Daily specials a draw for loyal patrons
I’d heard The Daily Grill Restaurant on Davenport has a loyal following for its breakfasts, and serves good basic fare throughout the day. The Grill has scant web presence so, pulling into the plaza, my dining companion evinced relief the establishment was licensed, while I was pleased when I saw the etched window declaring souvlaki was on offer.
The elongated space is divided in two as one enters. To the left is booth seating, leading to a more open area of tables and more booths near the back. A fireplace likely makes that a cosy spot in the winter. A bar, large drinks cooler, and the kitchen pass dominate the right, along with more booths. There were three TVs visible from where we sat, all running an advertising loop tailored to The Grill, plugging various dishes as well as other businesses.
Our server quickly produced a menu and asked about drinks. Rickard’s Red ($6.99 a pint served in a nice heavy glass) was the best of the big beer company brews on tap, though incongruously, a locally-owned microbrewery was featured prominently on the TV.
We surveyed the multitude of items in the dozen or so menu sections, as well as daily and weekly specials noted on four chalkboards above the pass. We opted to order off the menu amending our order for two appetizers, once reminded my companion’s main course came with one of the daily soup specials.
She went with the beef barley rather than tomato rice and spinach option. Advertised as a “freshly made daily creation” it was thick and hearty. The soup bowl was cleared before the Spanakopita ($7.85) arrived. We shared the five triangles of phyllo pastry served atop lettuce leaves. Though the outside was piping hot, direct from the oven, the contents, spinach with feta cheese, were barely warm, and the inner pastry layers undercooked and gummy. An accompanying tzatziki sauce was garlicky, with a few shreds of cucumber in thick yoghurt.
My preferred souvlaki, pork or lamb, was not on the menu, so instead I ordered spaghetti with “tasty homemade meat sauce” ($12.25) adding sautéed mushrooms ($1.25) to the mix. The spaghetti was well-cooked, but I found the sauce homogenous and oddly sweet: when I checked it was actually a meat rather than plain tomato sauce, our solicitous server noted the meat was ground up very fine. The few pieces of mushroom were tasty, but a slice of garlic baguette was so tough as to be inedible. Dried parmesan and hot chili flakes were available in shakers to season the dish.
The other main, European Pickerel ($17.95) served with a lemon wedge, came with fries and a tepid mixture of carrots and beans. The fish, the best element of the dinner, was nicely pan-fried, and seasoned to my guest’s taste. She had requested tartar sauce, but the gloopy sauce that was presented was not a complement to the dish.
We opted for Chocolate Cake ($5.99) and Cherry Pie ($4.75) for dessert, the former a particularly generous portion. The pie tasted like it was made with canned cherries and came with three rosettes of ersatz “whipped cream.” The crust was unappealing, and the dish not congruent with the “Fresh Pies” menu description: when we checked the refrigerated display of desserts, we noted several pieces of plastic-wrapped pie labelled with a date over two weeks prior.
Ultimately, sometimes it is not about the food being local or fresh. Sometimes a restaurant has its place because their loyal following consider it a familiar, comfortable gathering place where there are no surprises. Perhaps that is what The Daily Grill has going for it. Prior to filing this review, I dropped by for what was a substantial and decent breakfast, exactly what one might expect from such a restaurant. However, despite some new arrivals, I observed two of the pies were now observing their sad three-week anniversary in the cooler.