Today we were meeting some of our former neighbors for lunch and we decided to meet at Aya Sofia on Chippewa near Ted Drewes. We parked on the street in front of their building so it was only a brief but cold walk from our car to their front door. They had a sign that said "Seat Yourself" so we looked in the dining area and found a table of eight that had already been arranged for our group of seven. Our table was a little chilly since we were close to the window, and nobody was using the quaint patio out front since it was about 10 degrees outside. The inside dining area was the very cozy and quiet, a nice change from some places where you can hardly hear the person next to you.
We perused the menu as we waited for our friends, and I decided to get the beef kebab lunch special while both my wife and my son picked the Doner (Gyro) sandwich with fries. After our friends arrived they wanted to get some appetizers as well so we ordered the kalamar tava (calamari), haydari (yogurt dip) and babaganus (eggplant puree.) Appetizers are much more fun to eat when they have cool names nobody can pronounce! The appetizers also came with some turkish pita bread that was very good for dipping into the the sauces. They were all quite flavorful and the calamari was much meatier and less rubbery than many others you get elsewhere. The calamari also came with a flavorful garlic aioli that was good for dipping with the bread.
When our entrees arrived they were all generously proportioned and looked very appetizing. I would have snapped a photo, but I know that would have embarrassed my college aged son in front of our family friends, so I spared him. My kebab was served on a pita and came with generous portions of hummus, tabouli and rice pilaf so it was quite a meal. The meat had been marinated and was cooked perfectly (medium as I requested) and was delicious straight, or with some of the included garlic sauce, or with some of the hummus. The hummus was heavy on the olives which I liked quite a bit, but which may have been too strong for other folks. My son and my wife have mixed reviews on their Doner sandwich. My wife thought it was dry, flavorless and not very good as well as being too big to fit in her mouth. However my son liked his very well, saying it was tasty and better than the ones at the YiroGyro location next to the SLU campus. One difference was he used the red tomato sauce that came with it, whereas my wife was hoping for a white garlic sauce. If I had known I would have let her use some of mine.
The service was pretty good with our server being quite attentive, showing up regularly to refill drinks and take away empty plates. Overall, my son and I thought it was pretty good, but my wife would still prefer going to The Vine or Ranoush for similar food from countries close to the Mediterranean Sea.
Food according to my son or myself
Food according to my wife
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