Acropolis

Last night I went on an adventure to the Acropolis Greek restaurant - the newest kid on the Needham block. Moved into the old Gabriella's on Highland Ave, Acropolis is small and intimate. The inside got repainted Greek blue and white (yes how creative I know - they did name it Acropolis after all), but don't let the stereotype/cliche name and decorations fool you - the food is fabulous. Greeks are known for their mastery with meats: "What do you mean you don't eat no meat? It's ok - I make lamb!" and this one lives up to the legend.

Joy, the chef's wife, ran over some kalamari, grape leaves and pita almost immediately after we sat down. The kalamari was very well executed. It is a tricky item to make, if you cook it to long it is really chewy, if not enough it is soggy and fishy. These were cooked just right, with a very light coating of batter and a chunky, sweet, homemade tomato dipping sauce. They could have been sparked up by a drizzle from the lemon wedge but they were delightful nonetheless, I liked that they were not coated in salt.

The grape leaves were chopped and sauteed. Nothing added, just heated. I had never had a grape leaf unless it was stuffed (does that make me a bad Middle Easterner??) Even though they were so plain, I thought they were quite delightful atop a wedge of of warm pita. It was a nice acid balance after the fried kalamari to cleanse the palatte.

I had a falafel sandwich with tangy tahini. Unfortunately, I had to eat it with a knife and fork but it was tasty nonetheless. The falafel could have been pulled out of the fryer 30 seconds earlier but they had a different taste to them and you could tell they were made with herbs mixed into the chickpeas which was a nice change from the typical blandish falafel.

Other items at our table was a gyro, chicken souvlaki sandwich and moussaka - all given great reveiws by their consumers.


No beer or wine available - only soda.