St. George’s Orthodox Greek Church Revisited, It’s an Addiction
A month ago I stumbled into the Holy Grail of lunches, St. George’s Orthodox Greek Church Friday meals. The lamb shank won me over, but I have since been back for several other Fridays to try out the other menu items. This is a pretty big deal, since I usually handle lunches like I handle my men: try it out and move on to the next one. We even have had both a scheduled and unscheduled Midtown Lunch meet up there. In other words, I am really addicted. So if for some reason, you were not tempted by my first post, let me try again.
Pastitcio is the Greek food I would always order as a kid and the appeal has not worn off.With a thick layer of creamy bechamel, noodles, and meat, it appeals to kids of all ages. Besides Sandy’s, I can’t think of many super casual, home style Greek places in Philly to go and grab a helping of pastitcio. Moussaka is also available here if you want eggplant added to the equation.
Instead of the green beans, I had a side of roasted veggies which I enjoyed more. The potatoes were even more lemony and delicious on my return trips and I let the chef ladies know.
There is no way these Greeks can do great lamb and ALSO an amazing roast chicken, is there? Yes, yes there is. The chicken is totally tender and covered with a concentrated chickeny jus. Half a chicken and 2 sides is $8. The side of artichokes and peas, which was not around on my first trip, was fine. But I would still suggest going with the potatoes and roasted veggies as your 2 accompaniments. Picking between the lamb, chicken, and pastitcio is a harder decision.
For dessert, the volunteers freshly bake their own baklava (you know what that is), kataifa (the hairy looking one), and galaktoboureko (pictured), all for $2. The honey scented, sweet cheese filled galaktoboureko is my favorite, hands down. A Greek lady stopped me mid meal to tell me she has just taken them out of the oven and I should just bite into immediately. That’s the way to do it, a mid meal dessert. I might as well be at Disneyland.
So get thee to the Greek, and do it early before things run out. Tell John I sent you, and ask him how many languages he speaks.
St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church, 256 S 8th St, 215 627 4389 (only Fridays and not during the summer)
Posted by Jamie at 9:30 am, November 17th, 2011 under Greek.
3 Comments | RSS comments feed for this post
ADVERTISEMENT
3 Comments
-
-
I finally made it here today, and it really was everything you promised, Jamie! The lamb shank was big enough to feed Fred Flintstone, but it was so good that I managed to gnaw my way through it, two sides, salad and bread, and even bought two of the pastries to take home. I have been wanting to try this place ever since you featured it the first time; I remember walking by many years ago but had completely forgotten about it until your blog.
-
That’s great Mary! Impressive job on the shank. Always have to take a pastry home too, they are just too good and unlike anything you can get anywhere else in the city.
What a find!