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I Heart Food

Sharing our experiences eating out and what we cook at home--everything related to food and drink
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7⁄8 cup pasteurized egg (I use Egg Beaters)

1 1⁄8 ounces crushed garlic

3 1⁄2 ounces parmesan cheese

2 2⁄3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon pepper

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 1⁄2 ounces anchovies

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 1⁄2 cups olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Virginia Beach Restaurant Week 2015 - Ammos for Lunch

January 15, 2015

Shelby messaged me yesterday and asked if I wanted to go to Ammos Authentic Greek Cuisine off Great Neck Rd. for lunch. Her co-worker said she wouldn't mind checking it out—cool—we haven't been either! It's Virginia Beach Restaurant Week and they were participating in the $10 lunch special.

Ammos owner Yiannis

I remember being at Yiannis Wine Shop last year and Yiannis said I had to check out the Greek place across the street. He said the food was very good and authentic, I assumed he knew what he was talking about since he was from Cypress. Yiannis even offered to pay for dinner if Shelby and I went to check it out. I declined his generous offer and promised that I would check it out. Sadly it took me several months but we finally made it and we weren't disappointed.

I met Shelby and her friends Crystal, Laura and Jonathan who were already seated. There were supposed to be 6 of us but one of them couldn't make it, no worries though, seating was readily available for them when walked in arrived. Our server, Adriyan, promptly offered water and asked if we wanted anything else to drink. The Restaurant Week menus were on the table, we checked out what was being offered.

We were given choices for two courses, here's what was being offered:

First Course

  • Choice of Dip (tzatziki, melitzanosalata, taramosalata, scordalia, tirokafteri or hummus)
  • Spanakopita
  • Cup of Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo or Lentil Soup

Second Course

  • Gyro or Chicken Pita with Fries
  • Small Greek Salad with Gyro or Grilled Chicken
  • Mediterranean Pasta

Melitzanosalatawas with Pita

Chicken Lemon and Orzo Soup

I already knew Shelby would go for the Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup, she loves that stuff. I saw a Greek version of Baba Ganoush called Melitzanosalatawas available with the pita so I ordered that. Crystal, affectionately known as “Turd” had the Lemon Chicken Orzo too, Laura took the Spanakopita and Jonathan had a cup of Lentil Soup. Adriyan was a great help explaining what was available and what might be the best bet when ordering courses. She told us the Lemon Chicken Orzo is on the normal menu, but the Lentil Soup was a special for Restaurant Week. I think that had Jonathan lean towards the lentil which he ultimately ordered.

Greek Salad with Gyros

Adriyan went over the our second course options and I decided I'd go with the Chicken Gyro since Shelby was ordering the Greek Salad with Gyro. Laura and Jonathan both went with the traditional gyros plates and Crystal had the Mediterranean Pasta. After heading back to put in our orders she quickly returned with our first course meals. My Melitzanosalatawas was served with a generous amount of soft pita for dipping. I liked the texture and it had plenty of garlic, which I love. I don't know if Shelby will later when we were home though. I didn't get to try the soups but the feedback was good. I was snapping photos of peoples plates but didn't get a shot of Laura's Spanakopita, she had already ate half of it!

Gyros

Before we could finish out the first course the second came to the table. The portions were good and everything smelled great. My Gyros plate came with fries so I started picking at them. I have a tendency to always eat my fries first—I have no idea why, been doing it since I was a kid. I pinched off a piece of the grilled chicken in my pita and it was cooked perfectly. Moist, a little grill char on the outside and seasoned nicely. The sauce and vegetables in the pita wrap blended well and I didn't have a problem finishing the whole thing. Shelby's salad looked good and she was getting into the feta cheese and olives. The gyros meat on the salad was the same in the Gyros meals and it was standard fair, what you would find in most Greek restaurants. Crystal seemed to be enjoying her pasta which had sun dried tomatoes, capers, onions, olives and a few other things including a white win garlic sauce.

Chicken Gyros

All in all it was a good meal and the service was great. I'd like to come back and hit the regular menu for a proper dinner sometime. I love lamb and I bet they have a couple of great plates with it. Their Restaurant Week dinner menu does have a braised lamb on it, so maybe that's an option? Maybe next time, we try to head to different restaurants during Virginia Beach Restaurant Week to try places that are new to us.

