CCLXXXII: Apollonia

I can't believe it's been more than a year since I visited Apollonia for dinner. As part of my vow to expose my parents to new restaurants (for them), I decided to take them to where I deem to have the best Greek food in Vancouver. Luckily my memory served me correctly and everything tasted just as good (if not better) than how I remembered.

There are two things I order every time I come here:

Saganaki (pan-fried cheese)

Authentic Greek Platter (chicken & lamb souvlaki, moussaka, keftedes, tsatziki, hummus, Greek salad, potatoes, rice)

Keep in mind that I am not crazy enough to eat all of these things on my own. No, you need to share the platter between 3-4 people (=1.5 Nickys...or 1 famished Nicky) if you plan to order other dishes as well.

The saganaki is not as heavy, salty, greasy, or over-fried as it is in many other restaurants. The platter has everything you could ever need and each item is done well: the souvlaki and keftedes were moist, the moussaka had a subtle hint of nutmeg/cinnamon, the Greek salad had a perfect ratio of cucumbers to tomatoes to onions to feta and was not over-dressed, the hummus was fantastic, and the potatoes were seasoned and baked just right. 

We also ordered the kalamari, which was lightly battered and not too deep-fried (ideal in my books) and a baklava to share for dessert. 

The servers are nonchalantly friendly and the décor is not of your typical Greek restaurant. In fact, it's pretty generic except for the framed paintings and photos of the Greek Isles. The Greek music isn't blaring and you won't find this restaurant enclosed in a white building with blue trim; but it's cosy, as my mom aptly put, and with food this good at reasonable prices, I started to wonder why it wasn't half as busy as Stepho's (speaking of, the only thing I love there is their Greek salad...). It probably boils down to location and popularity--it's tucked away on West 2nd and Fir (close to Granville Island), an area whose only claim-to-fame are a few veterinarian hospitals. Mind you, many Vancouverites seem to eat at senior time (between 5-6.30pm???), so that may have explained the non-crowdedness as well by 8.30pm.

This is still my favourite Greek restaurant in Vancouver; the only difference now is that it is my parents' as well.

PS. The three of us somehow managed to wear the exact shade of red today. I hope people didn't think we were one of those kinds of families...