East Village Grille

We try to get to East Village Grille every year or two just to experience an old-school, Greek-owned, blue plate special spot, with the extras of burgers, wings and sports bar items. Yesterday, we got there early, so there was no parking issue (if you come at peak times, expect you'll have to park in the lot up the hill or farther away). We got to choose our own table and settled down to look through the menu. There is a big variety of things to order, from burgers and sandwiches, to wings of various sorts, to "signature plate" of things like steaks, fried chicken, chicken livers and such, plus beers and cocktails. The staff is always friendly. I decided on a beer -- a Greek bottled beer ($4.50) called Mythos -- and the small Tiger sauce wings (6 for $10.25). The lager was good, the wings were good if you like'em big and messy. For my main I ordered the fried chicken livers with smashed potatoes and green beans (a bargain at $14) along with gravy. These aren't my favorite livers in the world, but they're not bad, the green beans were Southern-style (cooked for a long time) and the serving of potatoes was huge. The gravy was good. This was more than I could eat, so I took some home. My wife had the Reuben, which also was good, with a big side of fried onion rings. ($13 including an upcharge of $1 for the onion rings). Very good. Our dinner with two beers, a shared appetizer of wings and two hearty entrees came to about $50, before tip. We left full and satisfied. East Village Grille isn't exactly a place to find interesting or subtle food, but it's friendly, reasonably priced and with a bunch of menu items that local folks enjoy. That's why it's popular.

We ordered and split the Blackened Rib Eye salad. It was a huge portion, definitely enough to share with another person. The steak was juicy and well seasoned. The Fried Mushroom appetizer was also a great sized portion, tasted delicious, and served as a nice side to the steak salad. Service was pretty darn slow and not the friendliest.

This is one of my husband’s favorite local restaurants. He loves the wings most of all. While I have had a little harder time connecting with this restaurant, my most recent visit was a step in the right direction. The service was much improved & I was able to find a menu item that suited me perfectly, the Tiger Mac & Cheese. This dish is a crispy chicken breast atop a generous bowl of tasty mac & cheese, topped with the restaurant‘s signature Tiger Sauce. I also gave the onion rings a try this time around & was not disappointed. The horseradish sauce was just spicy enough without burning off my taste buds. They offer many craft beers on tap, as well as Bold Rock cider. My husband enjoyed his usual Tiger Wings. I believe that this restaurant is owned by one of our local Greek families & they offer delicious house made baklava as well. Restrooms are clean single stalls. Plenty of free parking.

I really enjoyed coming here! We went with a party of 6 on a weekend. Parking lot is small (literally every spot was taken when we first arrived). Thankfully, though, there wasn't a wait at all on the inside. Our server was very attentive. (My wife did note that there were some M&M's in the crease of the booth.) Now to our feature presentation: the food! My wife (an Asheville native) told me about the Tiger Wings and they absolutely lived up to the hype! It's rare that you find breaded, sauced wings and they were on point. The sweet and spicy flavor lended itself a little to the spicy side, which was just fine for me. But my entree was the "You bacon me crazy" burger. Y'all, this thing is a vegan's worst nightmare, and carnivore's dream come true! The beef patty sits on top of a bed of ham, is topped by cheddar cheese, a crisp onion ring, bacon jam and enclosed in a brioche bun. It was EVERYTHING! I will definitely be coming back.