If a genie were to appear and grant me three wishes, at least one would be for more culinary diversity in our local restaurants, which for the most part feature dishes of Italy and France.
So I was pretty excited when I heard about a Genie offering tastes not from the northwestern shores of the Mediterranean, but from the eastern. Some of its dishes are from Greece, and even more exciting are its tastes from Lebanon.
We’re not quite ready to say that this Genie, which opened a month ago in the Sebastian space previously occupied by Patti’s, is magical. But Genie’s Mediterranean Grill has a great deal of potential.
Headline news: Genie’s is open Monday through Saturday at 11:30 a.m., offering Lebanese and Greek specialties for lunch as well as dinner. While it clearly is still in the shakedown phase, early notices for the most part have been very positive.
Look & Feel: Located in a nondescript strip mall called Sebastian Square on the east side of U.S. 1, the refurbishment of this restaurant is very attractive. With a large mirror running the length of the northern wall behind a newly installed bar, the dining room has a more modern, brighter, and more open feel than when it was Patti’s.
Food: On our initial visit, our party of three sampled a couple of Genie’s appetizers and three of the restaurant’s entrées.
For starters, we decided to order spanakopita ($7.95), a filo pastry, served all over Greece as an appetizer, side dish or even light lunch, stuffed with feta cheese and spinach. This rendition was excellent, praised by my husband, a one-time resident of Athens.
A bit less successful in our view, was the tzatziki. This creamy and garlicy yogurt cucumber sauce was not the delight we remembered from Greece. (But it should be said that everyone and his grandmother has a view on the “right” way to make tzatziki.)
Then for entrées, I went for the lamb shish kebab ($17.95), my husband opted for the grilled lamb chops ($23.95), and our companion chose the sautéed shrimp and feta ($15.95).
The very nice pan-seared gulf shrimp was served over rice pilaf, and was surrounded by tomatoes and feta cheese. My lamb shish kebab, marinated in yogurt and fresh herbs and spices, was very tender, but would have benefited from more seasoning.
But the high point of the evening were my husband’s lamb chops – six lollypop chops, rubbed with fresh garlic, rosemary, and olive oil, grilled to absolute perfection. It simply does not get any better than this.
For dessert, we shared an order of Crème de Menthe parfait ($5.50) – vanilla frozen yogurt topped with crème de menthe liqueur – that disappeared amazingly quickly.
Drink: Genie’s offers a very reasonably priced selection of wines and beer, by the glass or by the bottle.
Service: On our visit, we had an extremely helpful server who was still coming to terms with the menu – but whose cheery personality added greatly to dinner.
Prices: With entrées running from $12.95 for spicy chicken to a high of $23.95 for the full rack of lamb chops, prices seem very reasonable.
Initial impressions: There were a number of other dishes on the menu that sounded enticing. At these prices, Genie’s owners are giving themselves a chance to win a following. We will be going back soon.
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at tina@verobeach32963.com.
The reviewer dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.