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Olympic
Flame offers diners a true Greek
Jan.
10, 2006
| If
You Go |
Name: Olympic Flame of Eau Claire.
Owner and chef: Lampros Petanitis.
Established: May 1, 1980.
Address: 2920 London Road.
Telephone: 835-7771.
Wheelchair accessible: Yes.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through
Saturday; closed Sundays and holidays.
Prices: Large Greek salad, $4.60; small,
$1.95. Grilled pita bread, 50 cents. |
Greeks
in Greece eat "Greek salads"?
No. Except maybe in tourist restaurants.
Greeks in Greece eat all sorts of salads including
horiatiki salata, the "salad of the village."
This is the Platonic form of American Greek salads:
rough-cut juicy red tomatoes, diced cucumbers, chopped
red or white onions - and no lettuce.
Garnishes can be deep-purple kalamata olives, crumbled
feta cheese or both. Usually the dressing is only
good olive oil, sea salt and dried oregano.
Pass bread for sopping and mopping.
Greek salads in America are typically American salads
with Greek flavors. Some come with croutons, carrots,
too many raw bell peppers, even meat.
Standard ingredients are lettuce - often iceberg;
chalky feta cheese, usually in chunks; and a salty-sharp
dressing made with too much vinegar or lemon juice.
In Greece, you taste the fresh vegetables, which
are complemented by the oil, oregano and salt. The
olives' soft marinade, the bits of tangy cheese
and the sweet-tart tomato juices lend just enough
acidity to keep the dish exciting.
In the U.S. what you mostly taste is dressing.
At the Olympic Flame, Lampros Petanitis knows how
to make American Greek salads truly Greek: with
good ingredients, last-minute preparation and restraint.
Thankfully, Petanitis is old-fashioned. Most restaurants
use bagged, pre-cleaned lettuce. He buys whole heads
of romaine and washes, dries and cuts the leaves
by hand several times a day. He insists on Greek
oregano and kalamata olives but buys his feta in
Minnesota because it has the texture and creamy
taste he wants.
And his dressing, drizzled on at the last minute,
is olive oil with a mere memory of red wine vinegar
- just enough tartness to perk up winter tomatoes.
His large Greek salad, with a grill-warmed pita
bread or two, makes a fine light meal that reminds
us of summer.
Main Course, the Leader-Telegram's restaurant
review column, runs the fourth Sunday of the month.
Diners' Notebook, a sampling of favorite restaurant
offerings, runs the second Tuesday of the month.
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