Had an appointment downtown this evening and wanted to get a bite to eat beforehand. Just across the street to where we found parking were two restaurants we have yet to try.

Pure Cuisine Raw Foods and the Dorian Greek House. Could there be any more of a contrast in choices? As we walked up we passed a guitar playing busker adorned in a 3 piece suit; he had to be one of the classiest dressed buskers I've ever come across (more to come on him later.) When we reached the two restaurants, Pure Cuisine was closing in less than 30 minutes so we opted to go Greek.

The Dorian Greek House is a tall two level restaurant. We were seated downstairs, but apparently the popular place to sit is upstairs. I noticed several parties that came in after us, requested to be seated upstairs. What’s up there? What do these regulars know that a noob like me doesn't?

Saganaki ($8.95)

I've only had saganaki flambéed. I don't know if this little North American tradition of torching the cheese in Ouzo adds anything other than a little flamboyance. The server asked if we wanted her to set it ablaze. A fraction of me wanted to say no thanks, so I can at least try it without the hoopla, but I couldn't resist. Set that mofo on fiya! How can you not love gooey pan fried cheese. The pliable warm white cheese with a delicate fried skin gave a subtle contrasting texture in my mouth. I just wish the salty molten cheese had some warm bread to go with it. This is best eaten immediately, because if you wait for it to cool, it's just like eating a brick of hard cheese and that's no fun.

Kalamari Appetizer ($9.45)

Before diving into the kalamari, I noticed the sharp dressed busker has now strolled over to chat with a vagabond couple sitting on the bench directly across the street from Dorian's Greek House. The squid was crispy and light on the deep fry. Dorian doesn't seem to serve the tentacle part of the kalamari. The tentacles are the best part! The appetizer serving was generous, we could have easily just had one appy.

Ribs and Prawns Dinner ($23.95)

I looked over at the new found friendship across the street. It's happy times; the vagabond lady has commandeered the busker's guitar and is attempting to strum a tune. In exchange for the temporary music lesson her vagabond partner hands the busker a cold one from his red and white Coleman cooler. The three strangers chat animatedly like old chums. I overhear the orders of 3 tables around us and they all ordered 1 starter and 1 entree to share between 2 people. When the mains arrived I realized why. The ribs and prawns stretched the length of the platter and were resting on a mound of salad, potatoes and rice. The pork was very tender and flavourful. With a rib bone in one hand I glance over and see the busker now trying to enjoy his beverage, while awkwardly attempting to conceal the said beverage in his spiffy black suit jacket. It was quite a challenge for him, as I could tell, he really was trying to maintain some sort of decorum. The prawns were on the larger side and the seafood still had a snap to it when bitten.

Mousaka Dinner ($15.95)

By the time I tried the mousaka, the newly formed Three's Company were throroughly enjoying their liquid happy. It got even happier as they threw all caution to the wind and circulated a cigarette-of-the-herbal-nature freely. The expressions of the people walking by them were pretty entertaining. Suddenly, there was somesort of unrelated kerfuffle in the parking lot behind the friends. The police, ambulance and fire were all in attendance. This did not sway the threesome. The Dorian staff and customers even came up to the front windows to do some rubber necking, and some were more intrigued by the motley crew of 3 at the bench rather than the emergency in the parking lot. Overall the taste of the mousaka was enjoyable, but the textures of the zucchini and egg plant were indiscernible. The ground meat seem to have heavy hints of all spice or cinnamon (?) The seasoning was strong throughout the dish. It was difficult to distinguish between any two flavours, as everything on the plate became just one taste.

Greek style Pita

All the sides were pretty typical. The rice, potatoes and Greek salad were all decent. The bread came out hot, soft and chewy. The service was very attentive and friendly. I ended up taking most of my meal home with me for lunch the next day. The portions are very large, however isn't that pretty common at homestyle Greek restaurants? You need to come hungry, very hungry. When we left for my evening appointment the three comarades were blissfully luxuriating in the benefits of their newly formed bond. On lookers continued to walk by doing a double-take, smiling, and shaking their heads.

Dorian Greek House website click here

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