Gio’s Greek House a new dimension in Mediterranean dining | News

It was the “Grand Opening” banner attached to an exterior railing that captivated my eating partner’s eye, long prior to I even spotted it myself. The banner was announcing Gio’s Greek Property, the newest cafe to sign up for Johnson City’s West State of Franklin Kroger purchasing heart. A look at my observe explained to me it was nearly suppertime, which was all the encouragement my eating lover wanted to test out the newest addition to the Johnson Town cafe scene.

Initial impressions

Gio’s Greek Residence is the hottest tenant in the cafe assets previously occupied by Miso Teriyaki that restaurant’s new spot is even now currently being created, just across the parking whole lot. The simplest route to Gio’s front door would be to consider West Point out of Franklin Street about to its 1800 block, among West Walnut Street and South Greenwood Generate.

While there is home for parking about 10 cars or so instantly outside Gio’s front door, there are a lot additional areas close by.

Gio’s dining region opens to the left from their front doorway, with seating for 40 or so patrons. When the décor is even now a function in progress, proprietor Brandy Spillane has made clear, very simple and nice surroundings to have a bite and conversation in. Incidentally, driving a curtain to your proper is additional room for Gio’s to grow into.

Beyond the dining place to your left is a small out of doors patio for eating and imbibing al fresco. Restrooms are down a rear hallway.

Picks

As we gathered a few of menus around the front door, we were being greeted by Spillane, who seated us immediately.

Gio’s menu, while sparse (as you’d assume from a recently opened cafe) was nonetheless a comprehensive four-training course work. You can be expecting to pay out involving $9 and $15 for every menu item, with a la carte facet orders operating about $3 or so.

My eating partner made a decision to start out our meal with a Greek tradition, that staying a bowl of their Avgolemono soup ($5.99) served with aspect purchase of fluffy pita bread triangles. My dining lover then chose her entrée, a pita wrap stuffed to bursting with onion slices, shredded iceberg lettuce, sliced tomato, some well-seasoned and coarsely ground biftek (seasoned lean floor beef) with a aspect buy of white rice. My option was Gio’s Aegean eco-friendly bean salad ($10.99) a combination of pickled eco-friendly beans, pitted Kalamata and sliced tomatoes, olives and mixed greens with some feta cheese and carrot curlicues. There is a properly basic and delightful lemon-infused olive oil for use as dressing as nicely.

How it preferences

With the identify of the soup sounding like a Mediterranean pronunciation of the phrase “egg and lemon,” avgolemono soup also has diced rooster and rice as its protein and carbohydrate components, all tied alongside one another properly by the smooth tartness of the egg and lemon things, specially when scooped up with a fluffy-refreshing point of pita bread.

My spouse was also delighted with her bifteki pita wrap. Nevertheless the white rice side get was considerably bland and monochromatic, the lean floor beef filling was thoroughly seasoned, cooked to a change and then blended nicely with the rest of its filling buddies, specially so with the slices of onion and tomato. My Aegean inexperienced bean salad was a genuine address the eco-friendly beans experienced been pickled but not excessively so you could nonetheless style the “green” in the environmentally friendly beans. The Kalamata olives were at their flavorful peak, as were the sliced crimson onions but not, sadly, the tomato slices. That was all appropriate, the feta and carrot have been additional than in a position to take up the slack for that significantly less than flavorful tomato, with the lemon and olive oil dressing yet again carrying out as advertised.

And for dessert

I’d found that Ms. Spillane had a chilled display circumstance as component of Gio’s entrance counter, crammed with some quite interesting layer cakes that I’d swear had been producing seductive dessert noises at us from the moment we walked in. A person in distinct, the lemon and blueberry layer cake ($6.99 a slice) arrived tableside thick ample to be shared. My companion appreciated the way the blueberry preserves utilized a layer filling labored very well with the lemon-flavored layer cake though I liked the lemony buttercream frosting.

The base line

The West Point out of Franklin Kroger purchasing middle is a perfectly-deserved house for a restaurateur as friendly and experienced as Brandy Spillane and her Gio’s Greek Dwelling. The provider is excellent, the meals mouth watering and the eating ambience pleasant and snug. Spillane had far better hold an eye on that extra cafe room up coming door Gio’s Greek Property is going to have to have it before as well extensive.

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