I met some girlfriends at Gardens of Salonica for a Saturday lunch a couple weeks ago. This was a recommendation from a friend of a friend and I have to admit that when I was told the destination for our lunch, I was perplexed. It’s not as though I think I’m familiar with all restaurants in the Twin Cities…believe me that is definitely not the case…but when I was told it was in NE Minneapolis near Surdyk’s, I just couldn’t picture it.
So I looked it up online to figure out where it’s located and to browse the menu. It turned out, to my pleasant surprise, that it is a Greek restaurant. (Perhaps that is evident to you from the name, but I didn’t pick up on it.) Which could mean only one thing…some of my favorite ingredients including kalamata olives, feta cheese, artichokes and phyllo dough were peppered throughout the menu. I couldn’t wait.
I drove there that Saturday morning and quickly realized why it was that I couldn’t picture this tasty heaven in the heart of NE. While the restaurant space itself is quite large, the outside signage is not evident to the casual passerby. My immediate thought was that it was a new restaurant and they had yet to add that helpful feature. But it turns out that this is not so; they have been around for years. In fact, upon visiting their web page again, I read a little more carefully and they state just that. They “…believ[e] that the best advertisement is by word of mouth.”
Upon arrival, however, I was a little disappointed. While I loved the bright, airy space, I was one of only three people in the restaurant at 12:30. That couldn’t be a good sign. But, as we continued with our meal the restaurant quickly filled up and soon our chatter was lost among that of everyone else enjoying their lunches with friends and family. I guess that “word of mouth” advertising does work.
Between the three of us, we ordered a starter of artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers and black-eyed peas and onion, each tossed in its own combination of the freshest of olive oils, lemon and vinegars. This, paired with warm, fresh pita bread, was a delightful start to our meal. My next course was spinach and feta in phyllo and a vegetarian pizza on pita. I loved the flaky spinach feta phyllo (and as a note, also loved my lunch companion’s similar order but with roasted red and green bell peppers, olives and feta). My pizza, while it was picture perfect, had a bit of a burnt cheese taste. But, perhaps that was a one-time thing so I’ll have to revisit and try it again.
Overall, I thought Gardens of Salonica was a great lunch spot and a wonderful discovery in NE Minneapolis. I would definitely go back.
Posted on April 14th, 2008 by katiejocannon
Filed under: Food
Leave a Reply