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10:03 AM
Susie Gorsline
A Little Slice Of Zuzu Heaven.
During a recent holiday get together one of the revelers mentioned that Papa Zuzu’s was a great place to get sandwiches or salads and that their food was, “incredibly fresh”. It peaked our interest, so we decided to give it a try.
Papa Zuzu’s is located in a small strip center on Coleman Boulevard. If you blink you would just about miss it. Judging by the lunch crowd this place is on many a person’s favorites list. I was surprised to see that the restaurant has been recognized by the Travel Channel as one of the “Top 5 Good Eats in Charleston”. Who knew?
Seating (indoor and outside), will accommodate about 50 people. I would recommend getting there early however, when we arrived the place was packed.
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| Inside Papa Zuzu's |
Papa Zuzu’s defines a “mom and pop” restaurant. “Pop” toiled away in the kitchen as a one-man band making all of the menu items to order. “Mom” works the evening shifts.
Since the only seats left when we arrived were at their small bar area I was able to observe the kitchen with a bird’s eye view. I was stunned to see that EVERY single order was prepared fresh. Nothing was prepped ahead of time. Tomatoes, Feta cheese, cucumbers, chicken, you name it, was all cut to order. I can’t see how this helps the efficiency of the lunch flow or costs for that matter, but you can’t argue with freshness.
The menu is quite large and predominately Greek. A small twist is their grilled pizzas, but they too have a Greek slant. Not being a huge fan of Greek food I stuck to a chicken, fruit and walnut salad and my husband chose Zuzu’s Signature beef and lamb Gyro.
Be prepared to wait a bit for your lunch since it is prepared to order, ours took close to 20 minutes, but it was without a question, worth the wait.
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| chicken, fruit and walnut salad |
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| Signature Gyro |
When our lunch arrived, my salad ($9.95) was huge! It was so big that ½ of it became dinner that night. Large slices of fresh Feta, sundried grape tomatoes, chicken, and mandarin oranges filled the plate. The nice thing about the salad was it was also very lightly dressed with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. It was fresh and fabulous.
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| Tomatoes Ripen In The Window |
The Gyro was a big win as well. Served with fresh lettuce, chopped vine ripe tomatoes and grilled onions it was topped with house-made Tzatziki sauce (dill, garlic, lemon juice and yogurt made by a Greek goat farmer that they use), and it was served with a fresh cucumber salad. The beef/lamb combo was tender and very tasty.
Speaking of tomatoes, one of the restaurant’s signature items are the tomatoes that are stored on shelves in the front window. It’s the restaurant’s way of insuring that tomatoes are used when they are perfectly ripe. The owner rotates them to ensure that they all are getting just the right amount of sunlight.
Roll all of these ingredients together, blend them with the freshness and you’ve got a great lunch. We’ll no doubt be back soon.
#tidal #restaurant
