No. 54: Pork Souvlaki Plate at Kentro Greek Kitchen



Welcome to the Weekly's list of our 100 Favorite Dishes for 2011! Tune in every day until we get to número uno! Now, on to the latest entry. . . .

Kentro Greek Kitchen is the newest addition to downtown Fullerton, a great restaurant that maybe tries a bit too hard to make Hellenic cuisine as hip as tapas or gastropubs, with a cute waitstaff, indie music and scruffy-looking owners who looked like they just returned from a month of backpacking across Europe. All of that is a distraction to a serious treatment of Greek food, one that floored me considering its geographic location. And the dish that best exemplifies their approach is the gorgeous pork souvlaki plate featured above.
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The pork is perfect: juicy, assertive, charred to the edge of blackness, the slightest bit fatty, almost like a flan. But instead of just tossing it on a bed of white rice and a pita like other, lesser places, Kentro adds in something called “wild rice.” I'm not sure what's so wild about it, but oh that flavor: feta mixed in with almond slivers, plump golden raisins, sauteed red onions and a jungle of dill. It's a rice almost as great as any Persian pilaf–the tanginess of the feta and onions, woodsy charm of the long-grained rice–and is also topped with olive oil (just a tad too much for my taste, but not detrimental). Add the housemade tzaztiki, and you've found a repeat customer–that is, if the wait staff hadn't recognized me and the nice owner didn't see how my meal was about 12 times. Time to send in Edwin!

Kentro Greek Kitchen, 100 S. Harbor Blvd., #A, Fullerton, (714) 278-0944; www.kentrogreekkitchen.com.

Click here for our 100 faves from 2010!

The list so far this time around:

No. 55: Toum at Sasoon Chicken
No. 56: Bacon Hash Dog at Berkeley Dog
No. 57: Blueberry Donut at M & M Donuts
No. 58: Tempura Fried Poached Egg at Break of Dawn
No. 59: Mulitas from Tacos Y Mulitas Ruben Truck
No. 60: Pho Ga from Pho Quang Trung
No. 61: Panuchos from Conde Cakes
No. 62: Sandwich and Egg Cream from Benjie's
No. 63: Margherita from TJ's Woodfire Pizza
No. 64: Macaroon at Disneyland
No. 65: The Sputnik at Rick's Atomic Cafe
No. 66: Corn Dog from Disney California Adventure's Corn Dog Palace
No. 67: Bacon Fried Rice at The Loft Hawaiian
No. 68: Charcuterie and Cheese at SideDoor
No. 69: Burger (With Duck Confit) at Watermarc
No. 70: Korokke Pan at Cream Pan
No. 71: Chorizo and Quail Egg on Toast at Sol del Sur
No. 72: Fried Brussels Sprouts at 320 Main
No. 73: G-Style Fries at G Burger
No. 74: Fried Cuttlefish at Benley
No. 75: Roti at Bangok Taste
No. 76: Wet Burrito at 301 Cafe
No. 77: Pork Curry at Miyabi-Tei
No. 78: Bánh Tieu at Bánh Mì So 1
No. 79: Any Sandwich at the Crosby
No. 80: Fish Pho at Pho Vinh Ky II
No. 81: Quesadilla Chilanga at Alebrije's Grill
No. 82: Lobster Roll at Lobsta Truck
No. 83: Nem Nuong Cuon at Nem Nuong Khanh Hoa
No. 84: Wild Boar Balinese Sausage at Valhalla Table
No. 85: Comida Corrida at Taquería La Raza
No. 86: Breakfast Burrito at Troy's Drive-In
No. 87: Mandoo at L&M Liquor and Deli
No. 88: Chicago Dog at Chicago Harv's
No. 89: Sweet Potato Tater Tots at Pee Wee's Famous
No. 90: Kaya-Stuffed French Toast at Chomp Chomp
No. 91: Egg Breakfast at Rick's Atomic Kitchen
No. 92: Sticky Rice With Chicken at Quan Hy
No. 93: Beef Koobideh at Hen House Grill
No. 94: $5 Fish Bento at Bentoss
No. 95: Milanesa Sandwich at Piaggio's Gourmet on Wheels
No. 96: Samurai Burrito at Wafu of Japan
No. 97: Carnitas Gordita at Bodega R Ranch Market
No. 98: Spam Musubi at k'ya Street Fare
No. 99: Tortilla Andorra at Anepalco's
No. 100: Lemongrass Chicken, Extra Spicy at Vietnam's Pearl

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