A New Tradition
When I started working downtown, G and I agreed that we would meet for lunch once each week. It took a while for it to get off the ground, but we finally seem to be in the groove of actually doing it! At first, we ate almost exclusively in the International District, near G’s old office. Now that he’s working on South Lake Union, the tables have turned and he’s coming to meet me near my office. In the last 3 weeks we’ve eaten at Matt’s and World Class Chili (both in Pike Place Market). Today, we had a charming lunch at Tom Douglas’ Lola, the newest, Greek-themed restaurant of his empire. G had never been before and I’d only been once for brunch. It did not disappoint.
We scored one of the outside tables and sat in a sun-dappled square of the patio while eating. G had a glass of sauvignon blanc and we started with 2 of their dips and pita. The pita was freshly grilled and dusted with kosher salt. We opted for the Kalamata-Fig and Cauliflower-Anchovy dips. Both were very good, although perhaps not exactly what we expected. Following the starter, we each had a kebab (which was actually 3 skewers of meat-perfect for sharing) with a side salad. G’s lamb was chewy and flavorful, my chicken was heavy on the fresh dill and yogurt. Both came with a side of tzatziki- I literally scooped this up with my fingers it was so good; incredibly creamy and garlicky. There was more pita, and a lovely Greek salad with mounds of feta, fresh mint, tomatoes and cucumber (no lettuce here).
Everything we had was excellent and we left feeling quite stuffed. Not so full that we couldn’t meander across the street for a peak at Dahlia Bakery’s selections. I ended up with a Chocolate Truffle cookie and lazily wandered back to my office after seeing G off. Good thing these lunches tend to fall on Friday!