Actually, it was more like a hopeful snicker. But it wasn’t sad. It was a joyful, but tentative, rejoicing.

We stopped into the Pickled Greek on our way home from Luncheria last night. The restaurant was about half full and there were a few more folks outside. We sat at the bar to order a couple of drinks, and suddenly, the lights went out!

Fortunately, we’d gotten our drinks first. Phew! But it was still pretty scary. Nikki and Doug and others, got their lighters out and we could see each other for a few seconds until the generator kicked on. Yes! The generator kicked on! Wild cheering could be heard all over the island. It was coming from the Greek. Well….it was quiet……the TV’s island-wide had gone dead……so people could hear better. Okay, maybe a couple of houses in Tide Village could detect muffled sounds coming from the inside of the Pickled Greek, but we heard ourselves cheering. Loud and clear!

They turned off one of the AC units so as not to strain the great machine, a gift to Peter from a friend who’d left island. But every time a compressor on a fridge turned on, the lights dimmed. Finally they turned off the other AC unit and opened the door. We felt it was cool enough and it didn’t stifle anyone (except maybe the kitchen staff - Peter said that the other day, it was 120 degrees in there, but that was not because of the power outage - there’s just way too much equipment running in there and not enough ventilation - but they’re working on making more holes in the walls and roof ).

At one point, the kitchen staff thought they might start the dishwasher, but it got really iffy and seemed like the generator wouldn’t be able to do it’s job, so they decided to wait on that load of dishes. It stayed dark outside, except for the headlights of passing cars, for about 45 minutes. Finally, WAPA came back on and the generator turned itself off.

We went outside with Peter, Nikki, Nicole and Amanda, to sit and visit some more, and watch them smoke. An SUV went by and a woman inside it exclaimed, “Oh my god! They’re open!” So we said, “Yeah! We’re open, come on in!” But she drove on by, hopefully to return soon….

So, hooray for the Pickled Greek! Another hurdle overcome. They will undoubtedly be busy during the coming power-outage season, since so few restaurants have generators. Look at your calenders, folks. Sunday, June first is when you’ll start getting the tropical updates on the weather channel. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that Peter’s generator doesn’t get too worn out in the coming months.

For reservations at St. Croix’s newest, Greekiest restaurant, please call (340) 713-1868. Oohpah!

I was hungry when I got home from work yesterday. I had eaten a small, early lunch because I had to get to work, but also in preparation for our dinner at The Pickled Greek.

We were on our way up Lowry Hill Road, when a neighbor stopped us to ask if I could massage his leg soon, since he’s been having trouble with it. I said, yes, give me a call, and we traveled on.

There were a few people there already and Heike sat us at the table she was working at with the reservation book, close to the bar area and kitchen. We saw the usual suspects: Lorine and Diane, Margi and Fran, Joe and Val, Diane Marie, and more friends and supporters trickled in throughout the evening: Peter and Carol, Leonore and Paul, Mike and Barbara, Avalon and Athena, Doug and Isabel, Jenny and Chris, Jeannie and Rick, etc. etc.

We looked at the menu and couldn’t get past the appetizer section! I wanted everything (except for the meat things, but there were only two apps with meat - cool!). We ordered the tzatziki (cucumber, garlic yogurt dip); the melitzanosalata (roasted eggplant, red pepper and garlic dip); the spanakopita (spinach and feta in phyllo); the dolmades (herbed, rice-stuffed grape leaves); the falafel (herbed, fried chickpea balls); the calamari and the tyropita (cheese-stuffed phyllo triangles).

It was all fabulous! Our only mistake was ordering tzatziki, since a couple of the other things came with it (the grape leaves and falafel), so we had an abundance of the delicious stuff. It was the only thing we couldn’t finish. But we didn’t leave much. We shared a bottle of Mitchell’s Pinot Nero and it was a perfect meal.

Nikki was our server and apologized at one point for not paying enough attention to us. It was not a problem, we had people popping over to our table throughout the evening, and we had each other and Biggie to occupy our attention. Besides, we got our wine and food in a very timely manner, and were pretty busy polishing it off most of the time. Oh, and Peter started dancing with Pam and Heike and Cindy twice while we were there, so there was plenty of entertainment.

We were about half-way through our repast, when I spotted Aaron! Peter’s chef was back for opening night! I jumped up and ran over to give him a hug. He’s looking great and he says he’s feeling good, too. What a thrill for him to see the day we’ve all been waiting for! He’d worked so hard for so long before his diagnosis with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, that it would have been a real tragedy for him to have missed it. He’s here for a week and looking forward to coming back when his treatments are finished, and taking over in the kitchen. We’ll surely be stopping in during the week to visit with him and the rest of the gang.

In more good news….Vinnie comes back today from rehab in CA. It’ll be great to see him again as well.

By the time we had finished, all of the indoor tables were full and a couple of the outdoor tables were, too. We are extremely happy that there will be NO SMOKING inside the Pickled Greek. Peter, himself, goes outside when he wants to light up.

They’ve also decided that, for the time being they will not open for lunch. They should be busy enough with dinners, especially if they continue to provide the quality and service we experienced last night. I think they decided that, after two refrigerator malfunctions (and subsequent food losses) over the week-end, that they’d get new equipment before getting overly ambitious.

As for the rest of the menu, the two appetizers we didn’t have were the lahanadomathes (spiced lamb and rice cabbage rolls) and keftedes (lamb and beef meatballs in a tomato herb sauce). For soup or salad, you can have a traditional Greek salad, a warm spinach salad, a village Greek salad, which has the veggies without the lettuce, and Yia Yia stew, a hearty seasonal veggie soup. Mmmm!

For sandwiches, they have the classic gyro, a souvlaki pita (with marinated chicken, beef or lamb), a keftedes (meatball) sandwich, a falafel pita, a veggie pita or a Greek hamburger. All sandwiches come with your choice of fries or Greek coleslaw.

The entrée selections are souvlaki (slow roasted, marinated beef, lamb or chicken kabobs); moussaka (herbed eggplant lasagna with or without lamb); pastitsio (macaroni and ground lamb casserole); a leg of lamb; a NY steak or fresh fish of the day. All entrees are served with seasonal ratatouille and rice.

The prices are very reasonable. Our total for the evening came to $77, not including tip. Truly a bargain for all that food and the delicious wine. Salads are $9 or $10, sandwiches $9-$12, and entrees (except for the fresh catch, which would be market price) $16-$23.

After the feasting, and to celebrate his opening, Peter opened a couple of bottles of ouzo and shared a drink with each table. It was a great evening. The acoustics inside were very loud, but it’s a Greek place, there’s going to be a lot of activity and noise. But it will always be a good time. We had so much fun I forgot about my Greek lesson. So, bon appetit!

It has been a tough week. Lots of unpleasant stuff happening to those close to us.

Peter was not only devastated by the loss of Ben, but now he’s found out that his chef, Aaron has
cancer. At the beach the other night, he came toward us saying, “I’m gonna get through this.”

After all the crap he got from the government over the many many months since he bought the business, this is overwhelming. Aaron has been learning the Greek recipes and creating wonderful dinners at the homes of friends for weeks. And now this.

He, of course, has no health insurance, and the medical bills for his treatment will be outrageous. So there is a “pot luck” dinner planned for Friday night to allow folks to get together and create a plan for helping Aaron.