22 - Wednesday, December 21, 1988 - North Shore News

dining _ ‘Now

i” a2

GREEK CONNECTION chef
Robert Eadie presents a warm
smile and a chilled glass of white
wine to all this festive season. The
West Vancouver Greek restau-
rant, which has been in its cur-
rent location ‘for the past six
years, is a favorite with local
Greek food lovers.

Hearty peasant
grub served
in West Van

Flautist
honored

WINDSOR SECONDARY student
Joanna G’Froerer was recently
awarded the silver medal from the
Royal Conservatory of Music for
achieving the highest mark in B.C.
in the Grade 8 Orchestral
Instrument exams.

G’Froerer plays flute under the
direction of North Vancouver's
Kathleen Rudolph who teaches at
the Vancouver Academy of Music.

THE GREEK CONNECTION, 1560
MARINE DRIVE, WEST VAN-
COUVER, 926-4228. VISA,
AMERICAN EXPRESS AND
MASTERCARD ACCEPTED.
HAD never made The Greek
Connection before, being under
the misguided impression that it
perhaps was more a short-order
diner than a regulation restaurant.
_ But that neon sign — one of the

S TIMOTHY
RENSHAW

table hopping

best decorating a restaurant on the
North Shore — lured me in from
aimless wandering.

And, too, my mother, who
makes daily calls to the office with
dining suggestions and detailed
descriptions of her weekly
gastronomic adventures, had
made occasional mention of the
Connection.

Motherly advice, though not
always consistent with offspring
opinion, is, as we all know, not
something easily filed under
wastepaper. And when it pans out,
the payoff is all the more pleasant.

A lot of astute West Van folk
have obviously already made the
Greek Connection: it played host
to a steady stream of patrons the
Friday night | dined there.

Interior of the restaurant is
suitably Mediterranean, with
whitewashed walls and red
gingham Greek table cloths, but its
central fireplace also makes it cosy
during the less-than-Mediterranean
winter weather we are currently
wading through.

Food served is not spectacular,
but it sticks faithfully to the hearty
peasant grub from which Greek
cuisine initially sprang and has
been so successfully cultivated
around.

t tested a Hot Platter ($11.95) in
the opening Connection round.
The dish provides a good compact
tour through the most popular
Greek culinary tastes and aromas
both for tentative newcomers and
feta-gobbling veterans: samples of
calamari, dolmades (vine leaves
stuffed with rice, ground beef,
onions and such distinctive Greek
flavors as oregano), small spicy
Greek meatballs, thick sticks of
feta cheese and big, purple
thumb-sized Greek olives.

All were arranged on a large
serving dish in a colorful display
with a small pool of satsiki (the
refreshing yogurt-cucumber-garlic
concoction that accompanies most
Greek dishes) and a stack of white
onion slices.

Lemon halves crowned the
whole works. The citrus fruit,
another staple condiment of Greek
cuisine, added sharp and lively
acid flavors to all hot platter per-
sonnel.

Olive oils and other juices from
the dish’s various ingredients pro-
vided excellent mopping material
for the slices of accompanying
white pita bread.

The Connection’s entree section
boasts several items such as Briani
(a vegetable and tomato rice con-
coction for $7.95) and
Gourounopoulo (pig roast, $9.95)
that offer an interesting departure

: RESTAURANT
MERRY CHRISTMAS
& HAPPY NEW YEAR

Ne

From everyone at CHEZ MICHEL
Join us for Lunch or Dinner

1373 MARINE DR. WEST VANCOUVER 926-4915

aoe
Tho

NEWS Mike Wakefield

tomato rice.

t also tested a slice of Bogatsa
($2.50) for dessert.

There was a distinct chill to what |
should have been served hot, but
overall the phyllo pastry stuffed
with sweet cream-of-wheat style
filling and dusted with powdered
white sugar and cinnamon was a
good way to top off my Connec-
tion connection.

Adjacent to The Licks, a light
meal, hot coffee and jazz cafe,
and the Sandy Cove, a
neighborhood sports and music
nightspot, the Greek Connection
provides a good West Vancouver
connection to Greece and its
classic peasant cuisine.

Open every day for dinner and
Monday to Saturday for lunch and
dinner.

from the more familiar Greek food
fare.

But, feeting in a less than por-
cine mood, | chose a small Beef
Souvlaki (small serving, $8.50,
large $10.95), which satisfied my
craving for Greek grub very nicely.

The meat, on a single skewer,
was grilled over an open flame, as
red meat was meant to be cooked
and how it has been cooked best
since man first seared prehistoric
spare ribs.

It was spiced with just a hint of
oregano and olive oil. Add a
squeeze of fresh lemon, a dash of
satsiki and you and your appetite
will be seized with an overwhelm-
ing desire to dance with Anthony
Quinn.

Accompanying the meat was a
small Greek salad and a serving of

erry Christmas |

Thank you all for a very
successful first year.
We still have some tables
for New Year's Eve.

(Coupons not accepted New Years Eve)

Open daily for Lunch, Dinner
and a special Sunday Brunch

Dancing Saturday Night

The Bridge House Restaurant
3650 Capilano Road, North Vancouver

(opposite world-famous Capilano Suspension Bridge)

987-3388

«