Vernon: Gyros at Alexander’s Greek Kitchen

 

Alexander’s Greek Kitchen in Vernon has been getting a lot of buzz lately. The small shop located at a strip mall in the industrial part of town, just a few miles from Downtown is jam packed during the lunch rush.

I swung by after the lunch rush with a friend to tackle the menu.

 

We started out with a couple of dips; the tyrokefteri and melitzanosalata. The tyrokefteri is the Greek feta dip with roasted red peppers. It’s quite flavorful and very, very filling. I loved the melitzanosalata which is eggplant. Mainly because I love eggplant but have a hard time cooking it so I order it everywhere I go. The simple dip is mixed with very good extra virgin olive oil and Greek spices.

We also had stuffed grapeleaves, the dolmadakia. These were vegetarian and stuffed with rice and fresh herbs. If I had to pick the one food I would take with me to a deserted island (besides booze, of course), I would take dolmas.

 

Others however may choose to have an never ending supply of cheese. The Greek sagnaki or fried cheese is pan fried at Alexander’s. I was already getting full and we haven’t even gotten to the mains yet. The pita bread is so good.

 

Instead of the usual Greek salad, we went with the horiatiki which is just like the Greek except there’s no lettuce. It’s a flavor bomb of umami including olives, Greek feta and crunchy vegetables. I enjoyed the house Dimitra’s dressing.

 

One of my favorite Greek foods is spanakopita which I’m glad we sampled. We got a fat portion and I pondered getting just this and dolmadakia next time for starters. But Alexander’s also has other dips I wouldn’t mind trying such as the fasolia, a dried white bean dip with parsley and red wine vinegar. Plus tzatziki, the cucumber-yogurt Greek dip.

 

Alexander’s offers meats that are marinated daily and roasted. They’re hand carved after you order.

 

I’m not sure why I’m so surprised by pork appearing on a Greek menu. I’m more used to lamb. But Alexander’s makes these great gyros stuffed with their fries, meat, tomatoes and onions. The best part is the warm pita.

 

I loved the chicken gyro! Alexander’s chicken is very moist and there was just the right amount of tzatziki sauce.

 

The only miss I would say are the feta fries. The feta fell right off the fries so perhaps there should be a Greek poutine… or perhaps that’s what the lagonisi fries are. The menu describes fries with Dimitra’s sauce and Kefalograviera cheese.

I want to try the Greek potatoes next time and get them with the lamb chops.

 

We tried the pork, chicken and lamb skewers. I like that you have an option of picking three, six or twelve skewers. Three skewers for $4-6 is very reasonable.

What a great find in Vernon.

Alexander’s Greek Kitchen

3632 Soto St., Vernon, CA 90058  —  (323) 586-0201

© The Minty  2014