Category Archives: Greek

March 7, 2013 · 10:03 pm

Greek Flame Taverna

I’ve been so tired all week. I’m still exhausted from my class weekend last week, and I’m quickly losing all motivation to do anything. School is stressing me out, and I feel like I have no free time. This has been leading me to very sporadic gym schedules. In summary, I blame grad school for making me fat. [end complaining]

So, as a way to motivate myself out of bed and out of the textbooks that are consuming my life, I signed up for  Orlando’s Corporate 5k today.

IOA Corporate 5K

I’ve never run a race before, and it’s  been quite some time since I’ve run three miles. I hear there’s a lot of walkers, so hopefully that will take some pressure off. However, nothing motivates me more than the threat of looking like a chump in front of coworkers. The race is in a month….I’m really hoping to motivate myself to put on running shoes within that time period. There’s no time like now when I’m at my lowest physical capabilities and at rock bottom in terms of athleticism to sign up for a race.

In contributing-to-my-expanding-waistline news, Kevin and I tried a new restaurant with some friends a couple weeks ago: Greek Flame Taverna on Restaurant Row in the Dr. Phillips area. They were recently voted a top Greek restaurant in Orlando, and they lived up the hype. We went for dinner, so the menu was fancier, but they do offer sandwiches and more casual Greek fare as well.

We started with an order of mussels cooked in tomato and wine sauce topped with feta cheese.

Greek Flame Taverna-Mussels Special

The mussels were delicious and very flavorful. I loved the broth they were swimming in. For my main entree, I ordered baked shrimp and calamari, which came in a spicy broth.

Greek Flame Taverna-Shrimp and Calamari

The spicy kick warmed the back of my throat, and I loved the freshness from big chunks of garlic. This was not a dish for a weak palette. The flavors were very strong, and I really enjoyed them. It came with a side of Greek rice, which helped to mellow out the flavors.

Greek Flame Taverna-Greek Rice

Kevin ordered the rack of lamb with a side of Greek fries. The lamb was cooked perfectly and was incredibly succulent.

Greek Flame Taverna-Rack of Lamb

Greek Flame Taverna-French Fries

The wait staff was extremely friendly, and the atmosphere was a lot more elegant than a lot of Greek restaurants. I really enjoyed our evening there.

Any tips for a first-time racer? How do you motivate yourself?

2 Comments

Filed under Fitness, Greek, Health, Restaurant Row

February 13, 2013 · 9:29 pm

The Greek Corner

Last weekend, we took advantage of the great weather and grabbed lunch outside with Kevin’s boss, husband and adorable daughter. We settled on The Greek Corner, a small authentic Greek in Ivanhoe Village. They have a nice outdoor patio for us to soak up the weather.

I had a craving for stuffed grape leaves, and I was pretty excited by the large portion that came out.

The Greek Corner-Dolma Thakia

I loved the savory lemony rice with the texture of the grape leaves. I could munch on these all day.

The Greek Corner’s menu is kind of limited, but they did have a lot of tasty looking options. (Although they didn’t have falafel, which I had a craving for.) I usually opt for the gyro when eating Greek but decided I was craving a slightly lighter protein so I ordered the chicken souvlaki.

The Greek Corner-Chicken Souvlaki

Holy tzatziki! The pita came overflowing with grilled chicken onions, tomatoes and plenty of tzatziki sauce. Sometimes tzatziki sauce just tastes like sour cream or yogurt, but their sauce was really flavorful and tasted homemade. I ended up dipping my fries in some of my excess sauce. It was addicting. The chicken was also really well seasoned and moist.

Not only is tomorrow Valentine’s Day but it’s also my last evening with Kevin for a few days. I’ll be gone this weekend celebrating one of my best friends Sarah at her bachelorette weekend festivities. She was one of my amazing bridesmaids, and I’m so excited and honored to return the favor.

Sarah and I

Sarah and I at my bachelorette party

I can’t wait for a fun girls’ weekend!

What are your Valentine’s Day plans? Kevin and I are pretty low key for V-day every year. I’m sure we’ll enjoy a relaxing evening in.

4 Comments

Filed under Greek, Ivanhoe Village, Lunch

October 7, 2012 · 8:00 pm

Theo’s Kitchen

Nothing celebrates Friday like a lunch out with coworkers. On Friday my boss treated us to some Greek food at Theo’s Kitchen on Curry Ford Road. I had never been there before. The family-run quick-service restaurant is pretty unassuming located in a strip mall. They have a wide variety of Greek favorites on their menu.

