“Part of why I love Greek food so much is that it is simple, but it’s unpretentious. It’s authentic.
—Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark
“Everything’s betta with a little feta.”
—El Greco
Cecile and I enjoyed dinner with friends Bill and Sarah Rothenberg on the outside patio of Opa, a concept restaurant owned in partnership
by Angelo Heropoulos and his partner Molly and Marcus Adams who ditched their careers in high tech to become budding restauranteurs expanding well beyond their brand. Opa was their first venture.
For openers the ladies had a glass of Opa! Sangria: a fresh fruit soaked blend of red wine, citron age, sprite, freshly squeezed lime and orange juices, and Bill and I had a bottle of beer.
We decided to share and appetizer Saganaki/Flaming Grilled Kasseri cheese served on a flat iron skillet with warm pita bread.
This ceremonial flaming cheese ritual originated by restauranteurs in Cecile’s hometown of Chicago, who encourage customers to yell, ‘Opa!’ as the plate was being ignited. We enjoyed the quick table side theatrics. Though the young waiter serving us had a little trouble igniting the flame, he was successful on the second try. He poured the cheese with a splash of ouzo, ignited the cheese and seared it until the cheese began to ooze and form a golden brown crust. It was a good way to spark up a little excitement before the main course. We ordered Greek Nachos for the table with homemade pita chips with gyro meat topped with tzatziki, fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, Kalamata olives and sliced greek peppers with spicy avocado dip. Cecile enjoyed Horiatiki: The traditional Greek Village Salad with ripe red tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, peppers, Kalamata olives, fresh oregano, crumbles feta cheese served with a side of warm pita bread. Sarah had a Santorini Chopped salad with romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, artichoke hearts, red and yellow bell peppers, mizithhra cheese, red onions, pepperoncini peppers, Kalamata olives, grilled chicken which the menu states is enough to feed 300 Spartans.
I had a Pan Seared Mahi Mahi in a zesty lemon butter sauce over a bed of garlic mashed potatoes, green beans,’baby carrots and
cherry tomatoes and bill had Seafood Souvlaki: Two skewers of grilled prawns and scallops with rice pilaf.
We decide to stroll up and down the heart of the colorful and bustling downtown area. You can see the Historic Campbell Water Tower logo that has stood as a symbol of the city for the better part of the century. Bill treated us to ice cream cones at the Campbell Creamery. I couldn’t help notice a poster that read: “Ice Cream is Cheaper than Therapy,” which is also the name of a designer T-shirt designed and sold by Sara Eshak.
As we headed toward the car, we bumped into the owner of a long-haired Akita that caught everyone's attention when its owner ordered take-out from Opa (see photo) while we were at our dinner table. Those not familiar with the breed, Akitas are a large breed of dog originating from the mountain of northern Japan where they are considered a national treasure. Back in the day we had an Akita named Ninja. Cecile noticed the signature curled tail that sits on the top of the dog’s back.
Postscript: Famous author and political activist Helen Keller is credited with bringing the first Akita into the United States in 1937. She was inspired by the legendary Hachiko, the loyal dog who became world famous for waiting nine years at a train station in hopes his dead owner would return. Richard Gere played the owner in the movie Hachi: A Dog’s Tale (2009).
Photo of the short haired Akita shows a remarkable similarity to our late Akita, Ninja.
