The moment Cliff and I agreed to set out on our Silver Spring food tour, we knew this day would come—the day we ate at the other Greek restaurant.
For those not in the know, down on Georgia Avenue Silver Spring has two Greek restaurants just blocks apart from each other. Local legend has it that, in the beginning, there was only one Greek restaurant. A disagreement between business partners led to a schism and now our lovely little community has two of these amazing Mediterranean establishments.
Up until just a few days ago, Cliff and I have only ever eaten at The Greek Place, which is the newer of the two restaurants. We’ve been tempted so many times to try The Big Greek Café, but just couldn’t bring ourselves to do it. We have nothing against The Big Greek Café; we just love The Greek Place and, as they say, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
I admit. We felt slightly like traitors as we walked through the doors of The Big Greek Café, but for Silver Spring Inc., we’ll do anything…
Both of these restaurants have a wide array of fare, ranging from classics like gyros and spanakopita to big, fat juicy burgers. To keep things fair, Cliff and I agreed to only order from The Big Greek Café what we usually choose when we visit The Greek Place: Souvlaki platters. Cliff got chicken, I got falafel. And because it’s absolutely impossible to pass up, we added an order of baklava.
I won’t say which fare we liked better, or even if we have a favorite. What I will say is that this community is damned lucky to have such fine Greek restaurants. That statement doesn’t come lightly.
I’ve spent time in Greece and in some of America’s most famous Greek neighborhoods, including Greektown in Detroit and in Baltimore. You know me. I love food, and I’ve eaten at multiple restaurants in each of these areas. Even after tasting food in these ethnic, storied communities, I am convinced that Silver Spring, Maryland has some of the best Greek cuisine on the planet.
If you haven’t eaten at either The Greek Place or The Big Greek Café, you need to. You don’t know what you’re missing.
What we ordered:
- Chicken Souvlaki Platter: $10.99
- Falafel Platter: $10.99
- Baklava: $3.99
Total: $25.97
The Big Greek Cafe is located at:
Be sure to tell them we sent you on your next visit and come back and share your own experience and thoughts.
3 COMMENTS
haha, that’s funny because I’ve only ever eaten at Big Greek Cafe over the years (probably 25+ times by now). It’s one of my favorite restaurants, especially considering how great a value it is, so I’ve never even really considered going to TGP instead. Wonder if that’d be different if I happened to pick TGP for my first Greek visit instead of BGC.
Your loyalty is without peer, Bob!
I believe it was on yelp that I read someone who posted this, but they said something to the tune of – warning, there are actually 2 Greek places on Georgia Avenue, the one you’ve heard so much about and mean to visit is the one that’s further south of the two (which would be the cafe here). I only remember the day at lunch I went to eat there and the cafe was much more crowded than the place.