look at it. There is a nice
sign, but nothing else. We pass. We try one of the Italian places,
but it is closed for the long weekend. The four of us are seriously
conflicted - we like Thai, there is always The Keg, but there is that Greek
place.... we decide literally, after a few minutes of discussion, that there is
less downside to the Greek restaurant if things go bad than there is for the
Thai.
We drive back to Barnet and Falcon.
We pull in, and doubt ourselves immediately. The restaurant, from
the street anyway, is very dark. We cannot see more than 8 to 10 feet
into the place, and thus can only see one couple in the window. The other
window seats are empty, and we fear we have made a mistake - empty restaurants
are usually empty for a reason, and while standing on the sidewalk considering
other options, we decide to open the door and look. This, for anyone from
Pallas Athena who happens to stumble upon this, is important. We like
Greek food. My Aunt and Uncle have spent a LOT of time in Greece.
We are more adventurous than your usual diner. For us to stand
outside your restaurant and seriously doubt what we are doing there is a bad
thing. Get some more inviting lights. Make it so folks can see
maybe 12 or 15 feet into your place. I realize you don't want to light
the thing up like a Vegas gambling hall, but seriously, we were within inches
of bailing. Get some lights. We go in, and there are only three
couples in the restaurant. We think we have made a mistake. There
is no hostess, and no restaurant staff can be seen. We are SURE we have
made a mistake. After a short wait, a young disinterested blonde woman
comes up and, without saying Hello, or Hi, or Welcome, or kiss my ass, says, in
this empty restaurant, "Do you have a reservation?" in a completely
blank tone. I can see the reservation 'book' really a three ring scribble
pad with 5 lines of writing on it. 4 lines are crossed off. The
last one is not crossed yet, and has a name written down with a number - 2.
We are 4. Clearly we are not the 2 you are expecting, and really,
when you say "do you have a reservation?" while it may help you
decide whether we happen to be the 2 people you are expecting later, it is an
exclusionary phrase - it is a barrier between you and your customer. When
asked if you have a reservation, and you don't, the first thing a customer
thinks is do I need one? Do I need one for this empty restaurant?
What is going on? Have I made a mistake? When are pretty sure
now that we are about to have a crappy meal.
We are taken to our seats. The
restaurant is very elegant. There is a beautiful statue of Athena in the
middle, and the tables are tastefully done with white tablecloths, and
attractive glassware. The chairs are tasteful, almost elegant, and made
of wood. Things are looking up. The blonde drops of menus and asks
if we want a drink. We decline for now, we want to check out the menu.
She comes by again, 2 minutes later, and again blankly asks if we want a
drink. We again say we are not ready, and she looks inconvenienced, and
leaves without saying a word. I spot another staff member, who looks like
she is either an owner or a manager. She is tastefully dressed, and seems
much more interested in the restaurant than the blonde. She comes by and
says hello, and by now we are ready to order. It is clear right off that
she is by far the better server. She seems to care about us right away,
and we are feeling more comfortable immediately. My Uncle orders Retsina,
which is a white wine with a hint of pine oil. My Aunt and I order an
Australian shiraz, and my wife has water. The wine is a reasonable price.
The Retsina is actually excellent, the pine is nowhere near as obtrusive
as I had expected, and my uncle says that it is a very good example of the
style. The shiraz was also very good.
The menu is a huge comfort. It is
relatively sparse, with maybe 20 items on it in total, and the dishes are
written with a focus on the language, so instead of saying Roast Lamb, it says
arni psito. My wife and I each order that, my Uncle orders moussaka, and
my Aunt orders kota lemonati, which is a chicken breast with olive oil,
oregano, and lemon. Each dish comes with a Greek salad, which comes right
away. It is great. I know, it is hard to get enthusiastic about a
Greek salad, but recall, we were really wary until basically we saw the well
written menu. We were a bit at ease, but the salad totally sold us.
It was freshly made, probably immediately after we ordered it, the
dressing was light yet flavorful, and the feta on top was ample yet not salty.
I am not a fan of super salty feta, and this was very nice. The
salad had excellent balance, and everyone loved it. The second server
comes by and asks how we like the salad, and we tell her how much we like it.
Her face literally lights up, she is either genuinely thrilled that we
are happy, or she is one heck of an actress. We felt that after our
initial misgivings, we might actually be in for a special night.
Next was the pita and tzatziki, I somehow
doubt they make their own, as it seems the perfect thing to outsource.
Maybe all the other places that get their pita bread hold it in the
freezer for a while or something, because this was really fantastic. Light,
airy, brushed with a bit of oil (did I sense a hint of garlic? Yeah I did!)
this was really excellent. We have made a good decision after all!
Then the entrees. Uniformly
excellent. My lamb came with a beautiful lemon roasted potato, not to
lemony, with a nice roasted crunch on the outside. The rice pilaf may
have been the best pilaf I have had - light, fluffy, balanced in seasoning,
almost... "sophisticated" if that term can really be used with rice
pilaf. Very good. The veggies were steamed green beans, which were
good, but a tiny bit on the over cooked side. But.... The lamb was
truly excellent. Well seasoned - I am tempted to say "boldly
seasoned" as it was a bit more than I expected initially, but after a bite
or two, I really appreciated how it was done. I thought this was flat out
the best roast lamb I have had in my life. Without doubt. It was
not too fatty, the portion was generous, the seasoning was right on, it was
excellent. Well done Pallas Athena!
For the close of the meal, my Uncle
ordered a Greek coffee, which I had not much knowledge of. I figured it
was like espresso. My wife ordered one as well, and then he drew on his
extensive history in Greece to tell us what to expect. Strong coffee,
percolated several times, served already sweetened with a solid foundation of
coffee grounds at the bottom, this was not a coffee to be stirred. Pallas
Athena's version was a good example of what a Greek coffee should be, and my
Uncle and my wife were very happy with their choice.
Excellent restaurant, I will be back.
They have two locations, the other is near Costco in Port Coquitlam.
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