in nearby brentwood, there is a new strip of stores and restaurants. darry and i were out on a date-night excursion and we decided to give kalamatas a try. this is the second location for restaurant and we wanted to go somewhere that we haven't been recently. both of us enjoy greek food and thought, why not?
having been there and done that, i can give you several reasons not to bother with this restaurant. while i have often stated that many people choose restaurants based on quantity and not quality, this one failed on both points. what we were served and what we paid were definitely not on the same page. the fact that the place is very clean and neat didn't add any points either.
when you walk in, there is a counter/cafeteria line that you must approach to order your food. on the counter are copies of the menu for you to read and decide your choices. the menu is very clear and in all honesty, a bit short; there wasn't a whole lot to choose from besides salads, sandwiches and a few entree plates. the day's specials were located on small placards and in an odd spot that we missed because it was well after we ordered that i spotted them. since it was not busy, we watched as our food was prepared.
darry is a fan of gyros and decided on the gyro plate with a side salad. i was in the mood for a typical americanized greek salad and that is what i chose. we watched the plates being assembled and were surprised that everything came off the cold table or a portable steam table. nothing came from the kitchen or the cook who looked on as the cashier/hostess assembled our selections. the lady in question was very nice and friendly, she gave us the iced teas we chose on the house, but even so, we still spent $19.56 for two sparsely filled plates of mediocre food.
the salad i chose was especially disappointing. while i will admit that i could have had my salad topped with kabobs of beef, chicken, lamb or veggie, i chose to have it plain since i just wanted a salad and the description on the menu fit the bill for me. what i got and what i expected were two different salads. on my standard sized disposable plate was a thin layer of chopped romaine leaves with a few cucumber slices, two kalamata olives, 1 pepperoncini and a rather bland vinaigrette with feta cheese. not at all filling or even that exciting, no bell peppers or onions, no dolmas and very little cucumber or feta. the romaine was fresh and well washed but it was only the dark tops of the leaves, very little rib and not very crunchy. perhaps i was expecting more of what you are served in every other gyro place in town, lots of crunchy lettuce hearts with lots of of garnish, dressing and chunks of cheese. if i am going to pay over $7 for a salad, i expect it to be more filling and the cold, spongy wheat pita that came with it did not improve the experience.
when we go to gyro places, darry always orders one in a sandwich. this time he chose a lamb gyro plate with a side salad. using the same disposable plate that my salad was on, we watched the lady spread a layer of yellow basmati rice and then top it off with a large spoon full of meat strips from the warmer and add more of the cold, spongy pita bread. if you have ever eaten a gyro, then you know that you are always offered some tabbouleh and tzatziki sauce, his plate had neither and he wasn't offered any. his salad was served on a tiny plate and it was a mini version of mine. we took our plates to the table and ate. the gyro plate wasn't any less of a disappointment than my salad. although it really was basmati rice just as the menu promised, it was a funky yellow color that suggested some sort of flavoring mix. the lamb was nothing more than the same processed meat that you see turning on the spit, just cut into strips. it looked rather dry and unappetizing so needless to say, i did not ask to try it and he didn't say much about it. we ate our meals, both remarking that it wasn't much for the money and that we would by hungry again by the time we got to the movie. the amazing part is that his dinner must have cost about $10, since our total was over $19.
we were in search of something different since we generally go mexican or asian when we eat out. it's always nice to try something new but next time we want to go greek or for gyros, we will skip this place and try one of the others in town. we expected better of a restaurant with more than two locations; the other is in green hills. it will be interesting to see if brentwood embraces this restaurant or if it just feeds on the overflow of (the always packed with a crowd waiting) peter's sushi next door.
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