The Critics Ate So Much Greek Food This Week (and More)

This week, The Boston Globe’s Mat Schaffer reviewed Kava Neo-Taverna in the South End. "At Kava, you can dine on a Greek island without leaving Boston," he wrote. In the small plates section of the menu, Schaffer praised the gigandes, the chewy grilled octopus, and the lemony lahano dolmades (stuffed cabbage). The restaurant’s spanakopita "is a scrumptious revelation," he wrote, and the staple meat of Greek cooking, lamb, makes a strong showing in the meatballs, served with tzatiki, cucumber, and garlic yogurt. Schaffer praised the refreshing roka salata, the "creamy delight" of moussaka, and the delectable sea bass, writing that he "fell hard" for the restaurant.

Sheryl Julian continued the Greek trend for the Globe with a visit to Saloniki in Fenway, where she found "food loaded with flavor." The greek fries were "crisp and hot," the pita chips crunchy, and the meats juicy, and the condiments delivered the promised spice. Menu items are served counter-style, with customization, at Saloniki. Julian sampled the "Herc," with braised and lightly sweetened pork, and wrote that the Greek fries helped "soak up the juices from the meat and tomatoes." She also tried the chicken gyro and a version that came with spicy lamb meatballs. For dessert, "baklava crisps are the thinnest, crispest versions of this classic you’ve ever tasted."

For The Improper Bostonian, MC Slim JB explored the "free-wheeling, globe-trotting menu" at Little Donkey, the new restaurant from Toro and Coppa's Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette. He found that the fusion-filled menu yielded "results [that] are never dull, sometimes charmingly off-kilter and frequently sensational." Highlights included the raw bar options (such as the "simply gorgeous" tuna poke), "awesome" breads (such as a "fantastic rendition" of a classic Boston Parker House roll), and a "gorgeous cucumber salad [that] lands somewhere between Greece and Georgia" — there's Greece again.

• Kava Makes the South End Feel Like a Greek Isle [BG]
• At Saloniki, From Chef Jody Adams and Team, Greek Fast Food Loaded With Flavor [BG]
• Eat, Bray, Love [BG]