LITTLE ROCK — In Detroit and Chicago, Greeks have carved out their own districts where folks can sample flaming cheese (saganaki) and spinach pie (spanakopita), skewered meats (souvlaki) and grape leaves and kalamata olives. Little Rockers know this fare, too, thanks to the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church’s food festival.
What about Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe?
Taziki’s is Greek lite, and perhaps the better for it. No spanikopita, no moussaka, but lots of lemony rice and garlicky grilled meats sans rapier, lots of feta cheese and pita and lamb all served up in a half-service style wherein you order your meal at the counter, then sit down and wait for it to be served.
The new Chenal Parkway location is an especially spacious and well-lighted cafe along the busy, far western commercial corridor. It’s the second in Little Rock - the first, on Cantrell Road, opened in the fall of2008.
Both are franchises of the national chain - 19 locations from here to the Carolinas - owned by former Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Keet.
After reviewing a review after the first one opened, it seems little has changed. Nor should it, for while Taziki’s is hardly an authentic experience, it may in time be an experience authentic to Little Rock.
Almost everything on the menu is carefully priced to be more expensive than chain fast-food stops but cheaper than most restaurants where you’d take a date for dinner. The new $13 grilled salmon meal is the most expensive on the menu but most dishes are under $10.
The portions reflect this. That is, while none of the dishes are slight, nor are they stuffing.
On two recent trips I and my date started with the dolmades (rice-stuffed grape leaves, $5) and the Greek lemon chicken soup ($3 cup, $4 bowl). The word to sum these up is tart.
Tart is a sensation that runs through many Taziki’s meals, and it’s refreshing. So many American appetizers are spicy (Southwest eggrolls), soothing (artichoke dip) or snack-y (chips and salsa). The dolmades, with their wet grape leaves and seasoned rice, are light and substantial at once. Meanwhile, the soup is tangy - it’s not a flavor profile you’re likely to find elsewhere - with none of the aspic qualities of being canned.
Over the course of two meals, we tried the chargrilled lamb ($11), grilledshrimp ($10) and herb-roasted pork loin ($10) “feasts.” Dinners come with a choice of basmati rice, roasted new potatoes, fresh pasta salad, tomato-cucumber salad, fresh fruit or a tossed salad with feta cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, two kalamata olives and one pickled pepper.
The lamb was tender, lean and grilled so precisely it suffers from neither too little grilled crosshatching nor too much char. On the other hand, the grass-fed flavor had been soaked out by marinade or some other solution, and because they’re cut thin and boneless, it’s no wonder they don’t ask you how you’d like it cooked. Again, Greek lite.
The pork was the better choice. It was more dynamically seasoned (rosemary). Also, there was no expectation of a rare center. Mostly it was my preference because it was served with a tomato chutney aioli that’s distinctive and grilled asparagus that’s classy.
Both meats suffered from being sliced thin. They cooled so quickly it was impossible to finish the first two and get a warm bite from the third.
The shrimp was probably the tastiest and finest prepared of the three. Not a one was stiff or dry, and the lemon-garlic-butter treatment makes them so delicious. Normally I prefer sauteed shrimp to grilled because so much flavor is lost between the irons, but not here.
The sides were pleasant and flavorful - the new potatoes were rich in earthy flavor - but nothing particularly memorable. More pleasant still would bea dolmades side item offering, even if it were just one (the appetizer plate features three).
The restaurant offers a substantial beer and wine selection at, as you might anticipate, very competitive prices. Along with opening the menu more, these drinks help the restaurant lean back from being a lunchtime destination toward an inexpensive, casual dinner option. (Without the sauce, Taziki’s would certainly feel more daytime to me.)
One of the high notes from our first review was lamb gyros ($8.79). Throughout the country, this Greek “sandwich” has been sullied by the proliferation of slow-cooked lamb loaf, pressed-meat sliced thin, often grilled for crispness but loaf nevertheless. At Taziki’s, the meat is real chopped strips of lamb, typically accompanied by lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions and Taziki sauce (a mix of Greek yogurt, cucumber and dill). While the pita was a little mushy and flavorless - more often I’ve had it basted in butter and quickly fried on the skillet - this was a terrific gyro.
There are two desserts on the menu, each $2.50: a baklava (honey and crushed nuts between layers of philo dough) that’s delivered by a supplier, and a chocolate cake with Richmond icing that’s made fresh each morning. While baklava is the traditional Greek dessert, there is simply no choice on this matter - take the cake. It’s so-o-o-o good.
Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe
Address: 12800 Chenal
Parkway, Little Rock
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon
day-Saturday, 11 a.m.-3
p.m. Sunday
Cuisine: Greek
Credit cards: V, MC, AE, D
Alcoholic beverages: Beer
and wine
Reservations: No
Wheelchair accessible: Yes
Carryout: Yes
(501) 227-8291
tazikiscafe.com
Weekend, Pages 31 on 08/02/2012