3 minute read
DINING
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Souvlaki House: Beautifully Cooked Homemade Food
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1006 W Seneca St, Ithaca (607) 379-6066
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By Henry Stark
One of the many things I like about Ithaca is its diversity. Souvlaki House on Eddy Street in the heart of Collegetown is a microcosm of that variety. Whenever I’m there 80% of the clientele seem to be students, who lend a wonderfully positive energy. ere are invariably large groups of exuberant students squeezing themselves around tables at all times of the day, as it’s open continuously from lunch through dinner. e restaurant, specializing in Italian and Greek fare, has a capacity for about ve dozen diners and is o en packed.
Souvlaki House has been in Collegetown for over 50 years, (1970). Part of the attraction is most of the food is homemade and cooked beautifully and the prices are student-friendly ($8.50-$24.95).
In the Seafood (Frutti de Mare) category, I’ve really enjoyed Seafood Alfredo ($22.95). e portion was huge—I’m still having it at home two days later. ere were copious amounts of shrimp, scallops, and crabmeat mixed in with pasta with a thick and creamy homemade Alfredo sauce. For three dollars less, you could have the same dish with just shrimp. If you prefer something simpler, for $9.95 you could have pasta with just Ricotta and Parmesan cheese garnished with parsley.
I also liked Moussaka ($15.95) in the Special Greek Platters section. e regional version of this Balkan dish that I’m used to is made with eggplant and ground, or minced, lamb. e one at Souvlaki House is made with ground beef. It was a bit oily, and the eggplant was barely discernable, however it was still very enjoyable.
I’m sure one of the reasons Souvlaki House is so popular with students is the wide variety of pizzas on o er. ere are about two dozen di erent toppings in three di erent sizes: 10-inch, 14-inch, and 16-inch. ere are also nine “gourmet” combinations. I’ve recently tried two of
Souvlaki House’s mostly student clientele lend the restaurant a wonderfully positive energy. (Photo: Josh Baldo) these. e menu description for “Mediterraneo” is that it is topped with grilled chicken, broccoli, artichoke hearts and Calamata [sic] olives. (Souvlaki House’s menu is the only place I’ve ever seen the name of the olive spelled this way.) When the pizza was brought to the table, the main ingredient, chicken, was nowhere in sight. I asked the owner about this (he did not know I was reviewing) and he apologized and took it o the bill. e Vegetarian gourmet pizza’s toppings are feta, spinach, onions, peppers, mushrooms, and olives, which were very salty. Mozzarella cheese is part of every pizza. e pizzas are good and the toppings portions are generous. A salad bowl for the table is o ered with many dishes. It includes four simple ingredients: iceberg lettuce, sliced tomatoes, olives (with pits), and feta cheese. I doubt that the students who can drink legally, go there for wine…which is a good thing as there is an extremely limited selection of three whites and three reds. ere’s a slightly larger selection of beers at $5.25 and $5.95, including two of my favorites: Ithaca Beer Flower Power and Heineken. Tid Bit: In Greece there’s a popular dish called souvlakia. It’s meat marinated in olive oil, lemon juice and herbs, then skewered and grilled--a Greek shish kebab. Perhaps that’s where the name for the restaurant originated. Souvlaki House is located at 315 Eddy Street, (607) 273-1650. It is usually open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.
