El Greco

Last night, Martie, Mike and I went to El Greco for dinner. It was pretty empty and there was a mop and bucket towards the front by the door. It was about 7:30pm and they closed at 9pm. We were told to sit wherever we wanted by the waitress. Instead of bringing us menus and getting our drink order, she went to the mop bucket and mopped the front of the dining area. When she finally finished mopping, she brought us menus and got our drink order.

I ordered the Meat Eater Plate ($13.99), Mike ordered the Souvlaki Plate ($12.99), and Martie ordered the Penne Gorgonzola ($9.99). When our food arrived, I looked at my plate in surprise. I asked our waitress if anything else was supposed to come with my meal, and she said no. Ok, imagine a plate with one small lamb chop (the meat was about the size of a quarter in diameter), a small skewer of beef, approximately one third to one half of a chicken breast, sliced thin, and a small container of tzatsiki sauce. That’s all that was on the plate, and when I say all, I mean nothing else. I asked our waitress if I could have some pita bread, which took a long time because when the kitchen put it out, it got delivered to another table. The meat was flavorless as was the tzatsiki sauce.

Mike’s Souvlaki plate had one small skewer of meat, but he did get a couple of sides with his (orzo and potatoes). Mike said his meal was basically flavorless. Martie’s Penne Gorgonzola was swimming in sauce. It was served in a soup bowl, and if you saw the amount of sauce, you would understand why. Her pasta was supposed to have red onions, garlic, and rosemary. I tasted it and wasn’t in the least bit impressed, not to mention they completely left out the rosemary.

Still being hungry, and wanting to give the place another chance, we ordered dessert. After all, this place got a good write up in The Chronicle (I really have no idea why). Mike ordered the rice pudding. Martie and I decided to share the Ekmek Kataifi (shredded fillo filled with chopped walnuts and cinnamon, topped with a homemade honey syrup and a creamy semolina milk custard, and finished with whipped cream, sliced walnuts and maraschino cherries). That is the exact description from their menu. The desserts were also a disappointment. Ours was partially frozen custard with what tasted like cool whip with some sliced almonds and a cherry on top. The bottom had a little bit of soggy fillo and what might have been a honey sauce. No walnuts or cinnamon.

We all agreed that it was overpriced for what we got, mostly tasteless, and poor service. We definitely won’t be going back.

Mandola's Italian Market

Let me start off with the gelato. For those of you who haven’t tried gelato, you’re really missing out. Gelato is Italy’s version of ice cream, but so much better. My favorite flavor is the limone (lemon), but I also enjoy the pistacchio, caffe, fragola (strawberry), and stracciatella (an Italian version of chocolate chip ice cream). Mandola’s makes good gelato. I’ve had gelato from other places here in the states and they are not always good. You can get spoiled when you go to Italy and get the real thing.

On to the pastries. Mandola’s bakes their own Italian cookies, cakes and pastries. Almost everything I’ve tried so far has been really good. I’m partial to their lemon tarts, fruit tarts, and Italian cream cake. I’ve tried their cannoli’s and was less than impressed. They also have tiramisu, but I haven’t tried it because I make a pretty mean tiramisu.

Okay, I did start out with the dessert, which is the best thing I like about Mandola’s. They do have an actual restaurant with pasta, pizza, soups, salads, etc. Their pasta is good, but like most Italian restaurants here in the states, they drown it in too much sauce. Sauce is, and should be, a condimento (condiment). Good pasta shouldn’t be drowning in sauce, just like you wouldn’t drown a good burger in ketchup or mustard. Their pizza, however is very good. Rustic style pizza cooked to perfection.

Mandola’s also has a nice selection of Italian market type items such as olive oils, balsamic vinegars, pasta, deli meats, cheeses, olives, and some wonderful rustic breads. They have a nice outside patio, but parking can be challenging.