Homer's, sweet Homer's

RUTH BONNEVILLE/ WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Enlarge Image

Homer's chef Peter Komdaris (right), owner George Katsabanis and server Susann Ohustedt.

Read non-Greek menus and you'll often find such items as Greek salad, gyros and souvlaki. On the other hand, Greek cuisine has penetrated the restaurant culture just so far, and no further. For that matter, the same is true in some genuinely Greek restaurants, where certain items that once were standard have vanished.

Moussaka, for instance. A few months ago it had become almost impossible to find -- due, I was told, to the price of eggplant. That price must have dropped, since it has been reappearing lately. I resented its disappearance -- it's one of my favourites -- and I resented even more the disappearance of octopus, another favourite.

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Rack of lamb chops. ( RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

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Homer's features traditional specialties like octopus as an appetizer. (RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

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Homer's Restaurant features traditional specialties such as Greek-style barbecue back ribs. (RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

But maybe things are looking up. I went to Homer's for the two dishes I'd been missing (only one of which was successful; about the other, more later). Mostly for the octopus, though, which has recently been restored to the menu -- marinated, grilled, served at room temperature in tender little dice and dressed with lemon juice and olive oil, with a subtle dash of herbs. Not a lot of it for $12.95, but lovely.

I had come for the octopus, but in general, the rest of the food was a bonus. A few years ago it had been inconsistent, but recent visits seem to indicate a decided upswing, earning it an extra half star over its previous rating.

Homer's appetizers have always been delicious and they still are, although, alas, the pikidelia platter -- a wonderfully convenient assortment and a good buy at $19.95 for two -- has been banished to the main courses, where chicken and pork souvlaki have been added for $26.95. Not a good idea, in my opinion, if all you want is those appetizers, and not the souvlaki. For some reason the spanakopita, which was only ever available as a starter on that platter, has been relegated to the main courses only, for $12.95, with potatoes and vegetable. Most of the other starters are still available at pricey a la carte prices -- a tiny portion of the velvety taramasala for $8.95, and a surprisingly small portion of the tender little rings of calamari for $11.95.

On the other hand, apart from rack of lamb at $32.95, most main courses are very good value at $15.95 to $25.95, with soup or salad included. The Greek salad is just OK, with not a lot of feta and only a single olive. The soups, on the other hand, are excellent and generous (finish one and you probably won't be able to finish dinner) -- a relatively light lemony avgolemono or the splendidly hearty lentil (with a hint of spice) or tomato-based bean soups.

My favourite barbecued ribs are Greek, and Homer's ribs -- marinated in lemon juice and oregano, meaty, tender and glopless -- are among the best. So is that rare bird, genuine roast chicken -- a succulent half-bird on the bone (not that inescapable bland, boneless breast) with irresistible, lemon-basted skin.

You expect good lamb in a Greek restaurant, and you get it. The lamb chops are simply grilled but tender, full of flavour and cooked precisely as rare as ordered. One local rarity is the braised lamb, cooked slowly in red wine to moist tenderness. Broiled pork medallions, glazed in the slightly sweet Mavrodaphne wine, are an unexpected treat, and they also do a good job on shrimp sautéed with tomatoes, onions and garlic, and glazed with feta.

Still, some things that should have changed haven't changed, and two dishes that were disappointing several years ago, are still disappointing -- surprisingly, two of the restaurant's signature specialties. Chicken souvlaki -- small dice that were dry and flavourless back then are still dry and flavourless. They might have been better if cut into larger pieces, but similarly cut pork made a much better souvlaki. And today's moussaka is even more of a disappointment than it had been, with no hint of cinnamon, or much of any other flavour for that matter; a skinny layer of bechamel on top, mushy veggies below and hardly any meat in between. It was also the smallest portion I can remember, anywhere.

These days you get your choice of either rice and potatoes, not (as in the old local Greek tradition) both. The moist rice pilaf is nice, and the wedges of lemony roasted potatoes are excellent. Other veggies were a few long-cooked (Greek style) green beans and a chunk of short-cooked (modern style) broccoli. Also included are good crunchy rolls and slices of the terrific house-made flax bread; nice to know something so good is good for you too.

The baklava is super flaky, rich with fresh-tasting walnuts and drenched in a heavenly honey syrup. Galactombourico -- a sumptuous custard wrapped in phyllo pastry -- was quite stupendous on one visit, merely delicious (less custard) on another ($4.50 each).

The setting is modern and airy, with such Greek motifs as the occasional statue and a series of Ionic columns, Apart from Retsina (an acquired taste if you're not Greek) there's only one wine by the glass but the service is just fine. A bonus in winter is the big parking lot. And, when summer comes, a pretty, sheltered patio.

marion.warhaft@freepress.mb.ca

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Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 9, 2011 D3