Captivated by Kefi

Dave knows how to keep me happy throughout my bday weekend - help me cross more restaurants off my list!  I'm rarely in the UWS, but we had to run and errand and found ourselves hungry for lunch in an unfamiliar neighborhood.  Since we were in the mood to explore, we decided to walk around until we found something that struck our fancy.  When I spotted Kefi across the street I had a "duh" moment - how could I have forgotten?!

As a huge Greek fan, I have been told by many that this is the place to go - I just never remember to make plans to try it.  Not only was I told the food is great, I heard it is reasonably priced - difficult to find when it comes to good Greek food.  Everything I heard was true.  Great food, very do-able prices, and a casual, airy atmosphere.  The menu offered more refined dishes than the simple gyro without feeling stuffy (ie: hostess and wait staff were in t-shirts and jeans).

We started with a plate of four spreads.  The portion was supposed to be for two, but it could have easily satisfied four diners (for a mere $9.95!).  Don't worry, we ate it all ourselves because each spread was too delicious to waste.  We also had the grilled octopus, which was served atop a salad of chickpeas and black eyed peas.  The octopus was a little salty but perfectly grilled.  I'm not sure how they were able to cultivate the yummy crust on the outside while keeping the meat so tender.  For his entree, Dave ordered the chicken souvlaki sandwich that was served with a heaping pile of chips and a small salad.  I had the sheep's milk dumplings with tomato sauce, sun-dried tomato, spinach, feta, lamb sausage, and pine nuts.  Yum central.  The dumplings were like the Greek version of gnocci.  Basically, I was eating delicious little clouds.  A dish like that at any other restaurant would have easily been at least $22, not the $13.95 we paid.

Overall, I loved it.  I'll be back - hopefully for dinner next time.