super gyros

Last Friday I made the greatest discovery ever. If you are remotely near Chattanooga, take yourself to 249 River Street to a darling little whitewashed building which houses Opa, a brand new authentic Greek restaurant.

The space is tiny and painted a happy, bright white inside and out, with photographs and posters of sunny Cyprus on the walls. Greek music was playing in the background and for a moment I completely forgot that I was in rainy, gray Chattanooga. There were only two full tables, one by a bay window overlooking Coolidge Park, and both were occupied so I took a seat on one of many bar stools by a wooden counter that spans the circumference of the restaurant. After reading the specials on the chalkboard menu, I went to the kitchen counter to order a lamb gyro (pr: yeer-oh) for lunch. The man who runs the place was just the nicest person and though he was the only person on staff, my lunch arrived rather quickly. 

Everyone. This lamb gyro was amazing. The lamb was perfectly cooked, so tender that I could shred it with a fork. The other ingredients were delightful in their simplicity: sliced cherry tomatoes, chopped red onion, fresh herbs, seasoned with salt and pepper, all wrapped in a fresh, airy pita. If you've never eaten Greek food before, a lamb gyro is a crowd-pleaser; you can never go wrong!

A heavenly lamb gyro from Opa!

After that amazing lunch, I had to bring something to Rob so someone could share the deliciousness with me. I perused the menu again and decided to order dolmades and fresh pita with hummus and tzatziki (a seasoned yogurt sauce) to go. Dolmades are stuffed grape leaves. They are usually stuffed with rice and spices, though sometimes ground lamb is mixed in as well. These were vegetarian. One of my aunts is a beautiful Greek woman, and her mother, who my cousins and I all call yia yia though we are not entirely related, comes to visit our whole family every Christmas. She was the first to introduce me to dolmades years ago and I've been hooked ever since. 

I sat on my barstool reading James McBride's The Good Lord Bird (excellent book, by the way...just won the 2013 National Book Award), enjoying the quiet, understated, and honestly, very European atmosphere of this restaurant. When the dolmades were ready, I was actually quite sad to pay for my meal and leave. The owner gave me an incredible Greek coffee on the house along with a copy of Opa's menu and encouraged me to learn some of the Greek phrases on the back page. He was so friendly and nice, I absolutely hated that I spilled the coffee on my way to Rob's office to deliver the dolmades. 

After I changed my coffee-stained shirt I dropped off the dolmades and pita and before he had a chance to figure out what exactly they were I had eaten at least 3. Oops...you sn-ouzo you l-ouzo! Hehe, see what I did there?

Anyway, it was so wonderful to find such an authentic and absolutely charming Greek restaurant. It is the perfect place to drop off the grid for a little while with coffee, good food, and an intriguing book. I truly can't wait to go back!