Food: Chris' Taverna

In general, you can tell how good a restaurant is by how crowded it is. That's not always the case, of course (think of a fast-food joint during the lunchtime rush), but it's a good rule of thumb. People vote with their dollars; a good restaurant will earn repeat business and fiercely loyal customers. That's why my favorite Greek restaurant, Chris' Taverna, is packed pretty much all the time.

Chris' Taverna is nestled in the Pinewood Square shopping center at the intersection of Jog Road and Lantana, at the very western edge of suburban Lake Worth. The place serves Greek food, and it's become quite popular due to the quality of the food and the generous portion sizes. In fact, Chris' Taverna had to expand to a larger space in the shopping center last year because business was booming.



I know what most Greek food is supposed to taste like (I have a friend from Greece who regularly plated up some mean baklava and spanakopita), and Chris' Taverna delivers the goods. It starts with the simple stuff - the gyros are great. Huge helpings of freshly sliced gyro meat (no prepackaged junk like in a quickie gyro joint) are piled into a pillowy pita, along with tomatoes, lettuce, onion, and the all-important tzatziki sauce. You can get a lunch combo that combines the enormous gyro, fresh french fries, and a drink for about $8.

The salads are no slouch, either. The most popular thing on the menu at lunchtime with the soccer mom set is the Greek chicken salad. It features big strips of grilled chicken over an American-style Greek salad (you can also get a traditional Greek salad of chopped tomatoes and cucumber, too, if you're a purist). It's big enough for two people to share, and the good folks at Chris' don't charge you extra if you do.



Chris' Taverna also serves up a good dinner menu. Our family usually starts with calamari, fried up crispy and without the extra oily batter that you find stuck on the calamari of the big chain restaurants. Then, I usually get the lamb shank, which comes with two side dishes (the orzo and fragrant lemon-chicken soup are my favorites). Cap it off with some almond cookies or baklava, and you have a fine meal.

If you're ever wandering around West Palm Beach and you feel a hankering for Greek bistro food, now you know where to go.

3/4 stars