DAPHNE'S DOES GREEK QUICKLY.Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic THE FASTEST GREEK FOOD ever experienced is showing up all over Southern California by way of Daphne's Greek Cafe Daphne's Greek Cafe is a small fast food restaurant chain operating in Arizona and California. They serve Greek food in the fast casual dining style, in their case involving ordering at the counter and receiving a number for a server to deliver the order to the table if the , a 28-location chain, with one of its newest in Woodland Hills. Daphne's is clean and ultra-efficient - so quick, in fact, that if you intend to eat more than one course, it's absolutely necessary to inform the cashier at the counter where you order and pay that you want your food courses delivered a certain number of minutes apart. If you neglect to do this, your order will probably appear in its entirety, with all courses arriving almost simultaneously, thus forcing you to gobble up to capture in a mass or in masses; to capture suddenly. See also: Gobble your soup or appetizer posthaste post·haste adv. With great speed; rapidly. n. Archaic Great speed; rapidity. [From the phrase haste, post, haste, a direction on letters. or watch your entree dish cool off. When Daphne says it's fast food, she means it. Daphne, to put the record straight, is not actually the owner of these restaurants. That's a guy named George Katakalidis. Daphne happens to be a Greek mythological figure of no culinary significance whose love story is described on the menu under the heading, ``Who's Daphne?'' The Greek-style fare that bears her name, however, is a hit rather than a myth. Generally living up to its slogan of ``Fresh, fast and delicious,'' the kitchen of Daphne's in Woodland Hills produces a respectable avgolemono (chicken and lemon) soup (cup $2.79, bowl $3.49), fresh-tasting pita triangles, cool and refreshing complimentary tsadsiki (yogurt sauce) and a dipping or spreading mixture that could become addictive titled ``fire feta'' that's made with feta fet·a n. A white semisoft cheese usually made of goat's or ewe's milk and often preserved in brine. [Modern Greek (turi) pheta, (cheese) slice, from Italian fetta, slice cheese and spices. Fire feta can be ordered separately ($3.79) with pita or as a side extra (99 cents). It also can be had as part of a Daphne's sampler appetizer plate ($6.79) as well as with two other starters. The sampler plate additionally consists of the tasty pressed beef and lamb product called gyros, the deep-fried chickpea chickpea, annual plant (Cicer arietinum) of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), cultivated since antiquity for the somewhat pealike seeds, which are often used as food and forage, principally in India and the Spanish-speaking countries. flour balls we know as falafel fa·la·fel or fe·la·fel n. 1. Ground spiced chickpeas shaped into balls and fried. 2. A sandwich filled with such a mixture. , stuffed grape leaves Noun 1. stuffed grape leaves - well-seasoned rice (with nuts or currants or minced lamb) simmered or braised in stock dolmas dish - a particular item of prepared food; "she prepared a special dish for dinner" called dolmas dol·ma n. pl. dol·mas or dol·ma·des A fruit or vegetable, especially a grape leaf or cabbage leaf, cooked with a filling of ground meat, herbs, or rice. [Turkish, filling. , the garlicky gar·lick·y adj. Containing, tasting of, or smelling of garlic. Adj. 1. garlicky - relating to or tasting or smelling of garlic; "garlicky sauce" garbanzo garbanzo see chickpea. bean dip hummus hum·mus also hum·us or hom·mos n. A smooth thick mixture of mashed chickpeas, tahini, oil, lemon juice, and garlic, used especially as a dip for pita. and more pita bread triangles. The gyro is obtainable several ways, one being a combo main plate ($7.79) with Daphne's good Greek sausage (a pork and lamb mixture flavored with orange and wine). Together with the house rice pilaf, a mini-serving of the signature Greek salad and those plentiful pita triangles, this, like most of the items here, provides a substantial dish. For an extra $1.99, a cup of soup or a dessert and drink duo (baklava and fountain drink) makes it a two-course meal. Remember, though, this is a fast-food place, and the ware is disposable. In fact, if you order the lemon-flavored half-chicken ($8.49) as I did, rather than struggle with the plastic knife when trying to cut it, ask the cashier to have the kitchen cut the chicken before it's served. Not that it's in any way dry or hard. The truth is it's quite tender and moist. Which makes it a better purchase than Daphne's lamb kebab ($8.49), which tends toward dryness. Yet, if you're a kebab fan, definitely go for the chicken and/or steak kebab offerings, preferably as a combo dish ($7.49). But the real surprise here is the squid steak strips, delicate and exquisitely flavored and served simply under the name ``calamari plate'' ($7.79). As for endings, there's a single dessert, baklava ($1.39). And yes, it's sweet. About as sweet as Daphne's love story. DAPHNE'S GREEK CAFE Food: Three stars. Value: Three stars. Where: 5780 Canoga Ave., Woodland Hills. Hours: Open for lunch, dinner and snacks from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Recommended items: Avgolemono soup, Daphne's sampler, fire feta, calamari plate, half-chicken plate, gyros, sausage, steak or chicken kebab, baklava. How much: Everything under $10. AE, MC, V, Discover. Wine list: No license at present. Reservations: Not taken. First come, first served. Information or takeout orders: (818) 595-3322. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Freshness and speed are two things you can count on at Daphne's Greek Cafe in Woodland Hills. Delicious food - including the combination plate and the baklava, inset - is another. Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer |
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