The best things I like about Mediterranean food are the desserts. And the Baklava’s at Yia Yia Mary’s are heavenly and decadent. I make a low fat version of Baklava’s myself, a favorite among our friends and family, which are yum too.
On one of our short trips to Houston, we were meeting some friends at Yia Yia Mary’s. We decided on this restaurant since it was a kid friendly place and had good food and comfortable ambience. This place is huge with lots of tables and booths with Greek themed murals and paintings adorning the walls. You get a little reminder of Big Fat Greek wedding. We had been here before and of course enjoyed baklavas, hence decided it would be Greek food this evening. Btw our other choice had also been Papa’s Burger which is incidentally owned by the parent company of Yia Yia.
We were meeting our friends at 8.00 on a weeknight, but with kids not having school next day, it was ok. The place was fairly empty at this time. At lunch time apparently it is pretty packed, and you had to order and pay ahead to quicken the process before seating. Dinner time I guess they get formal and we had a waitress bring our menus after we were seated at the table. But surprisingly there were very few waitresses manning a lot of tables, could be because of weeknight, hence our service was pretty slow.
Our waitress was friendly but overworked, covering many tables simultaneously; this gave us plenty of time to decide for us and kids. Of course we were already little full with the snacking in the evening at the executive lounge at Doubletree – Galleria. Because of the late hour of dinner with friends, we had indulged in heavy snacking, and decided to order fastidiously.
For the kids we ordered from the gyro sandwiches category- A Traditional Lamb/Beef Gyro, which was soft warm pita bread filled with the choice of meat with Tzatziki sauce, onions, tomatoes and a side of fries. While we ordered the Beef Tenderloin Souvlaki, which was tender marinated beef, skewered and served with herb rice. For the choice of side we ordered the Greco style green beans. The food was in good time and delicious.
The gyro had thinly cut meat wrapped in a fresh pita with Tahini sauce. The fries were also unique and Greek style with a Zatar like seasoning. According to the girls, these were the thickest fries they ever ate. The beef tenderloin Souvlaki was thick and juicy and medium cooked as desired. The rice which accompanied the meat was very flavorful and seasoned with herbs like dill and also had a lemony flavor. The Beans were slightly less cooked, but were a good accompaniment with the meat and rice.
Our friends had ordered Chicken Souvlakis and for the sides Greek style pasta and fries. They too being enthusiasts of good food enjoyed the aromatic herbed rice and the tender chicken and the Mediterranean flavors.
Of course, no meal at Yia Yia Mary’s is complete without going for the desert. We ordered two plates of Baklava [Traditional Greek dessert of flaky phyllo dough layered with a mixture of nuts and cinnamon topped with honey lemon syrup], a pistachio ice cream, and Galaktoboureko [Baked orange custard in a flaky crust]. I know that sounds a lot but we almost finished it all. Some of us even ordered coffee to accompany our desserts. But due to slow service on the coffee, we had to control ourselves from enjoying our desserts immediately. Baklava goes really well with coffee. The sweetness of Baklava is complimented with the bitterness of the coffee and forms a unique epicurean pleasure.
It was a pleasant evening with good food, good conversation with friends and very well behaved kids. And my favorite still is the Baklava at this place. Yum.
Cuisine: Greek/ Mediterranean
Price Range: moderate
Dress: casual
Rating: ***
Website: http://www.yiayiamarys.com/index.html
Foods reviewed:
- Gyro sandwiches – A Traditional Lamb/Beef Gyro
- Beef Tenderloin Souvlaki
- Chicken Souvlaki
- Greco style green beans
- Herb rice
- Seasoned fries
- Baklava
- Pistachio ice cream
- Galaktoboureko
