HOdown at Stamna, Lincroft - late Feb

[eleeper (Evelyn C. Leeper)]

@CurlzNJ

For the rest of you HOs, Afghani cuisine is our choice for our next outing; I’ll create a separate post to get a date set.

And place.

[tomt (Tom)]

@MsBean

Dolmadakia - Stuffed Grape Leaves with Rice. I’m used to the Turkish version of stuffed grape leaves, usually served cold and so wasn’t expecting them to be warm (Duh! They were listed under hot appetizers). Served with remnants of a light tomato sauce. The grape leaf wrapper was fairly thick which I enjoyed as I like the leaves themselves. Others not so much.

This is interesting to me. I’ve only had warm grape leaves a couple times in my life. An ex girlfriend’s family was Greek and they made these amazing. Were these stuffed with meat and rice, or just rice? Also you say tomato sauce, any mention of serving with avgololemono sauce?

[CurlzNJ]

I haven’t had the Avgolemono at the Lincroft location, but can’t say that the version I had in Bloomfield was the absolute best. I could be wrong, but I’m always expecting it to be more lemony than it is (an that includes at the G Spot as well)…

[MsBean]

@CurlzNJ Great minds think alike.

[MsBean]

@tomt No mention of Avgolemono anywhere on the menu. The Dolmadakia sauce was tomato based, no meat in the filling. They had a greater girth than those I’m used to, and compared to the canned ones you see on those over-priced olive bars, or the ones I usually make. Not bad, in fact quite good, just different.

[corvette_johnny]

Can anyone compare stamna to nikos? I like nikos but I’m not a Greek connoisseur. However, I’ve been eating more and more over the last few years. It is really growing on me. Does anyone feel Greek food has been growing in popularity over the last 3 years or so around central nj?

[joonjoon (Joon)]

@CurlzNJ

I completely concur with you on the octopus; it was mushy!

There’s something these Greek places do to their octo to get it tender and they seem to some times go overboard with it. The last two times I had octo at Apella the octopus was a slimy mush, and the seafood in my salad was virtually dissolving. Yuck! I don’t know why people are so obsessed with getting octo tender. It should have a little spring to it.

[MsBean]

While we’ve been to Stamna several times since the HO down, we never ordered the grilled octopus after our first experience. We went last night with friends who really wanted to try it so we kept quiet. You would think we were in a different restaurant. The octopus was delicious. A nice char on the outside with a perfect balance of tenderness and bite. I’d definitely order it again.

[JoeBabbitt (John)]

As far as I’m concerned there’s no middle ground for Octopus. It’s either great or awful. Usually it’s boiled & then grilled. In Greece they pound it on a rock first & then hang it till they cook it. Looks like Octopus on a clothesline outside the Taverna which is where you eat Octopus in Greece.

[corvette_johnny]

Well I learned something new today

How do they keep flies off it?

[JoeBabbitt (John)]

Well… They catch it in the morning so it’s usually hanging by 10 or so. Then they cook it for lunch which is 1 or 2. Nobody seems to worry about the flies.