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| - Since our 5-year-old daughter is spending the week with the grandparents, the missus and I are taking advantage of a well-deserved week off from the rigors of parenting a willful, precious and unruly child. So we got ourselves dolled up - if you consider me wearing a 16-year-old yet still fabulous looking black t-shirt courtesy of Banana Republic, a pair of blue jeans and some snazzy-looking brown loafers - and dined here. It had been some time since we'd eaten at Ilios; the times before, we'd enjoyed our dining experience, even if the restaurant was a bit small and often overcrowded.
IN has since undergone a renovation. Thankfully, it's expanded dramatically, so no more having to crowd yourself in front of the bar to await your table. There are plenty more tables, along with a few more outside. We would have opted for outdoor dining, but lately the humidity around the CLT has been nothing short of murderous, and I really didn't feel like dining out feeling as if I'd been draped with a wet towel. The former IN had more of a rustic feel; the new IN now sports a more upscale look, not too bright and flashy. Tasteful. Discreet. Nice touces all around.
I especially like the look the waitstaff was rocking: a casually wrinkled blue oxford button-up, blue jeans, and Chuck Taylors. Ever one on staff. Pretty cool, if you ask me.
One worry I always have when it comes to renovations is whether or not management can resist tinkering with the menu. Good thing very little has changed from the last dine my wife and I dined here. For appetizers, we opted for the calamari - crispy yet never overdone, with some delcious marinara and aoili dipping options - and the tzaziki. Perfect.
My wife enjoyed her Greek Country Salad with a nice-sized chicken breast, and I thought my wood-fired Piemonte pizza - prosciutto, fennel sausage, pepperoni, and gorgonzola - was quite tasty. Really, there's no way you can make a bad menu choice here. There's the right balance of authentic, without making too many concessions, and you're not bombarded with TOO many choices. Good menu, really.
IN is the right kind of restaurant for a first date or a get-together with friends. Last night must have been Ballantyne/Providence CC Desperate Housewives Night; between the overdressed housewives vamping at the bar, sipping their Sluttinis or whatever fancy and colorful cocktails, and the trio of desperates raving endlessly about how titilating "Fifty Shades of Grey" is - seriously, has that book become required reading for bored suburban housewives everywhere? - yet bellyaching about all their husbands want to do is have sex with them, and sex is so EWWWWWWWW, well, you won't be bored eavesdropping on their conversations about their First World Problems. Woe is them and their Zumba-fit bodies.
(Actually, I think every night is Ballantyne/Providence CC Desperate Housewives Night, so make a reservation and enjoy the sights and sounds.)
This place is another winner for the Stratos Restaurant Group, who also own Big View Diner (one of our go-to places) and Nolen. So we'll definitely make it back to Ilios Noche from time to time. You should too.
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