Jimmy Grants

Hello, souva of my dreams. Greek food isn’t really a big thing in Canberra, so on this visit to Melbourne it was near the top of my list. I stood in queue at a busy lunchtime and ordered the Mr Papadopoulos ($12.5), a souva with lamb, mustard aioli, chips, onion and parsley, with a side of chips ($4.50) served with fetta and oregano (swoon). The food did take a while, but was clearly cooked fresh, and served nicely for dine-in enjoyment on an Emporium plate. I must confess, this souva had the nicest, softest pita wrap of any souva I’ve had (including the one at Gazi), and it wasn’t overly dense. That left me free to enjoy the melt-in-your-mouth, smoky pieces of lamb, which were plentiful and utterly divine. The parsley and onion added a tabouleh-esque touch, and the chips within were great, although not quite as great as the side of chips. Oh my, I was so full from the souva (which I couldn’t finish), but I kept shovelling those chips in. Yum. The fetta was lovely and salty, the chips crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside… A very filling and very tasty lunch. Greek food craving  satisfied.

Jimmy Grants, Emporium Melbourne, Level Three, 287 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne VIC, http://jimmygrants.com.au/

Fillos Souvlaki

Make way Canberra, a new venue has joined the ranks of food coma, meat sweat-inducing deliciousness. Welcome, Fillos Souvlaki! A recent addition to the Hamlet’s collective of food trucks, Fillos Souvlaki offers souvlaki as either a pita or a plate, with lamb, pork and vegetarian options. I went for the lamb pita ($12.50), and on reflection I probably should have fasted for some time prior to trying to eat it! My meal was prepared in two minutes flat – even the lady handing me the roll couldn’t believe it was ready so quickly! Inside the rather thick pita bread was a large amount of beautiful chunks of lamb, some serious chips, plenty of garlic sauce (yes!), and a nod to non-deep fried vegetables with some onion, tomato and lettuce thrown in for appearance’s sake. But we all know I’m here for the lamb. Whilst not melt-in-your-mouth, the cubes of lamb were really tasty and I didn’t mind the effort of chewing them a lot to extract the flavour. The chips were at just the right mid-point between crispy and soggy for belonging in a roll. I’d be keen to try the plate next time – bring it on!

Fillos Souvlaki, The Hamlet, 16 Lonsdale Street, Braddon ACT, no website