I ordered the gyro supreme, which is a gyro wrap with tzatziki, onions, tomatoes, lettuce and cheese. The wrap was huge with plenty of meat and fillings.

Theo's-Gyro Supreme

The meat was a little dry, but the flavors of the tzatziki made up for it. We also shared fries at the table, which were addicting. They were perfectly golden on the outside and still soft on the inside.

Also ordered at the table was their two-piece fried chicken special, which came with fries and a Greek side salad.

Theo's-2 piece chicken

Theo's-Side Salad

They seem to be known for their fried chicken. It was ordered by many patrons that day.

I thought that Theo’s was a good casual bite for some Greek food. Everything came out really fast, and the family manning the counter was very friendly.

Once again, this weekend went by way too quickly. We spent a lot of time with friends and was out and about more than usual. My birthday is on Thursday, which should also help this work week move along a little bit. It sort of snuck up on me. It doesn’t feel like it should be October yet!

How was your weekend?

5 Comments

Filed under Greek, Lunch, Quick Service

July 29, 2012 · 8:40 pm

Whitewood Mediterranean Grill

Thursday marked my two-year anniversary at my job. I can’t believe it has already been two years. Sometimes I still feel like I just started because there’s always so much to learn. I left my last job right before my two-year anniversary, so this officially marks my longest job with one company (post college). To celebrate the milestone, my team went out to lunch at Whitewood Mediterranean Grill in downtown Orlando.

I love Greek food so was excited to try this quick service Greek café. The atmosphere feels like a big city. All the windows are open, so the entire corner café is open air, complete with the breeze going through and all the noises of the street.

All three of us ordered the falafel platter, which comes with your choice of two sides. I chose French fries and stuffed grape leaves for my sides.

Whitewood Mediterranean Grill - Falafel Platter

I was a little disappointed with my falafel. I think it was overcooked. The falafel patties were just dried out and very hard. The sides, however, were very good. The stuffed grape leaves were my favorite. They were bright with flavor. The fries were topped Greek seasonings.

My dining companions chose hummus and baba ganoush and hummus and tabbouleh as their sides.

Whitewood Mediterranean Grill - Hummus and Baba Ganoush

Whitewood Mediterranean Grill - Hummus and Tabbouleh

I was disappointed by the falafel but do want to return to try their gyro pita. I saw one go by and it looked massive and full of vegetables and meat. This weekend has been full of watching the Olympics. I love hearing our national anthem!

What is the longest you’ve been at one job?

11 Comments

Filed under Downtown Orlando, Greek, Lunch, Mediterranean

December 8, 2011 · 10:14 pm

Mediterranean Blue

Happy Friday eve! Next Friday will be my last day in the office until 2012, so the weeks are feeling particularly long. I’m giddy with anticipation for some time off.

This week I was lucky enough to grab lunch with my good friend Erica, who is also engaged. We caught up on wedding planning and life planning over some delicious Greek food. Erica introduced me to a hole-in-the-wall Greek quick-service restaurant near downtown Orlando called Mediterranean Blue. It’s a really small place with a pretty simple menu of Greek salads and pita sandwiches.

Their website also boasts the “best gyro in Orlando.”

Instead of their famous gyro, I opted for the falafel pita.

falafel

The pita was loaded with tahini sauce, hummus, falafel patties, lettuce, onions, and tomatoes. It was really delicious, and the falafel was so well seasoned. Falafel is one of my favorite things to order off any menu. I really should learn how to fry it up at home.

I also ordered their Greek fries, which are seasoned with salt and oregano. They were alarmingly addicting. I usually prefer my fries a little bit thinner (I’m definitely not a fan of wedge fries), but the oregano on these kept me munching on them.

fries

Mediterranean Blue has really great prices, and it’s a great quick lunch spot. I’m so thankful that Erica introduced me to it!

Speaking of wedding planning, Kevin and I have officially selected a date for our wedding. We’ll be getting married next December! In just about one year, I’ll be a “Mrs.”!

What is your favorite type of fries? I love shoestring…the skinnier, the better! However, I do have a soft spot for Chick-fil-a’s waffle fries.

9 Comments

Filed under Greek, Mediterranean, Quick Service, SoDo