date: 9/14/04
location: st. paul
grade: b+

since barbary fig decided not to be open on tuesdays for a while, we went here instead. same hood, different food.

acropol in is more homey of a greek food place (acropol inn? greek? who would have guessed...) than the more fast food dino's. it was strangely uncrowded for a place that looked and felt like families with kids should be there. maybe they don't like the note on the menu saying that kids should sit down. it felt more family in that the host/server was pretty much greek grandma from central casting. you can just picture that there are her family members cooking in the back, even if they really aren't. though they could be.

anyway, the place was decorated nicely, but maybe even a bit formally. the music was a mix of what you usually hear in greek restaurants, what sounded like greek disco, and what apparently was greek house/dance music. restrooms were good, too, though the countertop with the sink was overly long.

dinners are generous here. you get a basket of sweet bread and crackers with butter (over ice!) with your meal, then you start with really nice, just sour enough greek soup. it was a lemon/egg drop/chicken broth thing with rice thrown in. nicely seasoned, and it tasted a bit better with a few crackers thrown in. then you get a salad, which was interesting for it's dressing, which was much lighter than the ones you usually get on greek salads. the salad itself was not that impressive... lettuce that looked a bit questionable, one olive, a few chunks of feta, and a tomato slice, it was just ok.

i went with the spanokopita. it was quite nice, though i prefer mine with more cheese. it was indeed home-style cooking, so it wasn't that americanized like you sometimes get in 'greek' places. a very large portion of it, too. the gyros platter was reportedly also good, different from dino's. again, more home-style, less glossy, if you will. other recommended dishes from someone who's eaten there before include the grape leaves stuffed with beef and the moussaka.

alas, there was too much food served in dinner to be able to wander next door to the grand ole creamery to get some nice ice cream for dessert. sigh. but it was a nice way to sit with friends for a while and enjoy tasty things before wandering off into a rainy night. we even had a tiny greek lesson from the resident grandma at the end of dinner....