Homer's - Average Greek

And oh back to Winnipeg! After finishing my elective in Edmonton, I was not shocked to find the damage both to my wallet and my waistline. Wanting to start on a healthier non-everyday eating out diet, I vowed to limit my outings this month for food. Well that ended quickly. After finishing my first day back on the pediatrics wards I felt the urge for some homey soul filling food. Finding a trusty resident friend who was also free, we landed upon Greek food to satisfy our hunger pangs. Known for their catering of many medical school events, I had consistently heard of Homer's and its promises of authentic and tasty Greek cuisine. And so we made the short trek to Homer's on Ellice.

Homer's is located on Ellice Avenue on the corner of Ellice and Young Street. The large brick building is hard to miss with its pleasant lettering that beckons prospective diners forward. For such a congested area of the city I was impressed by the relatively large parking lot associated with the restaurant, definitely a plus for anyone who knows the parking woes in this area of town.

This restaurant is beautiful. Pearly white walls with marble like columns adorn the large open dining space with thoughtful and tasteful decor. Definitely pleasant on the eye! The menu is sprawling and features a number of appetizers, soups and salads to start; and a venerable choice of meat souvlakis and combination platters for dinner.

Saganaki is a popular Greek dish known for its flair and theatrics, where servers take a pan fried portion of Greek Cheese and flambe the dish, often to screams and squeals of delight. Despite being known for its pomp and circumstance, the flambe actually imparts a nice smoky aroma and flavour to the seared cheese. Homer's does well to create a dichotomy between the crispy crust with the smooth creamy interiors. Tasty!

Avgolemono Soup is a humble looking soup that packs a strong punch of lemon-y flavour. Despite the initial intense tangy-ness, the lemon works to accentuate the entire dish to bring out the other flavours. Texturally you get the occasional chunk of chicken or bite of tender rice to contrast the broth.

The Homer's Platter is a venerable feast involving two skewers, a healthy portion of Moussaka and a large stuffed tomato. Their platters and dishes come with your choice of starch, potatoes or rice, and a handful of steamed vegetables. The initial visual inspection of the dish was rather disappointing with each item seemingly slapped onto the plate with little finesse or care for their presentation. But nevertheless, it is about the food.

Adorning one part of the dish was the Pork Souvlaki and Moussaka. I was impressed by the treatment of the tender pork that had enough of a charred crust to texturally contrast the moist interiors. Unfortunately the flavours were dimunitive with it lacking seasoning and taste. Thankfully the Moussaka was much better with its combination of exquisitely creamy eggplant, tender but crisp zucchini and a luxuriously rich sauce. Eggplant tends to soak up all the tastes surrounding it and Homer's does a nice job of pairing it with the strong bechamel sauce.

The other half of the dish consisted of another average skewer, this time Chicken Souvlaki. Like its porky counterpart, I have no qualms with the cooking of the chicken but rather find it dull and lacking of any flavour. Similarly also, the accompaniment, a Stuffed Tomato was excellent. The oven roasted tomato is filled with a pilaf of rice, herbs and small diced vegetables. In the roasting process, the starch nicely encapsulates all the inherent sour, sweet and salty flavours from the tomato. Well done!

My dining companion's dish, the Lamb Souvlaki plate comes with two large skewers of marinated lamb, a few mouthfuls of vegetables and again your choice of starch. I was thoroughly disappointed in this dish, as the lamb, like its pork and chicken cousins, was not only dull and devoid of flavour but also dry, overcooked and tough. For a culture that is known for their lamb, this laughably poor effort will impress nobody. Thankfully the lemon-y potatoes are delicious.

Homer's is a beautiful restaurant serving ordinary and, at times, subpar, Greek food. While diners will be initially impressed by the decor and authenticity of the restaurant environment, the food will be unfortunately disappointing. With that said there were tasty bites in our meal, but they comprised accompanying dishes rather than the main hitters. In the end there are better Greek restaurants in Winnipeg and Homer's should be only a consideration for anyone stuck in the Ellice area with a craving for Greek.