Luscious Lima Beans: Papaspiros, Oak Park

Luscious Lima Beans: Papaspiros, Oak Park

Why is the lima bean the butt of jokes among children, just as broccoli has been maligned by sires of simpletons and Brussels sprouts disdained by misguided parents who would not think twice about feeding their spawn a vile Frito-Lay product?

I have come to consider it, as have others, as "the aristocrat of beans." (http://www.vitacost.com/science/hn/Food_Guide/Lima_Beans.htm)

I never thought much about lima beans until I had these tender legumes prepared at Papaspiros, Oak Park’s only Greek restaurant that actually serves Greek-type food. Their fasolia gigantes are some large arse limas, big as beetles, luscious and bursting from their carapace, swimming in a thin (in a good way) tomato broth, simply elegant with some foamy Greek bread and a glass of red wine.

Limas, for me, can be pretty much dinner, and have been on more than one occasion.

Papaspiros
733 Lake Street
Oak Park
708-358-1700

"the aristocrat of beans."

This lima bean family walks into a talent agency......

David Hammond wrote:...fasolia gigantes... swimming in a thin (in a good way) tomato broth, simply elegant with some foamy Greek bread and a glass of red wine.

Yes, indeed, a great combination...

How is that restaurant generally? What else do they do well?

Antonius

Antonius wrote:How is that restaurant generally? What else do they do well?Antonius

They do very excellent renditions of the standards. I don't mean to sound as though I'm damning with faint praise, but this is a fairly traditional place. What I like best are their braised lamb preparations, all relatively simple, but using very good meat and fresh ingredients. Two somewhat unexpected items that we enjoy are the smelts (long boys, lightly breaded, with skordalia) and the quail (very meaty little birdies, marinated, and roasted).

Hammond

About twice a year, long enough for the last visit to lapse from memory, I give Papaspiros a try. And then, having paid more than I think the meal worth, I wonder why did I not take the short trip to Greektown.

It's not that I find the food *that* bad (not as bad as that other, perenial second chance place, Grape Leaves), but I just do not find it that good either. The flavors seem muted, the oil a bit too heavy, the spark that makes eating in Greektown (and this is a service issue too) just not there. And, like I say, it always seems like I spend more money than I expect.

Sorry to say, the last time I tried the limas (which look great, especially with the big chunks of garlic), I found them too salty.

Rob

Vital Information wrote:It's not that I find the food *that* bad (not as bad as that other, perenial second chance place, Grape Leaves), but I just do not find it that good either. The flavors seem muted, the oil a bit too heavy, the spark that makes eating in Greektown (and this is a service issue too) just not there. And, like I say, it always seems like I spend more money than I expect.

Sorry to say, the last time I tried the limas (which look great, especially with the big chunks of garlic), I found them too salty.

Rob

Heavy on the oil, absolutely (especially with the horta, dandelion greens which deserve less dousing).

What you may see as muted flavors, though, I see as underplayed: the seasonings are light to allow the deliciousness of the main item (e.g., lamb) to shine throught.

Salty limas? Perhaps, but I eat about 1 zillion times the recommended daily dose of salt, so I'm immune to oversalting.

About service, we disagree. Papaspiros servers are very friendly and williing to talk about food -- I had a very nice chat with our server about Spartan BBQ. Many of the Greektown servers, on the other hand, seem surly and hurried, like they to want to get you in and out as quickly as possible.

Hammond

Visited Papaspiros several weeks ago on the rec of a friend. The waiters couldn't have been any better--They were friendly and attentive and I had high hopes for the evening.

I ordered the lamb shank special--Good God, if it didn't taste like grease it wouldn't have had any taste whatsoever. This is a "baseline" entree which shouldn't be difficult to prepare. Other items were unremarkable with the exception being the sesame bread--It happened to be quite good.

When I have a 'jones' for Greek food I'll head north to Peryali or Demitri's (Lake-Cook Rd.) The food and the value that you receive at these places far exceeds Papaspiros.

cito wrote:I ordered the lamb shank special--Good God, if it didn't taste like grease it wouldn't have had any taste whatsoever. This is a "baseline" entree which shouldn't be difficult to prepare.

