By David Wayne
I had the honor of having dinner this week with the sweetest most beautiful person I know, my Mom! She was a delightful companion as we dined at the Greek Islands restaurant in Palm Springs. Opened three years ago in La Plaza in Palm Springs, it is now located in a cute building tucked beside another building on Andreas Road, between Indian and Palm Canyon.
We sat on the nice spacious patio and were greeted by the owner Dimitri. What a nice gentleman, and his sweet, pretty wife Sara was there helping. James Lingner was our server, and started us off with drinks. My mother chose a glass of wine from their own family label; owned by Dimitri’s cousin, who has his own vineyard. She had two glasses over the course of the evening, one was a pinot grigio called Roditas, a bit dry and full flavored. The other was Assyrtiko, a bit sweeter with fruitier notes. She enjoyed both.
We started our meal off with two amazing appetizers, the first was Tyrokafteri, a variety of mild and sharp feta cheese with roasted jalapeno and red peppers whipped to perfection. Tatziki, Tyrokafteri, Melitzanosalata, and Taramasalata, were the four appetizers in the variety plate. The other was Kalamarakia Tiganita, tender calamari seasoned and lightly pan fried. The variety plate was served with pita bread and had me longing for more. My mother really loved the calamari, which had sliced pieces, but also whole little squids. I couldn’t bring myself to eat the whole pieces, but my mom loved them and said they were delicious.
We also shared a Greek Salad, organic mix greens with grilled zucchini, red peppers, onions, mushrooms, extra virgin olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. The salad was a classic and complemented the appetizers perfectly.
For our main course my Mom had lamb, and I had Moussaka. Both were authentic Greek dishes, made to perfection and served beautifully and were hot and tasty. My mom had a delicious Lamb Shank they call Lamb Giovetsi, which is baby lamb oven baked with Osso, fresh tomato sauce, and feta cheese, served in a clay pot. I devoured their Moussaka, a classic Greek dish with a layer of ground meat, eggplant, and potatoes topped with Bechamel sauce and oven baked.
We were so stuffed and pleased with the meal we took our desserts home, which were Baklava and Galactobureko, a creamy vanilla custard on fillo. We are so grateful to Dimitri and Sara for having us at their incredible, beautiful restaurant.
Open seven days a week 11:00am – 9:00pm weekdays
11:00am – 10:00pm Saturday and Sunday
Located at: 139 E. Andreas Road, Palm Springs
Walk-ins are welcome or call 760-413-3811 for reservations.
