The Greeks gave us philosophy, mathematics, history and science but did they give us great food?  I always thought the answer was “No” but Taxim restaurant in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago persuaded me the answer might be “Yes”.

The first dilemma we faced was choosing the wine.  Taxim has an all-Greek wine list and the names of the grapes are unrecognizable.  I asked for a Rhone-like red and a generous glass of a Greek version of Syrah was promptly delivered.  (I think the name of the grape has an “X” in it but I can’t swear to it!).  The wine was delicious and I might actually enter the Greek section of a wine shop – if I can find a wine shop which has a Greek section!

We decided to mainly go the route of the small hot and cold plates with just one entree.  The food had some highs, lows and mediums.  Highs: The fried cauliflower with capers. Lentils with feta.  Duck fat fries (not so greek!).  Cauliflower is my new favorite vegetable.  I  polished off a delicious roasted cauliflower at the Girl and the Goat and incorporated a NYT roasted cauliflower recipe into a pasta dish.  The Taxim version is up there.  The lentils needed a touch more salt but once that was added, they were good.  Mediums: the roasted eggplant and the leek in phyllo.  The eggplant turned out to be babaganoush and the phyllo was too buttery for my taste.  Low: the duck breast – a bit dry according to my dining companion.

Bottom line:  I’m definitely going again.  Might mix up my order a bit and try a wine flight.

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