Opa, A Greek Restaurant in Greensboro, NC

On Tuesday I went up to Greensboro to spend the day and night with friend Virginia.  We watched the election returns together, but before that we ventured downtown to have lunch at Opa the Greek Restaurant.

It was a cool and wet day and a cup of hot spiced tea to begin with was welcome.

Spiced hot tea.

 The decor also provided a warm and toasty atmosphere.

Warm and inviting ambiance.

We each chose a bowl of Avgolemono the egg-lemon based chicken and rice soup.  But instead of rice they use orzo which looks like a big grain of rice, but actually is pasta.  The soup was perfect for a cool afternoon.

Greek soupa.

Kataifi, a Greek pastry that looks like it is wrapped in shredded wheat, is a traditional pastry of shredded phyllo dough made with nuts on the inside and soaked in a sugar or honey syrup, and this provided a perfect ending for a fine lunch.

Kataifi

After lunch we hurried down the street to shop at Mack and Mack, a women's apparel store.  More about that in another blog.

Saganaki ela!

We were in Halifax recently and had dinner at our favorite Greek restaurant, Ela, out in Bayer's Lake Shopping Center.  I usually have the delicious grilled octopus as an appetizer, but this time I decided to try something different.  I ordered the Saganaki ela!, pan fried Kefalograviera, Greek cheese.  The cheese was flambéed  table side and dressed with fresh lemon juice.  It was crusty on the outside with warm cheese oozing from the inside and quite delicious.

Menu description.

Flambeed.

Crusty on the outside

Melted cheese on the inside.

Dan had the grilled chops from a rack of lamb that were marinated in garlic before grilling.

Lamb chops grilled.

Following the appetizers, Dan had a creamy seafood chowder and I had braised lamb with spices & tomato sauce blended with cavatelli pasta.

Creamy seafood chowder.

Pasta lamb dish.

We wanted to try dessert, but we were so full we decided to get one to takeout and have the next day.  We tried the Kataifi Ekme, shredded filo pastry, baked and covered with a vanilla custard.  This is topped with whipped cream, roasted pistachios and almonds.

Kataifi Ekme

A bite of dessert.

The wait staff is very attentive at Ela.  Our waitress took time to describe the dishes we were thinking of ordering and was very patient as I was trying to get pictures of the various dishes including her setting fire to the brandy on the cheese appetizer.

Dan and our lovely waitress.

Yes we enjoyed yet another delicious meal at Ela.

Opa! now ela!

ela! Greek Taverna in Bayers Lake Shopping Center.

Last May when Dan and I were in Halifax we discovered this wonderful Greek  restaurant, Opa!, in the Bayers Lake Shopping Center.  Eager to return, we found that the name had been changed to ela! Greek Taverna as the outcome of a trademark issue.  The menu, the food, and the service have all stayed the same we are happy to report. 

Grilled octopus over chickpea salata.

Dan’s cousin, Bruce, and his wife Becky joined us there the other day for lunch.  I was looking forward to having ela’s grilled octopus seasoned with oregano, lemon, olive oil and capers served over chickpea salad that I had enjoyed in May.   If you like calamari (squid), then you will likely find octopus its close relative tasty.  (As a biologist, I know that the squid and the octopus are both cephalopods and closely related and that’s your biology lesson for the day.)  Although I like calamari, I find octopus even more delicious.

ela! lemon roasted potatoes.

The grilled octopus is featured as an appetizer, but it was quite filling as an entrée with a side of ela! lemon potatoes oven roasted in olive oil, lemon and garlic. 

Rotisserie leg of lamb, Dan's choice.

Dan chose the herbed rotisserie leg of lamb topped with sautéed mushrooms and onion.  The succulent lamb comes from Colchester County, and ela! selects the freshest, highest quality items from local organic farms whenever possible.

For dessert, I had the Bougasta, a rich orange flavored custard pie in a flaky filo pastry with a light cinnamon honey syrup.

Bougasta for dessert.

Yes, the restaurant name may be ela!, but all I have to say is “Opa!”