We were in a quandary.
On a recent Tuesday, a friend — who usually isn’t able to go to lunch — had to run a midday errand on Line Avenue in Shreveport. So, we decided to meet. The dilemma was where?
There are some lunch-appropriate restaurants on Line, but not as many as you would think. So, I did a google search and found a place of which I wasn’t aware, Athena Greek and Lebanese Grill (6030 Line Avenue, Suite 410).
Honestly, I don’t know anything about Greek and Lebanese food. But, I have had Greek food a handful of times, and liked what I tasted. So, we decided to step out of our culinary comfort zone and give Athena a try.
At 12:30, the parking lot was full, which is always a good sign. That meant parking across the street and behind a building, and making a bit of a walk. But if the full lot was any indication, the walk would be worth it.
I’m having trouble coming up with a way to describe the restaurant’s interior. It seemed like a hodgepodge of a collection of things. I’m not saying that’s good. I’m not saying that’s bad. I’m saying the inside didn’t have much “flow”. It looked and felt a bit musty. There were two dining rooms — one looked bigger than the other — and a couple of tables for two toward the back of the restaurant.
We were promptly seated, and it wasn’t long until Michael arrived at our table, wearing a smile and offering to take our drink order. We later learned it was Michael’s third day on the job. Considering his newness, Michael served us well. And here’s something we appreciated. When he didn’t know the answer to questions we asked about the food, Michael didn’t make up an answer. He said he would find out. And he did. You can never go wrong by being honest.
There wasn’t a shortage of offerings on Athena’s menu, starting with appetizers. There were 15 from which to choose. We decided on Breaded Eggplant ($6.99). This was described as “Slices of breaded eggplant served with Grecian Dip, mashed grilled red bell pepper and garlic.”
I couldn’t tell you the difference between Grecian Dip and Grecian Formula. But I can tell you the eggplant was excellent! The five slices–served with some type of green drizzle — were hot and delicious without the dip, and tasted even better with the dip. Had we stopped eating after the appetizer, we would have been satisfied with our visit. Maybe still hungry, but satisfied.
Athena’s menu was divided into several categories: soups, salads, entrees, plates, seafood plates, pasta, sandwiches, and vegetarian plates. But, on the back of the menu, was their ‘Lunch Menu’. There, we found 15 offerings — a mix of entrees, salads, and sandwiches. Served Monday-Friday from 11am-2:30pm, the ‘Plates’ come with rice, hummus, a salad, and pita bread. The sandwiches are served with the same sides, except rice.
As mentioned, I was already stepping outside my comfort zone by going to Athena. But I was only willing to go so far. So, for my meal, I stayed close to home and chose the Chicken Shawarma Plate ($11.99). I mean, how can you go wrong with chicken?
My friend was more adventurous. Instead of focusing on one thing, she wanted to try a little of several things. So, she ordered the Lunch Sampler ($12.99).
Our salads were served first — a sizable bowl of everything you would expect in a Greek salad. As far as salads which come with your meal, we were pleased with the taste and the portion. You can’t beat the kick you get from a Greek salad done right, with its mix of feta cheese and dressing.
We had not quite finished our salads before Michael delivered the real goods. My Chicken Shawarma Plate consisted of, as described on the menu, “Hand stacked chicken breast marinated with herbs and seasoning, then grilled on a vertical grill to perfection.”
Now, look. I don’t know a vertical grill from a horizontal grill. But, the chicken was good, albeit a bit dry. The yellow rice was fluffy, and the hummus — of which there was a lot — was tasty.
My friend’s sampler plate came with Hummus, Grecian Dip, Baba Ghanoush, a Falafel, two Vegetable Grape Leaves, and a Feta side salad.
The purpose of ordering a sampler plate is to try different things. The risk you run is the possibility of not liking much, if anything. Unfortunately, that risk resulted in my friend not caring for most of what was on her plate. That’s not the restaurant’s fault. If my friend returns, she will know to get something different, and likely stick with the basics like chicken, meat, seafood, or a salad. (I took a bite of one of the Vegetable Grape Leaves. I did not take a second bite.)
For dessert, Athena offered seven menu choices, but only six real choices, as they were out of the Athena Dessert. It didn’t make sense to eat at a Greek and Lebanese restaurant and not have something Greek or Lebanese. So, when we scratched off Tiaramisu, Carrot Cake, Chocolate Cake, Cheesecake, and Coconut Cake, that left one choice — Baklava — which Michael told us was made in-house.
It was described as “Layers of phyllo dough stuffed with mixed nuts and dripped with honey.” Again, I don’t know phyllo dough from pizza dough. But, the Baklava was rich in taste. The serving was small, and if we would have been really hungry, we would have been disappointed in not ordering one for each of us. But we shared, and were happy.
The cost of our meal before taxes and tip was $37.71. These days, that’s not bad for lunch for two, considering all we ate. A shout out to Athena (I personally complimented a gentleman who appeared to be the owner/manager) for suggesting tip amounts based on the subtotal, and not the total including tax.
I give Athena Greek & Lebanese Grill Three Forks. That’s not a knock on anything we ate. If you’re a real fan of that type of food, you would likely return, and maybe go out of your way to do so. But not eating it on a regular basis, we were like throwing darts in a dark room. We didn’t hit the bullseye, but at least we scored some points.
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1 Fork: Would rather eat a box of dirt
2 Forks: Will return, but only if someone else is buying
3 Forks: Will return and look forward to it
4 Forks: Will return and go out of my way to do so
