Opa!

There’s a thin line to tread as a food blogger who chiefly reviews restaurants, and it’s one I probably haven’t laid down here before. On one side, you need to preserve your anonymity a bit, or else the restaurant is going to treat you differently and the service and food won’t be honest, therefore skewing your post. On the other, you want to spread the word about your blog, engage chefs and restaurateurs in social media, and support local business via online media. I ran into this dichotomy this week with a new restaurant in Endicott, NY called The Greek Key. The owners have made all the right moves for an eatery so recently opened, namely, establishing a website, Twitter handle, Facebook page and Urbanspoon entry right away. This online presence helped me research The Greek Key in advance, but I also fell into the trap of basically announcing myself to them and giving away my identity when I finally ate there. It’s my own fault; waiting in the parking lot for Melinda to arrive Monday evening, I checked myself in via Urbanspoon, and once I brandished a small notebook and a camera, the jig was up, and the waitress was on us like white on rice.


Greek Key is occupying the space most recently inhabited by Hurricane Rylies, but has brightened up the interior quite a bit, giving the timbered décor a Greek taverna feel, with cobalt blue accents and whitewashed walls. It’s been frigid lately in Upstate NY, and we were feeling a bit drafty and chilly when we first entered, but someone cranked up the heat and it was toasty and hospitable as the meal progressed. The décor still feels a bit sparse, which may be owing to the recent renovation. I think it needs to be lived in and roughed up a bit before it feels comfortable here. Most of the usual suspects in Greek cuisine are present on GK’s lunch and dinner menu, with the exception of a lamb dish. Lamb is such an important protein to the Greek diet that I was surprised not to see it featured here. I know lamb is not nearly as popular in the US as it is overseas, but it’s so delicious, a braised lamb shank or even a really tasty lamb burger would undoubtedly sell here.

You only get one shot at this photo. Opa!

We started with the saganaki, which I was thrilled to see on the menu. Flaming cheese is entertainment and deliciousness rolled into one sizzle platter. Melinda had never had this delicacy before, and in case you haven’t either, it’s made with Kasseri, which is kind of a salty, dense mozzarella-flavored sheep’s milk cheese. It can also be made with haloumi cheese, another dense, stringy, sheep’s milk variety. The theater of this dish comes when the waitress brings the square of cheese tableside, nestled in its double-handled platter, douses it with a shot of Ouzo which she then lights on fire and puts out with a squeeze of lemon. The resulting cheese is melty, gooey, salty, citrusy, and boozy. Those are all very good words. You scoop up a bit of the cheese and mash it on a piece of bread, and you have a fine appetizer, indeed. Saganaki may sound Japanese, but the shout of “Opa!” when the Ouzo is lit reads Greek in every way.

Saganaki, post-flambé

Melinda announced right away that she intended to order the chicken souvlaki, my usual Greek go-to, which was cool, because it freed me up to choose something else. The thing I love about a chicken souvlaki platter in Greek diners is that you hit all the great things about Greek food: pita, grilled meat marinated in citrusy, oregano-laced vinaigrette, Greek salad with feta, and fries with tzatziki. The tzatziki is key, and ties it all together. The yogurt-based sauce incorporates cucumber, garlic, and either mint or dill, providing a cooling, creamy compliment to the feta and all the other ingredients. So Greek Key’s version of souvlaki had one flaw for me: it forced Melinda to choose between fries and salad. Granted, for the $9 price tag, I’m not saying she didn’t get enough food. But for me, souvlaki needs to have both the salad component and the fries with the tzatziki, or it’s just not living up to its own potential. This version had no tomato, kalamata black olives, or even feta to go with the chicken and pita, so while Melinda said the chicken was juicy and flavorful, I was disappointed.

This plate needs some color



The pita was ready for its close-up

 I considered choosing the Greek Key platter so I could evaluate the spanakopita (spinach pie), mousaka (eggplant casserole), and Pastitsio (Greek lasagna) for you, but it also featured dolamdes, or stuffed grape leaves, which I just plain don’t like, so I followed my stomach and ordered the Greek Key burger. I love a Greek burger, because feta and tzatziki are just as complimentary to beef as they are to fries. This one was topped with both griddled feta (a delectable touch) and kalamata tapenade. The unique tapenade surprise absolutely made the dish and anchored it in earthy, umami, funky flavors. The burger itself was clearly hand-formed and cooked perfectly to my designated “medium,” making it a juice factory. And it wasn’t too big, either - bigger than a fast-food disc ‘o beef, but thinner than a Fudrucker’s monster, and juicier than either. The thick slice of raw, white onion on top added a punch of heat to balance out all that richness. I would have liked a slice of tomato as well, to add some freshness, and will request this in the future. In any event, it was divine.

See the browned feta? Genius.

We both chose the so-called Greek fries to go with our sandwiches. They were really good, hand-cut, and twice-fried. I have some notes, though. While the salt, pepper and oregano topping was nice, it needed a little more salt, for my taste (surprise, surprise), and you know it’s nearly impossible to properly salt fries once they’ve hit the table – that needs to happen seconds after they leave the fryer. Also, if I were calling something “Greek fries,” I would just envision some feta sprinkled over the top, and maybe even some diced tomato. As they were, the only thing differentiating these from regular, homemade fries was the oregano, which I don’t think is enough to make them “Greek.” They were good, but not particularly special.

From both plates, I was really missing the freshness aspect inherent in most Greek dishes by virtue of the presence of Greek salad. Again, probably because I mostly eat Greek food in diners, the salad is ubiquitous, and now, like Pavlov’s dog, I need it. I need lettuce, tomato, cucumber, olives, and feta in a vinaigrette on my plate, or I’m just not 100% satisfied. Next time, for $2.50, I’ll order a side salad and shut up about it, I promise.

For dessert, we had to go for the baklava. You’ve had this, right? Layers of phyllo dough and walnuts, soaked in honey? So often, the honey and nuts create an almost unbearable richness such that this delicacy must be served up in tiny portions to be edible. However, Greek Key is serving up one of the best versions I’ve ever tasted: the top layer of phyllo is actually crispy, there’s a hint of spice in the nut mixture you don’t usually get, possibly a wee bit of cinnamon or maybe clove, and the honey is actually watered down, which sounds gross, but is actually brilliant. It allows you to take more than one bite without grunting, “Ugh, I’m SO FULL!”

Overall, we left the Greek Key fat and happy, which is all anyone can really ask for from dinner, correct? As stated, I would have liked to see more vegetables included on the plate without having to choose between that or fries. I need both fried things and green things to be truly happy in this life. And our waitress and the owner/chef were a tad too attentive to our table, but I’m sure this is because I had been pinned as a blogger from the outset – you shouldn’t have any such issue. But overall, The Greek Key is delivering high quality, low fuss food at rock-bottom prices in a part of the Southern Tier where there just aren’t enough places to eat. I mean, I’m counting this location as West Corners, since it’s west of Main St., and I consider this my ‘hood. We gave Greek Key a seven on the BHS scale – above average, but with room to grow. When you check it out, try one of the casserole classics, cover them in the comments below, and I’ll be sure to update you when I go back! My hunger is big; my personality is bigger!

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