The Christmas season has officially ended….. now! My sister and I get together for a Christmas dinner every year, and we used to get it accomplished before the actual day. As time has gone on, and our “spousal intricacies” have grown, and life remains busy etc. we have started deferring until a bit into January, when things have calmed down and we can enjoy a quiet, non-crammed in, meet up. We still call it “Christmas get together”, but it may be a bit of a misnomer at this juncture.
The suggestion of Zante in Bowmanville was put forward. L and I had never been, but checked it online and it looked quite delicious. L asked when was the last time we had Greek? And then we chuckled… “never!” So Zante it was.
We met up on a snowy night, end of January… which characterizes almost any night of the 13/14 winter season. The place is not fancy, but nicely lit (not too bright!) and cozy, no door flapping in the cold air every time it was opened. We were quickly seated and a wine ordered for me. Appeared to have a decent selection. Sister and J arrived and we set about to ordering. They choose a wine recommended by the owner, whom my sister calls “Mr. Zante”. I continued with my white, but did sample theirs, and it was a good choice (picture below). Dolmades for us, Saganaki for them, to start. Funny, they flame the cheese in the kitchen, as their ceilings are too low to do it safely at tableside! Both decent portions and great tasting. So far so good!
Onto the mains. Sister and J ordered the Zante Platter, consisting of Roast Lamb, Mousaka, Pork and Chicken Souvlaki, Dolmades and Tzatziki, along with Greek salad, potatoes, vegetables and rice. We were keen to observe as a possible choice for us next time. L had Pork Souvlaki and I had Beef Shishkabob, which also came with salads, rice, vegetables and potatoes. Sounds like an overwhelming amount of sides, but they do keep it reasonable, along with the prices.
Food arrived in a timely manner, all was tasty. No “showstopping, crazy, gotta come back tomorrow” vows were made, but it was certainly more than good enough to make a trip back soon.
Onto dessert, which we normally don’t indulge in often, but hey, it’s “Christmas” 😉 L and I shared a Baklava, and sister and J had a sundae/parfait type dish that I can’t recall the name of, and desserts aren’t listed on the website for me to reference! Oh well, I’m sure if you want to try it and describe it, they’d be more than happy to point you in the sweet direction. Baklava was okay, but a bit over congealed and the nuts may have turned a bit… we still finished it of course. Sister and J seemed to hit the jackpot with theirs. L and J had Greek coffees, espresso like, and while the taste was different and good, there was 1/2 inch of sludge on the bottoms of the small cups. Maybe we needed instructions? Or maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be.
All in all a very enjoyable evening of taste and company (who were a bit camera shy, but willing to hand model!), that I would happily do again with the same people… but better weather!!!
K&L 😀
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