Nobody is claiming that Greek cuisine is the end-all be-all (politics and philosophy and those cool fisherman hats were more their thing), but a few of the restaurants on and around Halsted Street turn out some nice, simple dishes with big flavors.
You might think all of the restaurants sort of run together and I probably would not argue that, but you could do worse than Pegasus (130 S Halsted St, 312-226-3377) if you were looking for a stunning view of downtown from a sun-drenched rooftop patio (provided the sun were shining).
Athena (212 S. Halsted St., 312-226-3377) also has a nice outdoor seating area, and when you are digging into broiled whole sea bass or jumbo shrimp kabobs, you kind of want to be doing it outside, don’t you? I think I do.
The old school places such as Greek Islands (200 S Halsted St, 312-782-9855), Santorini (800 W Adams St, 312-829-8820), Parthenon (314 S Halsted St, 312-726-2407), and Costas ( 340 S Halsted St, 312-263-0767) all do a good job with gyros, lamb and chicken kabobs, the traditional Greek salad with feta and kalamata olives, and the truly delectable moussaka, otherwise known as “Greek lasagna.”
You pretty much cannot go wrong with Greek food; what you see on the menu is usually what you get. There won’t be any tricky descriptions or ingredients you have not heard of. Just settle in for some good old Mediterranean comfort food.
And for the love of Homer, don’t forget to order some flaming saganaki. D’oh!
Wait — wrong Homer. Make that…Opaa!
