There’s something grand in Grandin.
The Isaacs Restaurant on Memorial Avenue in Grandin Village offers simple and satisfying Mediterranean food (primarily Greek). Its location just around the corner from the estimable Grandin Movie Theatre makes dinner and a movie a park-the-car-once affair. The oddly plural name of the restaurant refers to the fact that there are (at least) two Isaacs in the families of the owners.
But names, schnames – let’s get to the good stuff.
The restaurant seats about 50 and, in the tradition of neighborhood restaurants, it’s sparsely but tastefully decorated with pieces by local artists. The menu selections feature an array of vegetarian dishes but are by no means limited to them. The kitchen also cooks with trans fat-free oil, – part of their insidious plot to keep you alive longer, I suspect. For a quick lunch or dinner on the go, The Isaacs has a web-site feature (www.theisaacsrestaurant.com) that allows you to create your order and even pay for it on-line. You make your selections from the on-line menu and the ticket prints right there in the kitchen. The web site will even tell when you can pick it up. Pretty handy that.
The menu begins with a short selection of “Warm-Ups” including Falafel “bites” and Spanakopita. My dining partner and I, who is the Best GirlFriend Ever (hereinafter referred to as BGFE), skipped the Warm-Ups and dove straight into the selection of hummus. We split a roasted red pepper hummus as an appetizer. It came freshly prepared and had a delicate, smoky flavor with a spicy nip at the finish. It was served with wedges of pita bread and BGFE and I had to negotiate a settlement for dibs on the last piece. We finished the extra hummus with a fork. – It was much too good to send back to the kitchen.
The dozen or so entrees on the menu are each named for someone near and dear to the owners or, in some cases, the owners themselves. BGFE ordered the Wagar’s (pronounced: Vah-kars). Wagar’s is a set of two kebabs, each holding two generous portions of spiced, ground meat along with roasted tomato. The kebabs are served over basmati rice and a side is included. For her side dish, BGFE chose Horiataki, a greens-less Greek salad with tomatoes, red onions, cucumber slices, and feta cheese in an herbed oil and vinegar dressing. Since BGFE ordered ahead of me and, once again, stole my idea for a lovely meal, I shifted gears and had the Dorsey’s entrée. Like the Wagar’s, the Dorsey’s comes as two skewers over basmati rice with a side, for which I ordered the mixed vegetables. Each skewer has two marinated pieces of beef filet along with potato, red onion and green pepper. Our waitperson asked how well I wanted the meat cooked. I told her I like it so rare it oughtta be auctioned at Sotheby’s.
To round out the meal, the Isaacs has a generous beer and wine selection. If you’re in the mood for something brewed, the crisp, light Effes beer, from Turkey, would be an excellent accompaniment to most of the menu items. BGFE and I, more in the mood for something grape-y, mulled the various vinous selections and settled on splitting a bottle of Firesteed Pinot Noir at $27. It was a satisfying choice.
The food arrived in a reasonably speedy fashion. The two-skewers plan makes food sharing very easy and BGFE and I availed ourselves without delay. The ground meat of the Wagar’s kebab was perfectly seasoned with, among other things, cumin, onion and coriander. While not “hot”, they had a nice little zing that really made you want another mouthful. The filets, from the Dorsey’s entrée, were similarly spiced, had a rich red interior (as ordered) and were as a tender as a goodbye kiss. The accompanying vegetables and rice were perfectly rendered and matched the meat in soulful appreciation of their place in the food universe. The chef (Vagar himself) even stopped by the table to see if the meat had been cooked to my liking. I assured him it had.
BGFE and I closed the meal by sharing a fantastic Baklava. a gleem entered BGFE’s lovely hazel eyes as she anticipated the syrupy richness of our dessert selection. It didn’t disappoint. The baklava was as sweet and delicate as a doting grandmother. How phyllo pastry can stay so crispy while being drenched in honey and butter is beyond me – but it does. At a mere three bucks, it may be the best dessert bargain in town.
Our experience at the Isaacs was a delight. The service was congenial and attentive and the food was, in a word, excellent. Throw into that mix the fact that our bill ran only to just under 80 bucks for two, including wine, tax and tip, and you’ve got yourself a winner.
Vagar’s
2 lbs. Ground Beef
4 cloves Garlic
1 med. Tomato
½ med. Green Pepper
½ med. Onion
2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Ground Cumin
1 tsp. Ground Coriander
¼ tsp. Ground Cayenne Pepper
½ tsp. Black Pepper
1 Egg
Oatmeal
In a food processor, blend all the ingredients except the egg, oatmeal and ground beef. Combine the processed mixture with the ground beef and the egg. Add oatmeal, a bit at a time, until the mixture clumps together.
Skewer (2) 2½ oz. portions onto each skewer stick with a ½ small tomato in the middle. Lay skewers at an angle across a hot grill and cook* to desired doneness.
*Caution should be taken with cooking any ground meet product. FDA recommendations are that ground meat should be heated to a minimum internal temperature of 170 degrees F.