Ep' Avli

So we’re all on the lookout for pleasant places to eat on a Saturday night (or any other night for that matter) that won’t cost us an arm and a leg, especially as the country teeters on the verge of bankruptcy and international humiliation. If there is a view of the Acropolis to remind us of glories past, all the better. If the food is more than edible, we’ve got a winner on our hands. In the case of Ep’ Avli, a convivial taverna in the heart of Metz, all of the above criteria are met.

When the weather is warm enough to sit outside the rooftop view is soul – sating. The food is simple and simpatico, the prices right. In winter, though, when there is no view but the rooms themselves and the faces of your company across the table, it’s actually hard to see them. Why? Because the smoke is thicker than the fog on a hot July day. It makes me burn with fury that Greeks just can’t abide by the law. It pisses me off even more that restaurant operators have no qualms about giving you some stupid story excusing themselves from what is very clear: It is illegal to smoke indoors in public spaces. Illegal, got it? I just created the one-woman smoke police and I will out the abusers in this space!

Now onto the reason most of you read this column: to eat here or not to eat here.

Ep’ Avli, which is housed in a great old house and is simply appointed with plain rooms of pale yellow decorated with a collection of black-and-white plates, offers up a menu of Greek taverna classics for prices in tune with our ever-shrinking buying power. The fava (yellow split pea puree) is of the chunky not velvety variety, and tasty, with a touch too much salt. It comes topped with capers and parsley. The taverna litmus test for me is melitzanosalata (eggplant salad), which here comes right out of the fridge, cold but velvety and pleasing smoky despite the chill. We sampled the pumpkin fritters, shaped oblong and a little over-fried (dark brown), but not bad. I liked the tigania (fried pork) with retsina. The wine was subtle, the meat tender, the whole dish flavorful as a good meze should be. We weren’t charmed by the eggplant imam or by the dolmades, both of which came with wiggles of yogurt edesma piped over the top in an attempt at plate design. Better to keep it simple in my humble opinion. The dolmades have a filling of rice, onions, and dill. They were competent, but nothing stellar. Ditto on the stuffed eggplant, whose flavor was clouded by the pillowy pile of yogurt on top. Obsessed and angry at the smoke, I somehow missed this place’s claim to fame, a baked feta dish, which I hear is good.

Desserts were pretty standard: a nest of kataifi filled with scoops of mastiha ice cream and topped with vyssino (sour cherry), and a chocolate brownie-like cake with a heavy dose of syrup. There was something less than homemade about them. Again, given the simple environs and the taverna air, a straightforward dessert like great homespun halva might work better here.

Cuisine: Classic taverna fare

Athens Area: near the center

Decor-Atmosphere: cigarette smoke clouds the simple rooms in this old, neoclassic house

Service: Friendly, competent

Wine List: Xyma only, although the owner did come to our table and say he could “get us a bottle” if we really wanted one

Prices: 15-20 euro per person

Address: 14 Arhimidous str., Pangkrati

Tel.: 210-7014836