Santorini – Eden Prairie, MN

A few months back, some friends of Gerd and I’s tried to schedule a lunch date during the week to get us away from work. It might have been the after-roller-derby drinks talking, but it sounded like a great plan to everyone. We just never followed through. Finally, DeltaForceCommander rallied the troops and set up said lunch date at Santorini. I’m a fan of Greek food and I had heard good things about this place, so I was clearly on board.

First off, when we walked in, I noticed a significant percentage of female workers there were pregnant. I immediately told DeltaForceCommander not to drink the water, just to be on the safe side. (And for the record, she DID have water… I’m not Nostradamus or anything, I’m just saying…) The waitress told us about the lunch specials and then tried to get us to buy into the “carver station” lunch idea. It’s one plate of hand cut meat for under $10. None of us were game, which was good because on our way out we went over to the carver station and were glad we ordered off the menu. I’m not saying it’s bad… I’m just saying it’s not Fogo de Chao…

We got bread and olive oil and cheese, so that’s always a good way to start out a meal. I ordered the Lamb and Beef Moussaka – which is like a greek lasagna with eggplant, potatoes, ground beef and lamb, and covered with a cheesy creamy tomato sauce and cheese. And yes, I got a salad with my meal, even though DeltaForceCommander’s husband, FireRetarded, was the only other one in our group who also did (and his salad didn’t even have lettuce – which rules).

The salad was fine. It’s hard to make a really standout Caesar salad, honestly. But the Moussaka was outstanding. One of the best Moussakas I’ve ever had.

If this place ever decides to do an all-you-can-eat Moussaka night, I’ll be the first in line. The perfect amount of each ingredient. Nothing needed to be picked out or tasted funny. It wasn’t too meaty and it wasn’t too vegetable-y. Mine came with a really nice rice pilaf and grilled vegetables for a side, which had much more flavor than some side dishes of rice I’ve had. The grilled veggies were really nice as well.

I think Santorini might be one of my new favorite Greek places, although FireRetarded told me I needed to try It’s Greek to Me on Lake Street. I’ll put it on the list.

Top 5 things about Santorini
1. Lamb and Beef Moussaka
2. Lunch with friends is always on the top 5 list
3. Super close to work
4. They have “club cards” to save you money after 6 lunch visits
5. Rice pilaf and veggies side dish

Bottom 5 things
1. Gerd would have LOVED this place, despite her aversion to pita bread
2. Can’t drink alcohol at lunch at my current company
3. I should have gone with the Horiatiki Salad like FireRetarded – he wins
4. Don’t think you can do this place in under an hour for lunch – it’s close though
5. Carving station had zero meats displayed on swords

www.santorinimn.com