MAMMA MIA : Bravo Avo Again

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The friendly Mr Avo and his many awards




Greek Salad



Veg Kabobs





Dolmades: Grape vine leaves stuffed with beef.rice,onions,tomatoes,lemon juice and dill





Chicken Kabobs





The last restaurant I visited in the US was the first one I reviewed on this blog.This time around I was Mr Avo's guest! I was delighted to have Mediterranean food again.Memories of the Pita Bread and the heavenly,slow cooked Braised Lamb Shoulder that I so enjoyed the last time came to my mind.





We had the hummus and eggplant dip.Pita Bread was just as good.Soft and sweet.





Then we had an unusual starter called Saganaki.Sounds Japanese but is Greek! The name is derived from the small frying pan that it is cooked in.The main ingredient Kefalotyri Cheese is a full cream cheese found in Greece and very difficult to get elsewhere,as Mr Avo explained.It is made from sheep milk and is yellow,hard and has a sharp taste.It is first coated with flour and pan fried so that it gets a light golden crust.This is then flambeed with Ouzo,a Greek Liqueur made from aniseed.The flames are then doused by squeezing lime over it.


The resultant flavor is amazing.The Ouzo seeps into the cheese rendering a spicy, sweet ,tingling taste to the saltiness within.When we proclaimed it "mindblowing",the word had our steward stunned! He repeated it again to check if he got it right.Hahaha.....it was truly a dish that made us euphoric! :) Thomas was charming,eloquent and funny.He flambeed with such ease and joked that he had trained with a flame thrower.....





I loved the Saganaki.The melted cheese warmed the cockles of my heart.Still remember the aroma that wafted through the air.




I had the Mussaka.This has many versions:Greek,Turkish,Arabic.I had the Greek one.Was different from the cheese predominant Moussaka I had in India.This one had layers of eggplant,minced beef, potatoes and was covered with Bechamel Sauce.Each layer was distinct and subtly flavored.




A divine dessert followed specially made by Mr Avo for us : the Bomba which was a combo of raspberry sorbet sandwiched between mango and passion fruit sorbet which was then clad in white chocolate!! It was awesome!! This creation of tropical tanginess was the right dessert for summer! We also had Baklava which was crunchy and sweet.


Mamma Mia is one movie I have seen 10 times.Everyone loves ABBA! That and the azure blue sea,houses on hills,the warmth and joie de vivre of the Greek people .....ahhhh!!!! That's my inspiration to travel to Greece.Now I have another great reason :"mindblowing" Greek cuisine!!!

Thank you Mr Avo for a wonderful evening!!!


Bravo Avo,
7391 Warner Avenue,Huntington Beach,CA 92647

Comments

Madhvi said…
ambience is great! The salad is so colorful and the dessert just sounds too good to be true! Heavenly!!
September 14, 2010 at 12:03 AM
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