North Towne Grill and Seafood

Opa! My daughter suggested Greek food today so we went to North Towne Grille and Seafood in North Charleston. North Towne is located across the street from the Northwoods Mall and adjacent from Toys R Us. This place is somewhat hidden. Usually when I’m in this immediate area, I am cringing due to the thought of having to be in Toys R Us with 100 screaming children that I’m not allowed to emotionally or physically punish…not looking for hidden Greek restaurants.

One of the cool things when you walk up is that the kitchen is exposed to the parking lot. A huge glass window allows you to see what and who is cooking. Pretty cool indeed. However, the lunch time crowd was REALLY dead. This can make you nervous and wonder if you should just put your money in your mouth and start chewing.

For lunch there are several specials written on a white board up front. For an appetizer, we ordered spanakopita ($7.95) My daughter and I decided to go with the classic and ordered the lunch “Lite Gyro” ($7.45). I begged my husband to order the Super Special ($18.95) from the Chef’s Specialties side of the menu. The Lite Gyro meal comes with a Greek salad, side (I chose Greek potatoes), and ½ a gyro sandwich. The Super Special is a platter of slow roasted chicken, sliced gyro, grilled pork tenderloin shis-ka-bob, shrimp, leg of lamb, pita bread, Greek potatoes, soup, and Greek salad. As if that is not enough, the waitress brought out some herb bread and olive oil. The bread was warm and tasty, but the olive oil with seasoning left a little to be desired. It needed something; maybe a little bit of garlic and chopped roasted red pepper…something.

Salad: My Greek salad was a very decent portion. I poured my little tub of salad dressing on top and dug right in…mmmm. There is something about their Feta cheese that makes me very happy. Feta can be very over-powering, in a feet-cheese sort of way. However, this stuff was like butter. I could eat handfuls of this stuff. I have to find out where they get this stuff because it sure doesn’t taste like the junk I get at the store. Watch out for the olives…not pitted, but I needed to get that tooth fixed anyway.

Appetizer: My friend Sam said that this was the best spanakopita he has ever had. He wasn’t wrong. The spinach and that feta (mmm..that feta blessed by Zeus himself) was so gooey and nice between the layers of phyllo dough.

Main Course: Not sure who thought up “Lite” for this meal because the Greek potatoes were piled high alongside a decent portion of gyro topped with tzatziki sauce and chopped tomatoes. However, the thick juicy meat topped with the creamy tzatziki was phenomenal. Throw in the Greek potatoes that are spiced with what we can only figure was crack, was downright scrumptious. I’m now looking around wondering where all the people are. This place should be packed! The Super Special was…well…super. A carnivorous heap of food alongside another mountain of Greek potatoes. It was all very good. Definitely something you share with someone unless you are training for Man Vs. Food. Make sure you ask for extra tzatziki sauce.

There are quite a few items listed on their menu…Chicken livers, shrimp & grits, and even manicotti. However, like I told my daughter who tried to order spaghetti & meatballs…this is a Greek restaurant!

I will definitely come back here. The food we had was great. The service was great. They are celebrating 20 years, so I can’t be the only one that thinks so. When you are looking for a night of Greek, bring your bottle of Windex and try this place out! Okay…I know stupid, but those of you who saw My Big Fat Greek Wedding will get it.