After traveling to Europe this summer and really enjoying our time (and food) in Greece, we were kind of itching to go back to Canal Bistro, which is one of our favorite summer haunts anyway, to see how their Mediterranean food matched up.
First off, we laughed because we always thought it was funny how they had French fries on the menu and how everyone always talked about them as a highlight. And then we went to Greece, and in fact every single Greek restaurant (just about) featured “freshly fried potatoes.” They do in fact like their fries over there. So we felt totally justified getting some. And adding garlic. And feta.
Anyhow, we started with our classic order of hummus ($7). I really like their hummus—it has a nice consistency and the addition of olive oil on top as well as the chopped up tomatoes adds even more flavor and moisture. They serve it with toasted pita bread (strangely, pita is something you rarely see in Greece, and when you do, it’s a small round piece that is much denser than what you get here. Anyway, their pita is nice and soft and warm and they have some of my favorite hummus too. We also got a side of olives because I like an olive bite with just about all my bites of hummus and now that the kids are giant olive nuts too, we need a lot to go around.
My absolute favorite thing there is the spinach pie (i.e. spanakopita)($8). It’s an appetizer, but I always get it for my main dish (and am forced to share one with hubby). They’re little triangles of phyllo dough stuffed with cheese and spinach and wrapped tightly and then I am pretty sure deep-fried. They are so crisp and crunchy they practically shatter when you bite into them. I love that they serve the pies on top of a mix of pickled onions, regular pickles, chopped herbs and a hunk of feta cheese. I like eating a little of all of this with each bite of the spinach pies and it is so good. Hubby informed me next time he is getting his own order.
The rest of the family had gyros of some sort—my son and hubby split the gyro platter ($15), which is a big plate of meat with the accompaniments on the side—as well as a little pyramid of rice. You also get tomatoes, cucumber and tzaziki sauce (a yogurt cucumber sauce)(by the way, the picture you see is a half order-they split it in the kitchen). Now, our experience with gyros in Greece was a bit different. In Greece, you don’t see them as often and the times we got them (always my son ordering them), they were usually made of thinly sliced pork. The ones at Canal Bistro (and most US restaurants I have seen) are made with lamb and beef I believe. They are a much denser consistency. Different, but both good in their own ways. Because this is a full meal, you also get a salad with it. Hubby got the Greek salad, which has a nice topping of crumbled feta and a couple more olives and a tangy balsamic vinaigrette.
My daughter had the gyro sandwich ($9), which comes in wrap form. She likes the tzaziki sauce on the sandwich, but everything else she gets on the side, which is fine with me because more pickled onions for me! This is where we got the side of fries with garlic and feta (slight upcharge) and they were hot and delicious.
All in all, we loved the food in Greece and we really enjoy Canal Bistro as well. There are certainly similarities as well and difference, but it’s all good. Also, they have a weekend brunch menu now and I am intrigued to try it. And it’s one of the best patios in the summer—lots of shade, but not crazy traffic like some outdoor patios in Broad Ripple.
Canal Bistro
6349 Guilford Ave
Indy 46220
317/254-8700
Seems odd that you didn't see many gyros in Greece, based on my own experience of seeing them everywhere I studied abroad in Athens during the summer of 2006, and there were all kinds of smaller cafe type places that served them. They usually had huge chunks of meat (I think usually lamb mixed with pork or beef) on a large skewer, that they would thinly slice.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that You liked our Greece food. And gyros of course is one of themost popular meal.
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