If there’s one restaurant that I can’t do without in Baltimore, it’s Samos. Samos has served many different purposes for me over the years. When I was a kid, my grandmother would send me up the street to get a gyro or souvlaki with western fries like other mothers would take their kids to McDonalds for a happy meal. I didn’t eat a gyro from another restaurant until I was much older but most but at the time; I was brand loyal and would have refused the competition.
As I grew out of childhood, my willingness to try new foods expanded as quickly as my body. This does not mean that I stopped eating gyro and western fries, it meant that I would eat additional food like one of the homemade soups, a salad, or maybe some calamari to go along with everything else. What I started to find out is that even the non-Greek items on the menu were really delicious.
My 20’s brought about a new realization, Samos is really good for a hangover. Again I go back to the soups. I’m telling you the soups are ridiculous. The avgolemono (lemon and orzo) soup is better than my mom’s. I really hope she doesn’t read this but Stacie gets this soup on our regular visits. I would get the soup, a meatball sub, and wash it all down with an Arnold Palmer.
I also realized around this time that Samos was great for a date night. Most of the women I dated were not Greek and were clueless about the culture. What better place than Samos to introduce them to proper Greek food. You can order large plates to share and Samos is BYOB so you could take in a couple bottles of wine for me and my date.
Samos has satisfied my business clients, colleagues, friends and family events over the years and they will continue to do so for one simple reason. With the exception of the increases size of the restaurant and the crowds, Samos ALWAYS serves an excellent, home-made product. I know when I go to Samos I’m getting a great meal even if I have to wait.
If you want to avoid a wait, I’d go between 2 and 5pm any day but Sunday when it is closed. The only complaint I have about Samos is they don’t take credit cards or reservations. Oh well, no place is perfect.
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