Here we go again for the 3rd year ... a brand new set of tastes for 2018 ...
here's the SEVENTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA
(coming to you on sequential Thursdays. All. Year. Long.)!
Establishment: Ethos Greek Bistro
Location: Wilton Manors
Meal: Dinner
Drink: Mykonos Mule
Appetizer 1: Pork Belly
hickory smoked grilled strips
Appetizer 2: Zucchini Croquettes
shredded carrots manouri, dill & mint fried to golden brown
Appetizer 3: Grilled Octopus
sashimi grade Mediterranean octopus, char-grilled
Appetizer 4: Bread Plate
with oil
Main: Faroe Islands Salmon
a “boutique” style salmon, grilled & finished with a lemon caper sauce
Side(s): "greens" (kale? spinach?) and (flavored?) rice
Dessert: n/a
Server: I thought he was JB but maybe he was JP 'cause the receipt said johnpier
Website: https://www.ethosbistro.com/wilton-manors/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ethosgreekbistroWM/
Here we are, three years into this series and there are still some "firsts" resulting in an expansion of the category list on the right hand side of the blog. Specifically, last week was the first Hungarian eating establishment ... and this week is the first Greek one! What we still haven't seen yet is the first A of this third year ... although this place came close, it didn't quite get there BUT it is actually the highest score of 2018 to date. To see what number that is as a Troy-score, keep on reading:
AMBIANCE: 9/10 (not only is it right "on the drive" [code for "great for people watching"], but the layout is very open, so if you're not lucky enough to get on the patio right next to the sidewalk, the "inside seating" is still set up in a way that it feels like an extension of that outdoor area ... I know this to be true despite taking a seat at the table that was facing toward the bar and kitchen ... I will say that we were lucky being a party of three at a fourtop table, because there was so much good food to order with the small plate concept and only a limited amount of space to place it on the table -- were we a group of four, it would have been too small [which is the reason for the point deduction]).
FOOD: 9/10 (coming from Chicago, I expected to see some flaming cheese ... but my disappointment in not having any of that delicacy in this Greek bistro was swept away once I got my hands on those shared small plates -- healthy tasting zucchini croquettes [on a pile of classic Greek creamy goodness of a dip], perfectly textured charred octopus, and oh-my-that-pork-belly [see the bacon category below] ... followed by a hot [temperature hot] and flaky hunk of salmon in a delicious salty [but not too salty] mildly lemon-y sauce ... although my Mykonos Mule was meh, that was more because I rushed my drink decision at the beginning of the night ... the single point lost in this category is for the sides that accompanied my salmon, which simply [and oxymoronically] "stood out" for not being memorable)
SERVICE: 8/10 (here's what I liked -- at this meal, we were reconnecting with a friend who finally made the big move from Chicago to the FTL [as *we* did four years ago], and so we were in no hurry to order, which wasn't a problem for our server despite how busy the place was, and the interactions with him were friendly and efficient all night long ... here's what I *didn't* like -- because we were ordering in stages [drinks then small plates a bit later followed by big plates], we held on to the menus, and had to argue with another server who was flying past and tried to reclaim them [a point deduction] ... also our server cleared the table at the end of the evening which included a tablemate's mostly untouched bronzini dish [seen as served below -- along with the orzo paella eaten by another] -- it was untouched because he found pin bones in it -- and there was no conversation inquiring as to why said server was clearing a mostly full plate of food [hence the second point deduction])
BACON: 10/10 (had I been dining by myself instead of in a group setting, there's every chance that I would have ordered a small plate of pork belly, followed by a second small plate of pork belly, followed by a conversation with the management as to whether I could order my main course on a big plate with nothing but pork belly ... in other words, pork belly for the win -- and for all the points in this category)
BONUS: 7/10 (+3 for the server casually upselling the drink orders to be doubles ['cause alcohol makes everything better], +3 for that same server offering up the bread plate once he saw that we were the "eatin' type", and +1 for being a place to which we will return -- maybe even to their original Coconut Creek location next time)
TroyScore: 43 out of 50 -- aka 86, a B
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