Dining Out:

I love Greek food. It is healthy for the heart, body and soul. It fills you up, satisfies your palate and energizes your spirit.

Except for the gyro my cousin Anita made me try when I was 8 years old, I knew nothing about Greek food until I was in college. I admit, my sudden interest in everything Greek was actually an attempt to impress a tall, ruggedly handsome import from Crete named Evangelos. I did learn one important lesson — while boyfriends may come and go, an appreciation for really good baklava stays with a girl forever. Well, that and those fond memories of a Greek god with a convertible.

Walk inside Daphne’s Greek Cafe and allow yourself to be transported half a world away. The restaurant is brightly lit, the floors are tiled, and, if you peek over the tile counter, you can see the huge chunks of meat roasting vertically on the spits. Once you place your order at the counter, you can sit back and relax at a table or booth and listen to the mellow Hellenic music in the background.

Daphne’s has all of those wonderful food items you find at the popular Greek festivals including gyros (thin slices of marinated lamb wrapped inside warm pita bread with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and savory Tzatziki sauce), fried calamari with lemon wedges, chicken and steak kebabs, and falafel.

The prices are so reasonable and the menu so healthy, why not take yourself on a culinary adventure to the Greek isles? Renew your connection with an old favorite like warm pita dipped in hummus or steak kebabs served with rice pilaf and a Greek salad. Or try something new like dolmas, stuffed grape leaves that are tender and packed with flavorful rice, pine nuts and herbs or spanakopita, crispy filo dough stuffed with savory spinach and tangy feta cheese.

On my first visit, I took my cousin Ron, forgetting that he does not like Greek food except baklava, a Greek pastry filled with cinnamon and crushed walnuts between paper-thin layers of filo dough saturated in honey. I was surprised when he said he could not make up his mind between the steak kebab plate, lemon chicken and marinated chicken breast. Ron decided on the chicken kebab, while I knew immediately that I had to have the spanakopita plate. We placed our order and took a seat at one of the few remaining tables on a Sunday afternoon.