Greek Corner Deli a worthy successor to Off-Broadway

It was sad to see Off-Broadway Deli close, but luckily we didn’t have to wait long before a new deli — and one that is equally as good — opened in its place.

The Greek Corner Deli offers a wide variety of sandwiches, subs and salads just as its predecessor did, but the eatery also offers great Greek classics such as spanakopita and gyros for people who might not be able to leave downtown for lunch.

The gyros are an excellent addition to downtown fare. The pita bread, whether it’s wrapping a sandwich or served on the side with hummus or dolmades, is fluffy and just a little bit greasy enough to make it extremely tasty. The gyros come packed with meat, along with a fair amount of tomatoes, onions and tzatziki sauce. I prefer a tzatziki sauce that is a little runnier so it really gets down in the meat, but even though this one is a little thicker, the flavors are right on.

Something else absolutely delicious is the spanakopita. Served with a small side salad, this spanakopita is cheesy and greasy, and everything it takes to make good spanakopita. The phylllo dough is baked just right so it comes out flaky but not dry, and the whole thing just kind of melts together in your mouth.

The hummus, which comes with olives in it and is served with pita bread, definitely tastes homemade. The consistency is perfect for dipping, but still creamy enough that it doesn’t slide off your pita bread slices. It just tastes so good that I could sit there and eat the whole tub of it straight — and it’s a pretty good-sized little tub that even comes with a lid in case you can manage to save some to take home with you.

And while it may seem like I liked everything, there were a few items that didn’t come off as hits. My Greek friend found the dolmades to be too strong of grape leaf flavor and said they just didn’t compare to his mother’s, but he’s also never found any that he likes compared to hers.

I also wasn’t a huge fan of the Avgolemono (Greek egg lemon soup), which seemed a little bland the day I tried it, or the Greek Village Salad, which consists of large slices of tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, onions and feta cheese mixed in dressing, but I’m sure this item also tastes better when ingredients such as tomatoes are more in season.

But back to the good stuff: the baklava. One of my friends claimed there was too much honey and that it overpowered the other tastes, while another completely disagreed. Overall, the dessert was still a big hit, and you won’t go wrong picking it up if you’re looking for something sweet.

If you just don’t feel in the mood for Greek, the Greek Corner Deli also serves your more typical deli sandwiches, such as the Cuban, Reuben and pastrami, as well as subs.

Greek Corner Deli

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Address: 587 Cherry St., Macon, Ga.

Phone: (478) 254-3059

Hours: 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday; and 12:30-3 a.m. Sunday

Cost: $7.99 and under

Payment: Cash, credit cards

Children’s menu: Not specifically but they do offer items like hot dogs, pita pizzas and milkshakes

Reservations: No

Dress: Casual

Vegetarian selections: Yes

Handicapped accessible: Yes

Noise level: Low

Alcohol: No

Latest health code rating: 100

This story was originally published January 16, 2009 at 1:00 AM with the headline "Greek Corner Deli a worthy successor to Off-Broadway."