Lunching during the week can quickly become routine. For example, I routinely donate large amounts of my money to Sweetgreen for delicious, fresh salads or I sit at my desk and shovel in last night’s leftovers while frantically working to meet a deadline. But sometimes, you want something a little bit special that can still fit into your allotted lunch hour. Enter the Express Lunch at Kapnos Taverna in Ballston.
This special offers a starter, a very sizable gyro and a drink for $15. I work in Ballston and Tom had an eye doctor appointment in the area, so we decided to have a mid-day date at the popular Greek restaurant. We both chose salads as our starters, the marousalata for me and the Greek caesar for him.
The marousalata is a simple mixed green salad with mizithra cheese and a tangy citrus vinaigrette. Tom’s caesar was had more going on with fresh radishes and red peppers, croutons and feta. Both were fresh and light, a tasty start to the meal.
Not that you need the extra help to get full, with gyros bigger than your face arriving at your table in around five minutes flat.
I had chicken, and Tom had lamb. I liked his better (why does that always seem to happen?), but both meats were cooked well and had loads of flavor. My only complaint is that they could have used a smidge more tzatziki.
I could not get over how massive the gyros were, with the pita comparable in size to a jumbo pizza slice. I tried, and failed, to eat it with my hands and thus resorted to the more civilized, but less fun, knife and fork method.
I couldn’t come close to finishing it, meaning this meal can easily stretch into two – making it even more budget friendly. While I certainly won’t be eating here every day, it was a fun mid-day treat that took around the same time as waiting in line for my usual at Sweetgreen, for around the same price. A nice option for those days when you need a little something extra.
Kapnos Taverna has a full lunch menu and opens for lunch at 11:30 on weekdays at 4000 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington. Check it. (They also offer online ordering, but the express lunch option does not seem to be included.
Impromptu lunch dates are my favorite! Also love it when one meal can be split into two, especially when it’s good!
His is better because lamb is always better than chicken haha. But the fun part of dining with company is that you get to share. These look delicious – I haven’t had Greek food in FOREVER. They do look huge
So true, this whole healthy thing I’ve been working on made me decide to choose the chicken, but I won’t repeat the mistake 🙂