Greek food next week

[Morganna]

I'm visiting Chicago for the first time as an adult to attend a conference. I'll be meeting up with some friends (a couple driving in from WI and one who lives in Chicago) for dinner. We'd like to do Greek!

We'll be near Greektown, and I'd like to see what folks think are the best places there. I did a search and found a few Greek spots mentioned in diverse threads, but nothing that addressed the relative qualities/prices of the various Greek restaurants as compared to each other. :)

Thanks!

[gomexico]

I'm a fan of The Parthenon, on Halsted St. I've been a patron for probably 25-years and I think it's better, and more fun than ever. The food is good, not gourmet. Lamb chops are excellent. Other Greek items are solid, but the gyros may be the best prepared in the city.

[nsxtasy]

You'll find lots of discussion about the Greek restaurants in Greek Town at
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/119233

Just don't go to Costa's because it was destroyed by fire at the end of January.

[Morganna]

I've seen this thread but completely distrust it simply because it's really old with precious few updates.

We ended up eating at Greek Island, and really enjoyed it. Love skordalia and saganaki! :)

[nsxtasy]

Believe me, every place listed there hasn't changed in years, with the previously noted exception of the currently-closed Costa's. :)

[Morganna]

that's pretty amazing. Most of the food scenes I've read about are fairly fluid.

[nsxtasy]

Not our Greek restaurants. They are a virtual time machine, in which little has changed in many years.

It's probably true about more types of food than you might at first think, and I suspect it's no different in Chicago than elsewhere. Granted, at the "trendy" end of the spectrum, which gets most of the press, places and styles change, and there is plenty of such change in Chicago. But there are also many traditional places and types of food that don't change much over time.

Just for example, some of the places you can walk into that will be pretty much exactly like they were 30+ years ago include not only Greek Islands (since 1971), the Parthenon (since 1968), and Roditys (since 1974) for Greek food, but also Uno and Due for deep-dish pizza (since 1943 and 1955), Lou Mitchell's for breakfast (since 1923), Gene and Georgetti's for steaks (since 1941), the Village upstairs at the Italian Village (since 1927), Manny's for Jewish deli (since 1942), and many others. And they're still good!

Sure, there are also long-time restaurants that stay contemporary and keep up with trends - chef-driven places like Everest, Charlie Trotter's, and Topolobampo/Frontera Grill come to mind - but many others stick to what originally made them popular, and the Greek restaurants in Greek Town are among them.

[vrollings]

Like many things, everyone has a different favorite place in Greektown! :-) I married into a Greek family about 10 years ago and our favorites are Greek Islands and Rodity's. Greek Islands has better atmosphere, but the food is great at both spots. A more fun and hip place is Artopolis, which is more of a Greek bakery than restaurant. Nine Muses is fun too, altough not as nice/yummy as the first two mentioned. Santorini is also very good and is more focused on seafood. Finally, if it is a nice night, Pegasus might have their rooftop open - they serve apps and drinks up there, which is always fun. Oh, and one word of warning, many folks are drawn to Athena during nice weather b/c of their fabulous patio dining; however, their food is really not good. So I would shy away from that if at all possible. Enjoy yourselves!

-----
Roditys Restaurant
222 S Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60661

Santorini's Restaurant
138 S Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60661