Well, one can draw only three conclusions from this statement, to wit: 1) you came on a bad night; 2) you don't know what you're talking about; 3) I don't know what I'm talking about.

As 2) and 3) are clearly preposterous, I can conclude only that you came on a bad night.

David "Logician to the Stars" Hammond

I was at Papaspiros tonight, and there, of course, without any memory of these posts. I'm particulary sorry I didn't look for the lima beans, because I too am very fond of them. And I adore quail, so they're on the list for the next trip as well.

I had the smelt. Well ahead of Costas. Well short of LTH. Small and crisp but underseasoned. I added lots of salt (yes!) and lots of pepper and then asked for hot sauce. They brought me a little bowl of tabasco. Since you can't very well shake tabasco out of a bowl (well, you could, but I'd be crazy to) I ended up with more of it than I was aiming for. Still, not a bad use of my $10.50.

The highlight was the green beans. I'm very fond of Greek green beans, with their lovely cinnamon scent, and these were right up there with the best.

The book group has decided to switch from Sunday mornings at Thyme and Honey to Tuesday evenings as Papaspriros so I should be able provide additional reports as time goes by.

A few years later, what's the read on Papaspiros? I like the loukaniko sausage with orange rind and the good grilled red peppers, and had the lima beans once (they were out other times). The spanakopita is generous and usually crispy and good. I don't particularly like the saganaki, gyros, lamb, pasticchio, moussaka, etc. Most items seem way over bechamel-ed or raw tomato-sauced. A particular disappointment is the greasy, chalky avgolemono, which I swear was good at one point (2004-ish?). The prices seem to have been jacked as well. Are there particular current menu items I should try on my next visit?

cito wrote:
When I have a 'jones' for Greek food I'll head north to Peryali or Demitri's (Lake-Cook Rd.) The food and the value that you receive at these places far exceeds Papaspiros.

Periyali's isnt bad..I have had good and bad there. Demitris though is probably the most dreadful Greek food Ive ever eaten. Might be a good value pricewise but the food isnt any good whats the point?
I do want to try Papaspiros though. I took a gander at thier menu when I was at the Oak Park Art Fair last summer and have been meaning to make a trip back to try it

I've eaten there a couple of times in the past few months. I find it to be generally on par with what you can find in Greektown. Hey, it's not great, but this is Oak Park....beggars can't be choosers. I take my parents there because it is safe and there are no surprises. The braised lamb shanks with artichokes was a special that was pretty good. Dolmades were pretty lame. They remodeled the place and were closed for about a month. They've been open again for a few weeks but I haven't been there since.

It seems as if Greek food has so much more potential than what you can find in Chicagoland restaurants.

teatpuller wrote:It seems as if Greek food has so much more potential than what you can find in Chicagoland restaurants.

I was thinking recently that Greek food (like Italian, Mexican, etc.) must have some regional variants that are largely transparent to the Chicago restaurant goer (or, at least, to me). I tend to see Greek food as somewhat monolithic (egg lemon soup, lamb, smelts, limas) and, in my ignorance, I cannot as yet specify the characteristics of the foods typical of, say, Athens as contrasted with Lesbos.

As you say, there must be more there.

Santander, I haven't been to Papaspiros in over two years, so I can't update my impressions (though I'm guessing it hasn't changed much).

Greek Islands in Lombard also serves some excellent Lima Beans.

As to regional variants, I believe there is mountain versus island/coastal cooking - one featuring lots of fresh seafood, the other red meat, pasta with meat and maybe some cured fish. Not saying I am an expert, so if anyone else is more knowledable, please correct and educate me.

If I am correct, this means that most Chicago places are pretty pan-Hellenic as they combine fresh seafood with red meats.

Thanks for bringing this thread back up - I think I will try to go get some Greek food this week.

most greek restaurants offer foods from many regions..dont know of any that caters to one specific region in Greece..some of it is very universal

According to a recent article in our local paper, Papaspiros had closed for a while and the owners have spent some time in Greece. As a result they have completely remodeled bringing the space more in line with current trends in Greece. Not sure how much the menu has been changed.