Olympia Cafe

I didn't really want a birthday celebration this year.  This was not a case of "boo hoo don't look at me I'm getting old."  It's more like "turning 27 seems like no big deal when your closest friends are getting married and you just bought an apartment."  Basically, my birthday seemed pretty inconsequential with all the other amazing things going on right now.

There was no party and no candles this year, but I didn't see any harm in an intimate supper with my Mom, Mark, and Allison (my Daddy was out of town at a National board meeting).  I picked one of my Savannah favorites for supper, Olympia Cafe.  It's nothing fancy and happens to be right in the middle of River Street, also known as Savannah's clusterf*** of tourists.  It may be in an unlikely area, but I've always enjoyed the food and have spent many (most) a birthday there.

Fun fact: when I was a wee tike of about eight, the owner took me to the back and showed me my first keg at my Grandpa's birthday dinner.  It was love at first sight.

We started with an antipasti plate that included a potato dip, roe dip, olives, artichokes, octopus, and feta.  We also ordered calamari (some of the best in Savannah thanks to perfect breading), hummus, and dolmades.  They used to have meat in their dolmades and I was wary when the waitress told us they had switched to vegetarian, but they were so nicely spiced and topped with yummy tzaziki that I was just as happy with the meat-free version.  For my entree I ordered the duo plate (choice of two specialties) with pastisio and spanikopita.  The pastisio was made with red sauce and just a little bechemel instead of tons of white sauce.  I actually preferred this lighter version.  The spanikopita was great as usual and the potatoes and rice had a nice lemony touch.

It was the perfect birthday supper spent with those I love most at a restaurant that was just as good as I remembered.