(In the Emporium)
161 Howard St.
Boone, 28607.(828) 268-0434
The Grapevine changed from a Greek theme to, well, something else, in 2005. Check out their new fare in the newly named Cafe 161
We ate lunch at the Grapevine Café one day in mid May, 2004.
Tom: I always like Greek food so this was a meal I was looking forward to. I started with a cup of the Greek Wedding soup which was excellent…
Ray: Well it should be–yours was chock full of veggies, unlike mine!
Tom: Sorry–sample errors I guess. You know, small number statistics. Anyway mine indeed had chunks of broccoli and cauliflower, neither of which I normally care for cooked. However, it was just barely cooked, mostly crunchy and a nice touch. And, there were chunks of carrot and squash, and of course, spinach.
I also had a small Greek salad. Oddly, it came made with iceberg lettuce! At least it included real feta cheese crumbled in it. But, another outrage is that it came with no Greek salad peppers! The waitress said they do not come on the small salad! That’s gotta change! At least it had a couple of Greek olives…
Ray: Well, the did bring us a big plate of them when I asked for some.
Tom: For my entrée, I had the Greek Sausage Platter–sausage pieces served with onions, green pepper and mushrooms over rice. . It was fairly good, although I thought the sausage was either a bit tough or a bit overdone.
Ray: I started off with the Greek Wedding Soup (comes with meal), but my portion consisted of mostly spinach and a few carrots in a chicken broth, although the others reported other vegetables including cauliflower and, just for Tom, broccoli. Tom just loves broccoli! hehe. Anyway, my soup was good, but nothing spectacular. I was somewhat disappointed that Grapevine was out of Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves, $5.25). I have had them here before and they are very good (despite learning that the reason they were out on the day we visited was “we opened our last *can* and they were spoiled — eeeek!). For main course, I had the Lamb Souvlaki platter (seasoned lamb over rice with garlic cloves, onions, peppers, and mushrooms, served with pita bread quarters, and Greek potatoes, $10.95). As usual, I substituted peperoncini peppers for the more pedestrian green bell peppers, to good result. The lamb was well cooked, and the veggies and seasonings made this dish a very tasty, balanced dish indeed.
Tom: I was annoyed with the smokers upwind (you recall we ate outside), which smelled up the occasion for the first third of the meal. Can’t these people simply go without a cancer stick for an hour or two? Sheesh
Did you have any complaints?
Ray: Well, several pieces of the meat I had were far too fatty for my taste. Likewise, the Greek potatoes, while good, were served in far too big a pieces. Pieces 1/4 the size I got would have been much better. Finally, in regards to the platter, I would have liked to have seen at least a couple
of peperoncini peppers (raw ones, in addition to the ones cooked in with the other ingredients). We were able to order a side dish of these lovely peppers, however, and they were quite tasty. I finished my meal off with a piece of baklava (which also comes with the platters). It was good, a nice ending to a good meal.
Tom: I had a Spaten with my meal, which was Ok. What did you have?
Ray: All this was washed down with a couple of Newcastle Brown Ales ($2.95), which, although served about 15 degrees too cold for an ale, quickly warmed to the correct temperature, as we were sitting outside. The beer selection here is fairly limited — just the usual domestic standards and a very few of the most popular imports.
Tom: I’m sorry the smoker disturbed my outdoor dining enjoyment, and we have no idea about the inside dining. What did you think of the environs?
Ray: The tables here are simple but functional. The views from the deck are like most in Boone: uninspiring views of parking lots and roadways. Still, it’s worth sitting outside on a nice day. There was light Greek music playing in the background, which was a nice change from the usual Muzak.
Tom: Yeah, and they were fairly quick to stop the skipping CD!
Ray: The service here was good, but not really exceptional. It seemed there was a longer than necessary time between our waitress’ visits to our table.
My picky comments above notwithstanding, I still feel Grapevine is the best Greek restaurant in Boone, with Parthenon and Mr. Originals tied for a close second. The portions are ample and tasty, the service is decent, and the atmosphere is relaxing.
Tom: I’ll probably eat here again–it was good, and I want to support something other than plain ol’ ‘mom and pop’ type food.
Ray: I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Grapevine to friends or family looking for a good Greek restaurant, and will certainly be back again soon myself.
GPS Coordinates
Lat: 36° 13.114′
Lon: 81° 41.135′
Menu (prices may change)
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