Zevin, The Unknown

Prior to heading to the American Museum of Natural History, Nikki and I decided we needed lunch. This was good thinking on our part since the museum was a great, yet lengthy experience (I mean that in a good way). We had taken the subway uptown and decided to walk down Columbus Avenue to see what the Upper West Side had to offer for restaurant fare. We saw sushi, a few Tex-Mex places, Italian and then Greek. I definitely could have eaten Italian AGAIN, but let Nikki talk me into Greek, which I also enjoy. I just have a bad habit of getting hooked on something and eating it day after day. Into Zevin we went. We arrived right around noon and were the first of the lunch crowd. First of all, Zevin had excellent bread with olive oil. It reminded me of foccacia which I adore. The menu had a variety of Greek dishes but there were also two pre-fixed lunch specials and to have some variety in addition to trying a few things, Nikki ordered one of the choices and I the other. Mine began with a bowl of red lentil soup and Nikki's started with a plate of hummus. Now, I am not one to jump for hummus, but this was fantastic. A LOT of flavor. The soup was good. I did squeeze too much lemon in it, so make a mental note not to do that. The second course consisted of a fava bean dish in a tomato base with potatoes, carrots and celery for me and a Mediterranean salad for Nikki. I really enjoyed the fava bean dish. It was a cold dish and reminded me of Gazpacho. For the entree, I selected grilled salmon with vegetables (squash, zucchini, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower) and rice. The salmon was perfect. The vegetables were so-so. Steamed and not a ton of flavor. The rice was fine, but nothing too exciting. Nikki ordered the 'grilled meat' plate which was grilled chicken patties and grilled beef patties and the same vegetables and rice that came with my dish. She enjoyed it. I tasted the grilled patties and they were a little too 'grilled-tasting' for me. I would rather not taste the grill itself. My assortment also came with a dessert, baklava with a little whipped cream and a honey-soaked apricot. Not something I ever would have chosen, but it was pretty darn good. The baklava was not too flaky and that apricot was so full of flavor.
I mentioned in an earlier review that we enjoyed not being rushed, but the service was a little slow for our liking, especially since we were the first table to arrive and it was not extremely busy. We needed to get to the museum! The trick is that I cannot find Zevin anywhere online, but it is located on Columbus a block or two down from the American Museum of Natural History (the rear entrance is on Columbus). I probably would not rush to eat here again, as it was just 'fine' in my book. You do get to watch the Upper West Side walk by - lots of nannies, kids and kids in strollers. The kids were dressed to the nines with matching rain boots and umbrellas. Do visit the museum - that is a delightful treat.

~Alex