Persian House Restaurant

Portland $$ ****
Why is this place always so empty?? My friend and I have been here twice, both on Friday nights, and it's either completely empty or occupied with one or two other tables.
Persian House is a cozy, dimly-lit Persian restaurant in downtown. The service is warm, and the food is delicious, although a bit on the small side. We started with bread (is it called naan in Persia?) and Persian tea, which is very floral. I ordered the lemon chicken. it came with a large serving of rice with saffron and some vegetables. So much flavor! The chicken had just the right amount of lemon and spices.
For dessert I ordered baklava. It was the best baklava I've ever had! Light, crispy layers of phyllo dough filled with nuts and honey - now that is how baklava is supposed to taste. My friend ordered the Persian ice cream, which had cherry rice and pistachio ice cream in it. Also amazing.
This is definitely one of my favorite restaurants in Portland. We'll have to try the lunch buffet sometime.
Persian House Restaurant (Downtown)
1026 SW Morrison St
Portland, OR 97205
Mon-Fri 11:30am-3:30pm, 5:30pm-9:30pm
Sat 12pm-3:30pm, 5:30pm-10pm

Daphne's Greek Café

Portland $ ****

I will be blunt: Daphne's is a Greek fast food chain. Once you admit that and get over your "I'm never going to a fast food chain again" mantra, Daphne's becomes a great place, especially if you're like me and enjoy studying off-campus on a Friday. On a few Friday afternoons, I have come here, sat down at my favorite booth in the back, read Kant, and ordered Greek food every so often. Their $1 baklavas are a good deal. The one good thing about chains is that you will get free refills.

Daphne's Greek Café (downtown)
538 SW 6th Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
Mon-Fri 11am-7pm
Sat-Sun 11am-6pm

The Fat Greek

Honolulu $$ ****
Hawaii does not have many Greeks and, therefore, does not have many Greek restaurants. The Fat Greek arrived last summer in Kaimuki. It's a cute place where you order and pick up at the counter and can get unlimited soda. The food isn't the best, but it's unsurprisingly cheaper than the Greek place in Kahala.
The Fat Greek (Kaimuki)
3040 Waialae Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96816
Daily 10am-10pm