Tonight we decided to try Papa George again. The last visit showed some improvement over the first visit, so we were hopeful the trend had continued. We were not disappointed. Papa George has made great strides in both the quality of the food and the portion sizes. The menu is now fully Papa George and not Pickles. There is a much wider variety of Greek specialties available. There are also some good Greek wines on the wine list.

We started off with the Tzatziki. On our first visit we found the tzatziki tasty, but too small for the price. Maybe they heard me, because now you get a good size bowl of tzatziki and plenty of pita triangles and veggies for dipping. We also got some tasty bread with olive tapenade (complimentary) which in itself would have been a good appetizer. Sarah ordered the Moussaka and I decided to try the Center Cut Pork Chops. I had dinged them before for the lack of choices for sides, but now you can order some very good roasted potatoes, rice pilaf, their green beans in tomato sauce, or white beans in tomato sauce. We both went with the roasted potatoes and the green beans. Our entrees were quite large (two chops for me) and the sides were very generous. I had a perfect glass of Greek red wine with my chops. Our meals were easily as good as anything we’ve had in Greektown, which is saying a lot. Papa George has really raised the bar in both quality and quantity. I’m sure our next visit won’t be so long in coming.

Tonight we saw an ad for the spaghetti special at Angelo’s on Lake Land Blvd in Mattoon. Salad, garlic bread, and a small spaghetti for $3.69. For that price, we figured it’d be worth the trip. Not surprisingly, the place was full, although we waited only a couple of minutes for a table. We both got the special and I was pleasantly surprised to see they had Poretti beer. It turned out to be the most expensive thing on our bill. The spaghetti special was well worth the money. In fact, I don’t know how they give you so much for so little. You get a small but fresh salad, 8 pieces of garlic bread, and a decent size plate of spaghetti. We were both full when we left, and it ran us only $13.25. It would have been under $10 if I hadn’t ordered the beer. Now that’s a cheap meal.

We stopped in to Los Potrillos tonight for a quick dinner. Located in the former Russ & Lynda’s building, Los Potrillos has been packed almost nightly. Tonight was our second visit and we didn’t have to wait, thanks to it being Thanksgiving week. Last time we waited maybe 10 minutes for a table. Los Potrillos is owned by the same folks who own Dos Reales in Champaign, and the menu reflects that. Same ubiquitous cheese sauce.

Tonight we went through two baskets of their tasty chips. They give you two types of salsa, although the milder of the two is more like pico de gallo. We also asked for some of their excellent guacamole. They do guacamole very well. Sarah ordered the Fajita Taco Salad and I went with the Cheesesteak Burrito. Sarah’s salad was large and loaded with steak and grilled veggies over salad stuff, all in a taco shell bowl. My burrito was similar to the burrito grande at El Vaquero, except it was covered in cheese sauce. and came with rice and refried beans. It was a large burrito stuffed with grilled steak and onions. Did I mention the cheese sauce? I also had a Dos Equis. The first time we ate at Los Potrillos, I had a margarita. It was ok, but not nearly as good as the ‘Ritas at Don Sol.

After eating all the chips, salsa, and guac, we were pretty well stuffed ourselves, so we both ended up taking the better part of our meals home. All in all, I’d rate Los Potrillos about as similar to other Mexican cuisine choices in this area, only with more cheese sauce.