Tasting Journey #30 - Felicos

Felicos
8140 Leslie Road
Richmond, BC
604.276.8282
www.felicos.com


I have driven by this restaurant countless times, but never really even thought about ever trying out.  The restaurant is located in Richmond, a city full of authentic Asian cuisine.  Why would anyone thought of trying Greek food?

Hummous + Pita bread

This opportunity came when I was searching for a place to meet up with Judy.  Given that she has a 1.5yr old child with her, I thought it would only be convenient for her if we were to meet in Richmond. With her visiting from Taiwan, Asian cuisines was pretty much out of the equation.  It was either Greek, western or Korean, AND had to be child-friendly.

I googled. Felico came up with great reviews.  This is the place then.

Greek Salad

Judy had Luca with us.  He was a handful.  Actually, twenty handful was more like it, haha.  She was busy keeping him busy, so for ease' sake, we went with the Platter for 2 where we were able to try out almost everything Greek.

There's the very basic hummous + pita bread.   Then there's the Greek salad.  Then came a shared platter of things which I don't know what they are.  But here's some of what was on the plate:

Satziki // Kalamaria - Deep fried squid // Chicken Souvlaki  // Lamb Souvlakia  // Dolmades - Ground sirloin and rice wrapped in grape vine leaves with avgolemono sauce  // Spanakopita - Spinach, feta cheese, onions, baked in filo pastry  // Keftedes - Ground sirloin meatballs, onion

Then, for some tummy fillers to ensure we will be full, if not already, there's our individual plate of: Rice  // Roast Potatoes  // Seasonal Vegetables

 

The Platter

Individual Plate

Portions were huge. I could not finish it. Judy could not finish it.  One observation that both Judy and I had was that Greek food is not aesthetically appealing. They all had a very dark, tonal colour to it. The entire platter was either brown or black. This is not to say that the food wasn't tasty.  Just that you're always surprised by the aromatic taste despite the "low key"presentation.

Felicos serve decent food, but I really have to say that the service was extremely good.  The ambient was very welcoming, and warm.  I could enjoyed myself just as much if I were to just sit on their open patio on a warm sunny afternoon, with a pint of beer in my hand.  I would go back.

Tasting Journey #17 - Maria's Taverna

Maria's Taverna
2324 W. 4th Ave.
Vancouver, BC
604-731-4722
www.mariastaverna.ca


We were originally planning on going to Chewies for lunch only to find out that they aren't open for lunch. Disappointed, we walked towards W.4th where there are other potential eateries suitable for lunch on a Friday.  Greek sounded like a good option.

I've read up on Maria's Taverna on quite a few online food reviews, and seem to recall that the rating's not too bad.  I think I've even visited their website a few times too.  The restaurant photos posted on their website seems to portray an image of an old family-style restaurant with minimal interior decor.  On the contrary, the restaurant is actually quite well-lit, and portrayed a Mediterranean setting full of blues+whites.  As soon as we sat down, the first thing I noticed was the music playing in the background.  It was loud, and was in a foreign language which I'm guessing is probably Greek pop (though it sounded like Indian pop).

Andrea ordered a vegetarian casserole; Asmin went with baked tortellini, and I decided to have a Greek burger.  Greek burger? I asked if it is wrong to order a burger at a Greek restaurant.  You never know if it'll be interesting different.  That was when we started a Wikipedia expedition to find out the origin of burger, then french fries, then hot dogs... Burgers apparently were founded in Hamburg, in Germany.  Hamburger = people from Hamburg.  Interesting.

Pleasantly surprised, the Greek burger had a Greek twist to it.  Unlike patties sandwiched in a thick bun where there is a possibility that the bun-to-patty ratio could be off, this burger was sandwiched between 2 thinly sliced layers of pita bread.  The bun-to-patty ratio was perfect.  My definition of a good burger consists of the following two criteria:  1. well balanced bun-to-patty ratio (I dread a burger where the bun is too dense and too thick, and that only two bites into the burger feels like you've eaten an entire loaf of bread), and 2. juiciness of the patty.  The Greek burger had juicy, well-marinated patty. Added bonuses are the condiments such as tomato slice, tzatziki sauce, and a melted layer of feta cheese. Awesome.  The only issue I have with this burger is the saltiness of this burger.  I'm not sure if it is normal for Greek food to be salty (just like how I find that all the food I had in Paris was on the salty side), but the first thought that came to mind after my first bite is that the chief had mistakenly sprinkled an excess of salt on the side of the burger. Nope, it was salty the entire way.  Many the patty was really well marinated that it ended up being too salty?  The dish came with a Greek salad on the side.  Comparatively, the salad was blend.  Not enough dressing, nor flavouring.  Andrea also found her salad to be slightly under-flavoured.  However, she said that her vegetarian casserole was very well made, and I assume that Asmin's tortellini was excellent as well since she had cleaned her plate entirely.

Would I come back? Maybe.  There are many Greek restaurants located in the Kitsilano neighbourhood.  I would be more tempted to try out the other ones first prior to commenting on whether it is worth going back.  Well, at least it is decently priced.=)