Zorba's Greek Cafe - Plano, TX

I don't know if it's a chain.  If it is, it's not national... and if it's national, then there is hope for America.
If you can find this little gem tucked away behind fitness stores, medical device shops, and condoms to go, you are in for a treat.  Signage is clear.  Please wait to be seated.  The other signs were bright, hastily scrawled, and out of place sitting on a Greek column.  I wanted to judge but I'm trying to get better at making quick judgments.  I guess if you have a Greek restaurant, you can't theme the daily specials by carving them into stone or drawing them on a vase.
If you had any questions about what type of place you were in, the menu would clear that up: Greek potatoes, Greek green beans, Greek salad, Greek water... I hope no one walks in here expecting American deep fried chicken.

I started with a spanakopita.  This flaky phyllo crusted dish should be bursting with spinach and just enough egg to hold it together and puff up the filling.  I don't mind bits of feta cheese in it but not so much that you cover up the bright veggie flavor.  Also, you have to really drain the spinach thoroughly before you add it to the dish or you get a mushy, gluey texture on the bottom.  The spanakopita at Zorba's was nearly everything you could ever hope for.  I say nearly because the egg content was fairly high so the spinach was very dense.  The crust was perfectly flaky, though, and I didn't get the glue at the bottom.  I also looked like my mouth had dandruff from all the flaky dough flying everywhere.  It's not a pretty dish to eat but is is worth the awkward eye contact with other patrons.

The Greek salad came next.  Nothing amazing to report except that C gave me her onions and they were some of the most potent little guys I ever ate.  I told C about this and laughed at the strength.  I shouldn't have laughed because my breath stunk and the blast of air in her direction harmed out friendship a bit momentarily.  Crunchy lettuce, ample feta, good olives, and a tangy house dressing made this dish a good setup for the main course.
I got the sampler platter.  If you go here, you should get the sampler platter.  Whenever I go to a new spot, I spend the first part of the meal flirting with the waitress hoping to get good service, a discount, or even a phone number.  At Zorba's, my waitress was a dude... oh well.  He still piled my food on high and was so good at his job, I'm asking for him when I go back.  Well done, Giorgios. But, back to the important part.  The food was terrific.  The lamb gyro was mostly lamb instead of beef, the dolmas (grape leaves stuffed with rice) were perfectly pickled and not slimy like they tend to be, and all the other food piled on the plate was a carb lover's dream! The lamb kabob could have been charred more and it was a tad dry.  The sausage was mild and the sauteed red peppers confused me.  I wasn't sure what they were supposed to go on and unless you eat them when they are piping hot, soggy red peppers remind me of eating giant blood platelets and I'd rather have them fresh and crunchy... peppers, not blood platelets.  The actual meal was not a study in delicate food pairings but if you are getting a sampler, you are probably not giving heed to that.  I'm not judging... unless you ask for ranch, then I'm judging.



Normally, I'd give Zorba's an 8 out of 10.  Fire char the meat, get someone other than a drunk 7 year old, left handed blind kid to write out the daily specials but Giorgios was so dang nice and charming, I'm going to bump them up to a 9!  You deserve a raise, sir.

Happy eating, y'all.