The last time I was at Neighbour's, I had the most unfortunate luck that almost everyone at the table decided to order the same thing. Hence, it goes without saying that the variety of dishes was as good as the spelling in a Chinese Menu (fried pork bum anyone?). So when Pebbles suggested we head there after Monday night softball, I was all ears. With a table of 11, I was pretty sure there would be a better selection of food than last time, even though Chill decided to have essentially what he had last time! He's killing me here!
Milhouse, Boss Woman, Bear and Hot Chocolate decided to share some eats with me including the dinner-sized Kalamari. This was a substantial plate of food where the rice chewy and not overly wet. It was mildly seasoned and could've used a touch more lemon. The Greek salad was fresh and nicely dressed with a good amount of acidity. The tzatziki was thick with a purposeful amount of cucumber and lemon. As for the squid, it was slightly chewy with a minimal amount of seasoned crispy batter. We also had the Roast Lamb which was mostly tender and moist. Of course, some exterior parts were more dry (but that was to be expected). It was well-seasoned with a nice garlic essence.
Since their pastas were on special for Mondays, we went for the Penne with meat sauce. I found the pasta to be sufficiently al dente while not being too chewy. The meat sauce seemed to be thickened with something that had the consistency of starch. Hence, it was a bit too thick. However, it did taste okay with a mild tomato flavour and the sweetness of onions. Lastly, we had a large Pizza that was half salami, Canadian bacon & pepperoni and half chicken, spinach, feta cheese & fresh garlic. For this type of pizza, I found the crust not too thick and crispy on the bottom. As you can see, the amount of toppings and cheese was generous. I liked the chicken side more as it had varying flavours from the ingredients.
Gengis had the Ribs a la Greka served with the same sides as the other mains. This was a rack of grilled ribs that had a chewy exterior but with fairly moist meat. The familiar Greek spices were evident. Not mentioned with the other plates was the roast potato which was pretty good with a soft fluffy interior. It was well-seasoned with a nice hit of lemon. Pebbles ended up with the Baked Lasagna which was covered in plenty of cheese. With a similar meat sauce as our penne, the flavours were mild with only a bit of tomato and beef. The noodles were not overly soft while the amount of cheese didn't make it greasy.
As mentioned, Chill had the AAA 7oz NY Steak with garlic butter mushrooms (which he had last time...). He remarked that his steak was prepared properly where it was tender and moist. I was able to sample the mushrooms and they were nicely sauteed with plenty of garlic and seasoning. Gyoza King, unable to order gyozas (thankfully because if there was gyozas on the menu...), had the Baked Ravioli. He generally liked it (as it resembled the baked lasagna somewhat). He thought that the portion size was curiously modest for the price (considering everything else was pretty large). It cost more than the lasagna and was appreciably smaller. Overall, most dishes were above average while portions were fair. Unfortunately, being featured on the Food Network may have heightened expectations. Ultimately, Neighbour's does a good job for this genre of restaurant.
The Good:
- Decent portions
- Friendly people
- Decent eats
The Bad:
- People might expect more based on being on the Food Network
- Prices are on the higher end
2 comments:
havent tried neighbors for years but i have been to the little hole in the wall indian/pakistani restaurant right next door about 3 times this year and found the food to be very good and cheap.
I'm pretty sure they jacked up the prices after they were featured on "You Gotta Eat Here", because I remember the baked entrees being under $10 back when I was still in high school.
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