This story originally appeared in the April 7, 2010 issue of The Coast Report.
Once again, I had the fortunate pleasure to dine at the Captain’s Table, Orange Coast College’s on-campus restaurant.
Prepared and run by students of the Food Service and Culinary Arts program, The Captain’s Table offers patrons a full-course meal for $16 a person — a rise from last semester’s $12.
It becomes apparent that not many students on campus know about the restaurant as most of the diners were either Coast faculty or residents of the area.
Two friends and I were able to get a table for their Greek themed lunch service.
Our group was seated in a timely manner and, to our surprise and terror, near a group of older women all clothed in red hats and purple dresses — I later found out that they were members of the Red Hat Society.
We had our choice of either an appetizer or a salad, but being the men that we are, we all chose to have an appetizer.
My friends both chose to have the meatballs (kephtethes) — spiced ground beef friend and served with tzatziki, a cucumber yogurt dip. I had the spinach triangles (spanakopita) — spinach and feta cheese baked in phyllo dough.
The phyllo crusts of the triangles were flakey with a buttery taste, and despite the feta cheese that overpowered the taste of the spinach, I greatly enjoyed them.
Both of my friends also enjoyed their meatballs. The meatballs had a hard, crunchy exterior while the interior had a soft, “melt-in-your-mouth” consistency. One friend said that the tzatziki sauce helped augment the flavor of the meatballs.
For the entrees we all had something different and they were all served with a side of rice and vegetables.
One of my friends had the lamb kabob (souvlakia) which is a marinated lamb leg with peppers and onions that are placed on a skewer and grilled. And while he enjoyed his food, he felt that the $16 price tag was too much for the amount of food we got.
The other had the baked fish (psari plaki) that’s baked with onions, peppers, herbs and olive oil. He thought that the fish by itself wasn’t flavorful, but said that the taste improved when he squeezed some lemon juice on to it.
I had the sautéed lemon chicken, which is a chicken breast that’s sautéed with garlic, lemon, tomato and herbs.
The vegetables that came with my dish lacked some taste and needed a bit of salt while the rice seemed a bit undercooked after encountering a few hard grains. The chicken, on the other hand, was just perfect, the meat was moist and tasted great with a sprinkle of lemon juice and the skin was crispy and cooked to a nice, golden color.
But we all agreed that the baklava we had for dessert was the highlight of the meal.
Made with layers of phyllo dough and baked with walnuts and sweet syrup served with a strawberry and a small dollop of whipped cream, the baklava at the Captain’s Table was quite possibly the greatest thing I have ever eaten.
It had a sweet, nutty taste and the syrup just oozed out of the baklava as I cut into it and the strawberry was neither too sweet nor too tart.
I anxiously wait for what else the Captain’s Table has to offer.
The Captain’s Table is located next to the Student Center. It’s open for lunch service Thursdays at noon.
Call (714) 432-5876 ext. 22 to make a reservation and for more information.
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