Neraki in Huntington: Lunch is no bargain

I like a bargain as much as the next guy, but attention to detail is what really wins my heart. That’s what I was thinking during a recent lunch at Neraki in Huntington.

Neraki has a lunch special that sounds promising: For $11.95, you get a combo plate with a main (choose from among 10 grilled or fried meats or fish) and a salad (Greek or green). The green salad was described on the menu as “lettuce, dill, scallions and feta cheese” — in other words, it was the great Hellenic staple maroulosalata, romaine salad. (Read more about Greek salads here.) Put that next to a tentacle or two of grilled octopus, and I thought, ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner.

But this salad had no discernible fresh dill nor chopped scallions. It was just sliced romaine lettuce, and from the translucence of the bits that should have been opaque, it appeared to have been sliced and dressed a while before I left the office to drive to Huntington. The dressing was a slightly sweet vinaigrette, with no evidence of the pungent, fruity olive oil that is the glory of the Greek table.

The octopus? Tender, but devoid of any trace of char.

Hey, Neraki, lunch counts.

At Neraki, Greek salad accompanies grilled octopus