It’s been (too many) years since I lived in Palo Alto, but Evvia has remained one of my favorite restaurants. It’s a perfect combination of Greece and California, lively and casual and elegant all at once. The food is familiar yet refined, Greek favorites made modern.
To start, I was tempted by the crispy zucchini cakes, but decided on the octopus instead – an excellent choice. After being braised for hours and then grilled to order, it’s amazingly tender and meaty, but not at all chewy. The warm octopus pieces are dressed with olive oil, lemon, and fresh oregano, and have a faint flavor of wood smoke from the grill.
For my main course I knew I wanted moussaka, because I’ve never been able to find a version anywhere near as good in Chicago, even in “Greektown”. Evvia’s version arrives with just a delicate whiff of cinnamon – tender lamb, eggplant, and potato beneath a velvety bechamel topping. It’s a generously sized portion (the leftovers made a great dinner!).
My aunt and I both tried the Greek coffee, slightly sweetened (metrio), which was deliciously dark and thick. It’s made using very hot sand, which heats and brews the coffee. When we finished drinking it, we discovered dense, molasses-like coffee grounds in the bottom of the cups – according to our server, these can be read to tell your fortune. We tried, but didn’t have much luck interpreting what looked to us like, well, a pile of coffee grounds.
Dessert was another old favorite of mine, the galaktoboureko – warm vanilla custard wrapped in phyllo and served along with house-made pistachio ice cream. The custard is light and silky and fragrant, definitely the highlight of the dish.
Some places aren’t as good as I remember them being. Evvia, on the other hand, was better.
Vintage enchiladas
Petit St Vincent
Next: Sicily
Bird watching with Nature Explorers Anguilla
Beautiful photos Jen; they make me miss Palo Alto. What a great restaurant!