Kentro and Miss California All at Once?

Have you ever had dinner at a local restaurant that just swept you off your feet, and all you could do ever since then is dream about that place?

I can easily say that Kentro Greek Kitchen is exactly one of those places.  Quite frankly, it is way up there alongside Urth Caffe on my ‘fave spots’ radar.

Kentro is a small family owned restaurant that has recently appeared in the whereabouts of Downtown Fullerton.  Little did I know that this dimly lit spot was actually a diamond in the rough!

I visited Kentro with my friend Isabella a few days ago, and she invited 2 other friends.  And guess what!! One of those girls ran for Miss California 2012; she’s Alma Camera.  Do I feel special?  Oh yes, you better believe it!  I may be exaggerating, but I know a “celebrity” yo…

Do you recognize Alma?  She’s on the left and Isabella on the right.

Kentro’s overall atmosphere is amazingly cozy and laid back.  It seems that their theme colors run from mostly white to black, and the servers there are required to wear these darling and smooth lookin’ uniforms.  It is basically black slacks, a white dress shirt, and black suspenders!  All four of us thought that the girls looked really cool, haha.

We also got to meet the owners!  It was a fun experience, but we ended up feeling bad for the owner as he had accidentally told us that “the cake is in the fridge.”  Mind you, the birthday person isn’t normally supposed to know about the cake!  So I think that he felt bad and never again came out of the kitchen.  Hey, it happens, right?

Not only is the atmosphere pleasant, but everything from the service to the menu is just splendid as well.

I never really knew how eclectic Greek cuisine was!  I mean, I have tried my share of delicious dishes here and there, but everything we had here was by far the best. 

To start us off, we ordered two different appetizers.

The appetizer on the left is a scrumptious and super garlicky eggplant spread called Melitzanosalata.  Say that 5 times.  The one on the right is a light dish that goes by the mysterious name Calamari Saganaki, which sounds very Japanese. We were relieved that this wasn’t a heavy calamari dish like the deep fried kind, because we had hefty entrees awaiting us.

I ordered one of the stars of Kentro–the Manouri!  It’s a simple but most memorable entree that the owner created.  Simply speaking, it’s a perfectly crisp flat bread topped with imported cheese, arugula, figs, and honey.  The minute I took a bite I knew that this would go on my “to-recreate list”.

And then we got a bit…camera silly.  Hey, the girls made me do it!

Julie pretending to smell her food, hehe.

She had the chicken pita with fries, of which I am not sure how they taste…but I wouldn’t doubt that it’s fantastic as well.

Lovely Isabella had the Paithakia, which is a charbroiled lamb dish that is surprisingly tender and not at all gamey.  However, the one gripe we had about the meat is that it tasted a bit too charred.  I think that if they watch the fire a little more closely, then this would be one perfect dish.  Isabella’s sides were lemony potatoes and probably one of those yummiest in the world I’ve ever had!

[Sorry for the blurry photo]  Throw ‘em up G!

Not very surprisingly, Alma’s chicken dish (Kotopoulo Sto Fourno) was a hit.  The juicy and tender meat was to die for!  And in my opinion, it is pretty rare to find tender chicken dishes.

Due to the fact that it was Alma’s 25th birthday, we celebrated with a cake from Paris Baguette that Isabella so kindly purchased.  Yet another thing on my list!  I don’t know if you can see those cute pearly frosting shapes at the bottom of the cake, but I will make sure to learn how to decorate like that.

Words cannot describe how fortunate and blessed we all felt that evening.

Nothing beats the bond that friends can have over food, a good edifying conversation, and exhortation for one another!  (Okay being engaged is definitely the best!  Don’t kill me Greg, you know what I mean)

I am not certain if it’s the great company that made Kentro so memorable, or the food that’s just so amazing.  I mean, Isabella goes there once every week!  What I do know is that I highly recommend it to anyone around the Orange County area.  And don’t forget to bring your friends with ya, because there’s nothing like good food with good company.

Okay, now I want to watch one of my favorite movies ever:  My Big Fat Greek Wedding. 

Haha!  Sometimes, this movie makes me think that this is how Greg, my family, and I looked when we first started dating.

The Job Interview

Thank you all for your prayers and good willed wishes!  Boy oh boy, the interview at the school district this morning was definitely intimidating!  Basically, I was interviewed by 4 psychologists all at once.  I think that at times I was so nervous inside that I had to ask two times for them to repeat a question.  I wanted to look like I understood, but that would have made things worse.  So, humble myself I did.  I did try to keep my cool though, and I am hoping that it showed in my expressions.  All in all, I am so grateful that I had that opportunity and that it is over.  *Phew*

Best Greek food you’ve ever had?  What’s your fave Greek dish?

Have you had instances when someone ruined your birthday cake surprise?

-It happened to me several times!

Crazy interview stories you have?

Love,

Ellie <33

Tagged as: birthday, friendship, grateful, Greek cuisine, job interview, Kentro Greek Kitchen, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, restaurant review