Restaurant Review by Dior Ayala

What is Food

The world has a vast array of cultures, and from that, differences are always made. 

This includes food. From the seasonings to what is added as ingredients, to how it is all cooked, food is an art that shows a unique personality to reflect who makes it. To me, food is a reflection of the people that create it. 

Today at around 2:30 pm, I drove to a Greek Restaurant that has been recommended to my mother before, and checking it online, it had many positive reviews, so we decided to give it a try.

"Athena's Greek and European Kitchen" a charming restaurant by FM on the 529 Rd. in Houston, Texas. An easy to find location right by the road and the first to see in the plaza it is in, especially to its close location to the Hearthstone Country Club!

A wide, clean and simple well-presented view that once inside the sound of Greek music wraps you in a warm welcome, with a hint of the distinctive smell of olive oil and lamb. Decorated in cool and fresh colors, it was like a little sneak peek into the Greco Life. 

The server we got was nice and even spoke Spanish quite fluently, something I haven't seen much in European restaurant. So far so good!

Looking at the menu, they had many options with organized and to the point explanations underneath all options. though had me hesitant. For how the place looked --even as cozy as it was-- the prices don't match. It is kind of overpriced!!

Anyhow,

We started with the Greek Salad, accompanied by their Greek dressing on the side and some garlic bread that was cooked just right. The taste was green, the kind of flavor that feels a little velvety but well balanced with the tomato and cucumber cuts. 

We quickly got served, so my mother and I enjoyed this strong starter, especially as it paired well with the dressing. Not too heavy nor too light! and taking our time eating, we did not feel the time pass by slowly waiting for the main meal.

My mother's order arrived first. To be honest, the presentation was somewhat bland. A simple chicken and vegetables soup with some pita bread and a single slice of watermelon. 

Personally, trying the bread, all I could taste was oily burnt old bread, with an aftertaste of too much butter. 

The soup itself the size of a cup had no flavor; it was the very meaning of insipid and tasted of water more than what was in it. And the watermelon unflavored, they should have waited a few more days for the sweetness to appear before serving it.

The whole thing cost $9.95

Presentation wise... it looked better than what it tasted.

At the start, I took a little longer on the order since I did not know what to have, so my mother recommended for me to try the traditional oven roasted chicken, as she has eaten it before in other places and thought that I would like it.

I did not like it.

Two small chicken pieces --smaller than my one hand-- were old, burnt and dry, blackened completely in one side and greasy on the other, the only positive thing to say was that it was soft and easy to pull off the bone, not that there was much meat to eat off of it. 

The taste was filled with only oiled charred chewy old meat, that even using their Greek dressing from the salad, or the side dish did not take away the drying taste.

The side dish that I had chosen was Briami, a "Greek ratatouille", assorted vegetables roasted in tomato sauce. It did not smell nor tase of anything other than wet tomato, I couldn't even finish what I had ordered. 

We tried using the Pita to maybe add something to whatever is that they had given me, but even then, it did not taste well, the briami simply a mash of wet soggy veggies. And the watermelon piece? I tried drying it with a napkin to take the grease of the old chicken pieces, yet all there was in taste was olive oil. 

Comparing it to what my mother had, it was even worse, and the price for my small order? $16.95 

I honestly have never eaten something so disappointing! and to add injury to the whole thing? we saw a huge roach at the end. 

Never. Again. 

In all my twenty-one years of life, I have only eaten Greek food twice (unfortunately both also disappointing), this being the third, and I can only say that this experience, Greek food is unfortunately out of my life from now on.