Dining Out
Karl Wells
Athenian Restaurant
390 Duckworth Street
Ph. 722-0911
Helen and Argyris Kasimos
are back in town. This first generation Canadian Greek couple has made
Newfoundland their home for the past several years. Since the early nineties
they'd been in Marystown managing the food and beverage operation for Hotel
Marystown. Before that many will remember their restaurant on Harvey Road in
St. John's called Acropolis. Unfortunately, Acropolis was destroyed in the
infamous Harvey Road fire. Financially, the Kasimoses were unable to weather
the blow and rebuild. That's how they ended up in Marystown. Recently an
opportunity arose that enabled them to return to St. John's. They're happy to
be back in the city and to be re-connecting with the small but close Greek
community.
The Kasimoses’ latest venture
is the Athenian Restaurant and Ouzerie located in the old Majestic building
downtown. If you’re wondering what the heck an ouzerie is, apparently it’s a
place that sells or uses the famous Greek licorice flavoured liqueur called
ouzo. The Athenian uses the pungent elixir in some of its food. According to
Helen Kasimos, the Athenian restaurant and “Ouzerie” is currently unable to
sell ouzo as a drink because ouzo has been de-listed by the NLC. Let’s hope the
NLC lists it again, since I’m sure the Athenian’s food will whet some appetites
for the Greek beverage.
The Athenian featured lots of
dark wood, red walls and a main floor dining area, as well as some
multi-leveled dining nooks. There was a private functions room at the back.
Round and rectangular tables were covered with white cloth, stylish
contemporary cutlery and royal blue cloth napkins. A catchy rhythm filled the
air from music played on the bouzouki by Pavlo, a Greek entertainer. It was from
one of his CDs. Helen Kasimos is a huge Pavlo fan and even had her picture
snapped with the accomplished guitarist at the Arts and Culture Centre
recently. Perhaps one day she’ll frame the picture and hang it in the
restaurant.
My two guests and I soon had
our waiter cracking open a bottle of Masi Campofiorin, a delicious red from
Italy. The Athenian had some Greek wine on the menu but it was a brand I’d
tried out of curiosity once and did not enjoy. The Masi was quite pleasant and
a good alternative I thought. I was told that eventually the Kasimoses hope to
offer a wider selection of wines at their restaurant. Hopefully some better
Greek wines may come along as well, if the NLC lists them.
If you’re dining with a
friend - or even two friends - I recommend starting with the Athenian’s pikilia
for two. It’s a selection of several of
the restaurant’s most popular appetizers, meaning, unfortunately, that the
pikilia did not feature the octapodi (octopus) or the kalamarakia (squid). The
pikilia we were served featured a tasty cake of feta with olives, standard
starter treats in phyllo like spanakopites, amazingly good spicy Greek
meatballs, dolmades or meat and rice stuffed vine leaves, a kind of bruschetta
called riganatto and three very delicious dips: classic taramosalata, tzatziki
and humous.
Outside of those champion
meatballs I liked the dips best of all, especially the taramosalata. It’s made
with carp caviar or any other white caviar (tarama) that’s whisked with
well-soaked bread, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and onion. The Athenian’s had
that wonderful seafood flavour plus a beautifully creamy texture. I slathered
plenty on pieces of pita. The pita, along with a few rolls, had been served
upon our arrival.
The Athenian’s moussaka was
by far the best dish brought to our table that evening. I could have consumed
two or three helpings it was so yummy. Moussaka is a combination of eggplant,
ground lamb or beef, onion and seasonings, especially cinnamon, baked in a dish
and topped with a béchamel - a sauce of butter, flour, milk, eggs and cheese
sprinkled, sometimes, with nutmeg. The cinnamon and spices, along with
contrasting textures and rich flavours made the dish comforting, like being
wrapped in a warm fuzzy blanket.
The quail or “ortikia” was another
delicious entrée. The Athenian marinates pieces of quail in wine and various
herbs before charbroiling . The result was tender, moist meat that had been
infused with the aroma and flavour of red wine, seasonings and quail bone.
Plate presentation of the
quail could have been handled a bit better. While it tasted marvelous, the dish
deserved a more attractive presentation than looking like the quail pieces had
been dropped on the rice pilaf willy-nilly from a great height.
Slight disappointment accompanied
our final entrée, Athenian’s shrimp and scallop kebab. For $20 I think they
could have done a little better than three average size shrimp and three small
scallops. The seafood was nice enough, although the scallops were a tad
overdone.
The Athenian featured a
handful of Greek desserts. We tried something called kataif and another called
triantafillo ice cream. The kataif was like a poor man’s version of the Greek
classic, baklava. It didn’t appeal to me. Billed as, “shredded pastry rolls stuffed
with nuts and sweetened with honey syrup,” this dish tasted more like breakfast
than dessert. Think of a piece of shredded wheat cereal dipped in honey. If you
want baklava, have baklava. They were both $5.
The triantafillo ice cream
was another story. I’ve never enjoyed ice cream more. This dish consisted of a
cup made from hard, shiny red candy - the kind that coats the outside of a
candy apple - filled with creamy vanilla ice cream coated with rose petal
preserves. It was a delightful combination. I’d never eaten rose petals before
but as a jammy topping they were wonderful, for their sweet unique taste,
delicate texture and perfume aroma. The
rose petal preserves complimented the vanilla ice cream perfectly. When I’d
finished those I even nibbled on the hard candy cup they came in.
Towards the end of the night
Helen Kasimos, who had been busy tending to her customers all evening, was
standing in the middle of the room and laughing, as she and a diner were linked
arm in arm and kicking up their heels in what I call the “Zorba” dance.
Remember Anthony Quinn in Zorba the Greek? I was enjoying myself so much I
wanted to slip off my shoes and get up with them. Who knows, maybe next time I
will.
A meal for two at the
Athenian - including a moderately priced bottle of wine and gratuity - will
cost you approximately $135.
The Athenian was not
wheelchair accessible and the noise level was moderate.
Best Points:
Moussaka! Moussaka! Moussaka!
Areas for Improvement:
Food presentation needs a
little work.
Ratings Category:
The Athenian Restaurant and Ouzerie gets 8 points.
7 points = satisfactory, 7.5 points = good, 8 points =
very good, 9 points = excellent, 10 points = perfection