Plateia Mediterranean Kitchen

Libby Dulski
10/23/16
Restaurant Review: Part Two (Revision)

Intended Publication: The Glenview Lantern

  

Lemon soup hugging the tongue, eating fries dowsed in feta, and stuffing as much chocolate as possible into a crepe; is this Greek cooking? It is located at 9860 North Milwaukee Avenue in Glenview, Illinois at Plateia Mediterranean Kitchen.

Traditionally, Greek gastronomy is a Mediterranean cuisine. Greek cooking uses olive oil, fish, wine, and meat such as poultry, lamb, and pork. There are certain ingredients that are essential in Greek cooking such as olives, cheese, eggplant, lemon juice, vegetables, and yogurt. Traditional desserts use ingredients such as nuts, honey, and fruit.

Plateia states that it wants its guests to experience the hospitality of the Greek culture with the taste of the Mediterranean. It claims to serve the best non-GMO ingredients the Greek tradition can offer. The head Chef Mario uses the recipe for longevity from his native island of Ikaria, Greece which is one of the world’s five Blue Zones that also include Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; and Loma Linda, California all in which people live longer and healthier lives. People living in Blue Zones share lifestyle characteristics that contribute to their longevity such as putting family ahead of other concerns, smoking less, engaging in constant physical activity, partaking in social activities, and consuming legumes.

Along with drawing on recipes from Ikaria, Plateia has traditional Greek-style crepes that use a family recipe from creperies located in Athens and Kalamata. If this description of Plateia’s method of serving and preparing food is not enticing enough, perhaps the description of the actual restaurant and food will suffice.

Plateia is a large white building. It looks just as immaculate on the outside as it does on the inside. The space is huge and could easily hold over 200 people. Before entering the restaurant, it is not uncommon to see men wearing suits with decorative ties leaving the restaurant. Not to worry though, Plateia might be fancy enough for a work lunch, but it is also casual enough to wear jeans and have a family dinner. Entering Plateia is rather daunting as large wooden double doors lead into an airy room that contains several sub-rooms and a bar. They are separated by pillars that give a sense of privacy yet still allows for a connected feeling.

Interior of Plateia

The fact that pop music plays selections like “Cold Water” by Justin Bieber and “Starboy” by The Weeknd is hardly off-putting. Even as Justin sings “And if you feel you’re sinking, I will jump right over/ Into cold, cold water for you” the waiters will simply explain signature dishes and take down drink orders.

The pop is flat, but at least it is cold. The napkins are thick white pieces of cloth with blue stripes. The silverware is heavy yet feels oddly nice in one’s hand.  

Every meal starts with a basket of fresh, warm bread that can be dipped into yellow-green olive oil. The fresh bread and buttery oil are perfect to prepare anyone’s taste buds for the meal. Plateia may be playing a hodgepodge of teen music, but the food is enticing enough to make one forget as they are engrossed in the black and white menu.

The appetizers range from eight to fifteen dollars. From a Greek yogurt spread with cucumbers and garlic, to char-grilled octopus with lemon and extra virgin olive oil, they are impressive. However, the saganaki (a pan-seared kefalotiri cheese) which is traditionally served on fire, is flameless at Plateia. The wait staff claims that saganaki is not served on fire in Glenview; however, this is actually not true as Mykonos (another Greek restaurant in Glenview) serves its saganaki on fire. Nevertheless, the pan-seared cheese is delicious. The slight crust of the cooked cheese is complemented by the gooey and bubbly inside.

Saganaki

     A waiter recommends the avgolemono lemon soup as another appetizer. This subtle soup has lemon, chicken broth, and rice. The rice disintegrates in one’s mouth as the lemon bounces softly off the tongue. It is extremely mild and gives the feeling of eating a beloved mother’s soup.

Lemon Soup

The entrees can raise the bill significantly as prices range from twelve to twenty-seven dollars. But this price is well earned as there are selections for every type of food lover from salads, pastas, fish, gourmet burgers, and an assortment of meats like grilled Greek sausage, char-grilled pork belly, and grilled chicken breast marinated in a mustard yogurt sauce to just name a few.

Wrapped Pita

The wrapped pita dish seems to be a specialty for Plateia as several tables are eating variations of the wrap; it is served on a fluffy piece of warm pita bread. Napkins are a must for this dish as chipotle mayo sauce, Cajun mustard mayo sauce, or Greek yogurt ranch sauce tends to spill out of the stuffed wrap. The chipotle mayo sauce has a mild spice to it, the tomatoes are ripe and juicy, and the lettuce has a nice crunch. Many of the entrees come with hand-cut French fries. Although French fries (for goodness’ sake they have the word “French” in the description) are not a traditional Greek cuisine, the addition of feta is appreciated as a way to validate the use of fries in the Greek restaurant.  

éclair

            The dessert section of the menu takes up at least half of the back page of the newspaper-sized menu, and it is overflowing with chocolate. The dessert menu section ranges from six dollars to ten dollars. From gooey crepes filled with white chocolate, Nutella, and Oreo, to éclairs filled with layers of Nutella, the dessert menu is as close as one can get to food porn. The biscotto crepe makes the mouth pucker from the sheer amount of sugar. Nutella drips from the fork while devouring the biscotto crepe. This éclair is open faced; it more closely resembles a layered cake than a traditional French tube-like éclair pastry. It also has layers of Nutella, along with vanilla custard and biscotto. It has a good contrast between crunchy and smooth as layers of crushed cookies come in contact with smooth Nutella. The wait staff recommends the crepes and claims that they are most well-known for their sweet crepes. They also have a selection of savory crepes that come filled with everything from ham, cheese, boiled egg, tomato, olives, peppers, and more.  

Biscotto Crepe

            People do not go to Plateia to experience touristy things like Greek music or saganaki served on fire; they go to eat good Greek food without the fluff that might be needed in other restaurants to bring in touristy crowds.