Skorpios II and Chris' Taverna: Two Rival Greek Restaurants in Lake Worth, Florida

Two rival Greek restaurants have been dueling over who has the best tasting food in Lake Worth. Skorpios II owned by Nick and Louise Goussis, is a family run restaurant with a long tradition of cooking and serving Greek food dating back to 1996, at the Lake Worth location. Their original restaurant Skorpios in Huntington, New York, now run by Nick's brother Dennis, started business in the 1970s. Chris' Taverna owned by Christos Charoudis, has a shorter history, opening in 2004.

Both Skorpios II and Chris' Taverna have outdoor seating. Both have Grecian scenes painted on their walls. Both have Greek music playing in the background. Both have similar items on their menus. Both have fiercely loyal customers.

But this is where the similarities end.

Skorpios II is located in a strip mall on Lake Worth Road a short distance west of the intersection with Jog Road. Outside are tables with blue and white umbrellas. Inside, the blue and white theme continues broken only by the occasional Grecian country side mural. Blue skirt lighting near the ceiling adds ambience to the rooms.

The staff greet you like you are one of the family and anticipate your needs before you even know what they are. One such need is putting the salad dressing on the side so you can choose how much you want on your greens. Another is to use margarine instead of butter along with the traditional olive oil all good Greek food has at its heart.

The Goussis family starts cooking early in the morning, using the best ingredients (even if it costs extra for them) to give their guests the most flavorful experience they can have. Their attention to detail extends to the gyro meat which is flown in from Brooklyn, New York, the Greek food capital of the United States.

At Skorpios II, the flavors jump off the plate and into your mouth. Try Nick's Special ($19.95), a platter with spinach pie, Moussaka, Pastitsio, stuffed grape leaves, rice pilaf and vegetables. It comes with pita bread & tzatziki sauce (Greek yogurt dip with garlic, cucumbers and dill), salad, a choice of soup, and two desserts-Kourabiethes (almond cookies) and rice pudding.

The pita is grilled to smoky perfection and dips easily into a creamy tzatiki sauce which has just enough garlic to keep you safe from vampires.

The side salads are made with crisp romaine lettuce, tomatoes, Kalamata olives, cucumbers, red onions, Pepperoncini, delicate stuffed grape leaves and fresh feta cheese. The salad dressing is a delicious mix of olive oil, oregano, vinegar, and dill.

The choice of soup is Lemon Chicken or Lentil, both are made with love.

In Nick's Special, the spinach pie is scrumptious with layers of spinach and cheese nestled between layers of flakey filo pastry. It tastes as good as it looks. The Pastitsio is a baked dish with rich layers of cinnamon and tomato sauced ground meat, macaroni pasta and béchamel sauce. Next, the Moussaka. The eggplant gods cheered when this dish was created because it tastes like it has eggplant in it! The creation starts with a thin bottom layer of sliced potatoes, topped with sliced eggplant, then a cinnamon infused ground meat and tomato sauce layer, and finished with a luscious béchamel sauce layer. The generous portion of accompanying rice pilaf is accented with lemon juice and fresh parsley.

Another mouth watering Daily Special is the Lamb Chops ($21.95) dish, with five plump chops, that over flow with love and respect for the meat. Marinated in olive oil, rosemary, lemon juice and garlic, these smoky flavor chops are fork tender and addictive. They come with the same extras as Nick's Special (soup, salad, rice pilaf, vegetable and two desserts).

Two half-moon shaped, almond tasting, Kourabiethes dusted with icing sugar are part of the dessert items included with the Specials. They are accompanied by a small bowl of rich home-made rice pudding with cinnamon on top.

If you get a chance, try a portion of Skorpios II Galaktoboureko ($4.95), featured in Bon-Appétit Magazine (Sept. 2001), or Greek custard pie. The large, filo pastry enclosed slice of rich vanilla egg custard is spiced with cinnamon, clove and thin slivers of orange peel. A sweet cinnamon and clove-scented sugar sauce is drizzled over the top.

Chris' Taverna is located, a few miles south of Skorpios II, in a strip mall on the southwest corner of Jog and Lantana Rd. It too has outdoor seating with umbrellas. The interior has peach colored walls dressed up with pastoral scenes of the Grecian country side along with warriors and pillars.

The staff is friendly and attentive. There is not as much attention to detail here in the food service area. An example of this is with the salads that come drenched in dressing unless you tell the server to put it on the side.

Chris' Taverna also has a combo platter which includes spinach pie, Moussaka, and Pastitsio called Elini's Combo ($14.45). It comes with a choice of two sides; get the Greek salad as one because it's huge. Tzatziki and Pita bread come as the bread portion of the meal. Unfortunately the pita bread fails to impress. It looks like it has been grilled but lacks the grilled flavor and the garlicky tzatziki sauce is uncomfortably thick (like sour cream has been added).

The generous side salads are made up of Iceberg and Romaine lettuce, cucumbers, Kalamata olives, tomatoes, Pepperoncini, red onions, a stuffed grape leaf, and mild tasting feta cheese on top. All of this is bathed in a thin Greek dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar and dried spices.

The Spinach pie has a soggy filo pastry bottom with flavorless spinach and cheese fillings. The Pastitsio succeeds in tasting like baked Mac & Cheese, with just a touch of cinnamon. It has a base of macaroni pasta, with a layer of ground meat then a béchamel layer, which are repeated once more before being topped with an onion-infused ground meat and tomato sauce layer. The Moussaka has most of the right components: béchamel sauce, ground meat, sliced potatoes, cinnamon, and eggplant. Unfortunately, the strongest flavor, that drowns all others, is that of French fries cooked in old oil (I tried three different servings of it over a six month period and it never improved in flavor).

Try the Lamb chops ($19.95) at Chris's Taverna because they give you a glimpse of real Greek flavorings. Unfortunately, there are only five slim chops that leave you hungry. The lamb is succulent with a slightly smoky flavor and undertones of garlic and rosemary. The chops come along with whatever two sides you choose from a choice of seven items. Try your luck with the lemon-scented potatoes (they struggle with consistency). On a good day, they are a pale shade of yellow and taste somewhat of lemons. The dish also comes with pita bread and Tzatiki sauce.

Chris' Taverna also has Kourabiethes but they are dry and need a glass of water to help wash them down. Their Baklava ($4.25) is a better choice as it is delicious and will satisfy any sweet tooth. It comes in a portion large enough to feed two people. Finger-licking layers of filo pastry, walnuts and cinnamon are drenched in a sweet honey sauce.

If you want consistently good tasting food that is alive with flavor then try Skorpios II. If you are on a tight budget and don't mind occasionally compromising in the flavor department, then Chris' Taverna is for you. Either way, someone else, in Lake Worth, does the dishes.

Skorpios II located at:6685-B Lake Worth Rd., Lake Worth, FL 33467
Phone: 561-432-9910

Chris' Taverna located at:6346 Lantana Rd., Suite 54, Lake Worth, FL 33463
Phone: 561-964-4233