Steve's

LOCATION: 316 Newbury Street Boston, MA
TYPE OF FOOD: Greek/American
REVIEW: After visiting the Boston Marathon expo (man, did I get free stuff!), and walking around Boston, I decided to stop at Steve's, close to the finish of the marathon. As I walked in, I noticed the size of the place, which is pretty small (do all of the places I go to have to have size restraints?). I was noticed by one of the staff, who led me to a table, and gave me a menu.

After examining the enormous menu (from steak sandwiches to octopus), I finally decided on an item-chicken kabob, which came with Greek salad-and asked for tap water. After a few minutes, the server came back and asked if I wanted bread. I replied yes, and they came back a few minutes later with bread and butter. I bit into the plain unbuttered bread (I don't like butter) and liked it. I then did something that kind of confused me-I rolled the bread up into a log and ate it like that. I ended up hurting my jaw.

After a bit, eventually I got my food. I was disappointed. It was not a kabob, period. It looked like a stir-fry, and served on the same plate as the salad. The salad had dressing on it, which I thought would be a vinaigrette. The "kabob" was good, the onions were nice as were the peppers that came with it. The dressing seeped quickly to the bottom and took over the bottom of the salad. About 40% of the salad was drenched in it (and I don't really like dressing). Finally I got up, grabbed a "take out menu" (which is a photo-copied piece of paper badly folded), and left.

SERVICE: The service is very nice and friendly. They are very attentive, and are not rude and do not have anything in their mouths. They seem to crowd in the front of the place, near the cash-register, and stare at the people who happen to be there. It's not weird or anything, but I kind of wish they could just work behind the counter or do something else.

ATMOSPHERE: There are two parts in the restaurant. One part is up front, where I can assume that people come in to take-out, and the other is the main part. The floor is covered in quite a few straw covers, which lie on the floor, not even glanced at by the staff. The floor is slightly dirty, but not dirty enough not to come.

PRICE: My meal cost $11.95. All of the appetizers cost $3.95 to $10.95, so you should avoid overdoing those. The seafood costs $12.95 to $15.50, so once again, be careful if you want Greek pizza (eww, eww, eww) and fried scallops.

RATING: The food is pretty fine, and there's nothing that is Greek that isn't served here. But the Olympic pool-sized dressing amounts will leave your salad filthy stinkin' wet. And the prices are a bit high. And the floors aren't the greatest. But let's put emphasis on the salad. Steve's gets a four out of five.