Acropolis Taverna Would Please Zorba the Greek

My wife is half Greek and was raised on traditional food from the country so she knows what to look for in authentic Greek food and that was definitely the case here.

The Acropolis Taverna is located on the left side of the Winthrop Town Centre off Bloomingdale Avenue and features a Mediterranean atmosphere starting with the cast water fountain of a peasant girl in the front of the building and stretching to the real bottles of Metaxa and Ouzo inside the restaurant.

Greek folk music played in the background and I was hoping to see Anthony Quinn come around the corner doing the dance from "Zorba the Greek." They say they feature a belly dancer on the site at bloomingdale.patch.com but I guess I was hoping for too much at two in the afternoon. I understand they congo line through the aisles doing traditional-style Greek dances at night.

We walked in and there was a couple to the far side of the dining room and no one else to be seen. After a few minutes, a young lady came out and got on the service computer. I had to clear my throat to get her attention and she turned around, almost startled, then looked into the back room and did the old "pssttt," then motioned at me and my wife.

After which; three more girls and a guy scurried out from the back room. A hostess gave us menus and sat us on the opposite side of the restaurant as the other two customers. I thought that odd.

We sat down and looked around at the amazing number of wines on display, many done in the Cyrillic alphabet and showing signs of age. I've never had Greek beer or wine before but it was only two in the afternoon and I wasn't about to try them then, although I will be back again some night and sample the fare.

The server took a while to come over to our table since he had to stay at the hostess station and flirt with two of the girls. He was quite charming--to them -- but I was not amused. After seven minutes, he came over and took our drink order.

He returned with our drinks, set them down and spun around on his heels as I was starting to speak. I wanted to order an appetizer but he was just too quick for me. Besides, he had to go back to the front podium and flirt with the girls--ah, the exuberance and drive of youth. He waited another seven minutes to come back to take our order. I timed it. Seven minutes must be his timing thing that some waiters use.

When he approached the table, he simply said, "What can I get you?" or words to that effect. He never offered us anything or tried to sell us anything and never explained any of the food items, and that confused me. I'm used to servers trying to up-sell the menu or push appetizers, or any type of personable conversation would have been nice. 

I spoke to Al Anthony, the kitchen manager, the next day at an interview and told him the guy's name. He was openly surprised at the incident and said the guy is one of their best and he apologized. The manager called me later that day to assure me of the same fact so maybe I just caught the guy on an off day--it happens to the best of us. 

It impressed that both managers were visibly upset at something I think of as a minor incident. Kudos for their professionalism.

The food got there relatively quick and, at this time, I had considered walking out several times. Thank goodness the food was perfect! I ordered the Greek meatballs with the grilled veggies and orzo pasta. The meatballs were cooked slightly crisp on the outside and tender on the inside and covered in a tomato sauce with the perfect amount of oregano. You could tell the tomatoes were fresh since there were bits of semi-hard chunks that escaped the mashing process--all the better for the heartiness of the food. 

The zucchini and squash could not have been cooked any better with a golden brown crust from the grill that was done oh so well and I say the same thing about the orzo, even though I squeezed a touch too much lemon on the pasta but that wasn't the chef's fault.

My wife ordered the Spanakopita platter, which was huge. Her Spanakopita was cooked perfectly with the brilliant green spinach that was oozing from under the golden-brown pastry. Her salad was one for the books! A huge wedge of feta cheese draped over fresh lettuce, tomatoes and pepperoncini.

I honestly can't say enough about the food here and am giving the restaurant four stars out of five stars despite the service.

It was funny, but once I gave the server my business card to give to the chef, he became extremely nice, talked politely and started to showcase the items at the bar. He really was a personable sort of guy when he wanted to be.