Can't wait to see where we end up next!

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In event, lunch, restaurant Tags Greek, Ammos, Virginia Beach, lunch, Virginia Beach Restaurant Week, gyros, Melitzanosalatawas, orzo, soup
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Mr. D's Chicken Gyros

July 1, 2013

Best gyros I’ve had stateside-Mr. D’s at Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA

i<3food

Tags gyros, Pike Place Market, Mr. D's, Greek, delicious, Seattle
Comment
Mother&#8217;s Day dinner for Shelby. I made her favorite: Beefteki (minted, ground lamb stuffed with feta), Greek salad, artisan bread, and tzatziki. Happy Mother&#8217;s Day!
i&lt;3food

Mother’s Day dinner for Shelby. I made her favorite: Beefteki (minted, ground lamb stuffed with feta), Greek salad, artisan bread, and tzatziki. Happy Mother’s Day!

i<3food

Mother's Day Dinner - Beefteki!

May 13, 2013
In cooking, dinner, family, Shelby Tags mother's day, beefteki, tzatziki, bread, greek, salad, Virginia Beach, HRVA, I heart food, Shelby, Greek
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The Ten Top

May 6, 2013

After running by Local Heroes Comics in Norfolk, VA we ended up stopping by The Ten Top for dinner. I usually think of sandwiches when I think of this shop and I wanted something meaty—I had a hard time picking something out. For Shelby it was easy, he favorite lamb sandwich is here, the Greek Lamb Hoagie. Looking over the menu she noticed the BBQ Braised Berkshire Pork Shank and suggested I try it.

We ordered and sat down. We’ve done take-out before so this was the first time we had the chance to check the place out. Small with a lot of character. The decor was cool with a working pinball machine people were actually playing.

Our food and came out and we were both surprised by the size of my meal. The pork shank reminded us of the ham hocks we would order in Germany at the fest tents. They French cut the shank so the bones were exposed and charred. Rustic and smelling delicious, I dug in. The sauce was great with a little bite from the vinegar and the pork cooked perfectly. I ended up taking half home with me.

Very nice, relaxing…happy we stopped by.

i<3food

Tags pork shank, BBQ, Greek, Lamb, Hoagie, The Ten Top, Norfolk, HRVA, dinner, pork, braised
Comment

Lamb Tacos

February 26, 2013

Lamb tacos Shelby made tonight. Dressed with a Greek yogurt & cucumber sauce, red pepper & onion relish in red wine vinegar, and feta cheese. 

Tags lamb, taco, Greek
Comment
Greek Salad with homemade dressing.
When you mix everything together for the salad&#8212;cucumber, pepperoncini, olives especially&#8212;you could go without the dressing. The combination is fragrant and fresh. Olive oil and garlic never hurt anythi…

Greek Salad with homemade dressing.

When you mix everything together for the salad—cucumber, pepperoncini, olives especially—you could go without the dressing. The combination is fragrant and fresh. Olive oil and garlic never hurt anything though; toss in fresh basil, Greek oregano, and lemon juice, it can only get better.

May 6, 2011
Tags Greek, feta, food, i-heart-food, olives, salad, Greek Salad
Comment
Tzatziki!Ingredients:- 1 small container of Greek Yogurt (about 7-8oz)- 2-3 Garlic cloves, large, pressed- 2 dashes of Dill- ½ English cucumber, grated and strained- ½-1 Lemon, squeezed- 6 Mint leaves, finely minced- Salt and Pepper to tasteThe reci…

Tzatziki!

Ingredients:

- 1 small container of Greek Yogurt (about 7-8oz)
- 2-3 Garlic cloves, large, pressed
- 2 dashes of Dill
- ½ English cucumber, grated and strained
- ½-1 Lemon, squeezed
- 6 Mint leaves, finely minced
- Salt and Pepper to taste

The recipe is very simple. The cucumber needs to have the moisture squeezed out of it, I usually use cheesecloth if I have some on-hand; you could use a paper towel, just squeeze slowly so it doesn’t tear. Add all the ingredients to a bowl, mix and chill.

Great with bread, lamb, anything really. If you like a little more bite, add more garlic.

Photo reply or send comments to george@i-heart-food.com

Tzatziki

April 25, 2011
In recipe Tags tzatziki, Greek, i-heart-food, appetizer, yogurt, recipe
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