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Romy’s/Teddy’s Café

By: The Lady of The Night Out

Why should you eat at Romy's/Teddy's Cafe?

What happens when you cross the film “Anger Management” with “My Big Fat Greek Wedding?” You get Romy’s Café. Owner Ted Daginis grew up in Greece and personally prepares your meals just like his Grandma did. Groaning plates of food form the center of his world, just like in the movie. However, Daginis has also imported some unusual Greek customs. That includes paying $3 for a white plate that you smash against the stage as you scream and yell. Your fellow diners scream and yell, too. For some, the breakage bill tops their food tab.

Who should eat at Romy’s?

Greek food fanatics. All the usual suspects are here: stuffed grape leaves, moussaka, spanikopita, even flaming cheese. The food is true Hellenic heaven.
Italian food fanciers. Teddy’s mother was Italian. He artfully mixes the two cuisines, adding toothy pasta where you’d least expect it.
Lamb lovers. Teddy serves lamb every possible way. The lamb shanks were so huge they looked they came from an elephant.
The Angry. It really felt good hurling those plates at the stage with a rowdy crowd roaring its support. What delicious psychotherapy! On a busy Saturday night, the shards pile up to meet the top of the raised stage.
The Hungry. Romy’s super sizes its offerings. Most entrees are big enough for two. I took most of mine home. Romy’s adds a nice touch – the kitchen shrink- wraps the to-go box, so there’s no mess on the drive home.
People who want to be entertained. Romy’s has belly dancers and a boisterous Greek band on Friday and Saturday nights and a live Flamenco dancing show on Sundays. Did I mention men throw $1 bills at the stage? Or that people dance on their tables? Food definitely takes a back seat to fun on week-ends.
Nocturnal feeders. The fun at Romy’s continues until the last person goes home. On week-ends, couples frequently dance and break plates until 7 a.m. the next morning.
Diners who want vino with their viands. Teddy doesn’t have a huge wine list. But if you have a favorite and promise to come again, he will gladly stock it for you. Of course, ouzo flows freely.
Pyromaniacs. The flaming cheese explodes in a wall of fire. The fire pops as your fellow diners shout “Oopah.”

Who shouldn’t eat at Romy’s?

Conversationalists. It’s near impossible to carry on a conversation over the entertainment and the smack of the smashing plates. I almost had to write my order so the waitress would understand.
The fress to impress crowd. Romy’s is decidedly a neighborhood restaurant where people who appreciate food go to unwind and have a good time. It’s hard to maintain decorum when plates keep whizzing by.
Non-smokers. There are no non-smoking sections in the small and intimate dining room. If two smokers sit next to you, the tobacco taste can ruin your meal.
Hendersonians. Durango and Sahara is a haul from the southeast corner of the Valley. Given the expected traffic tie-ups, showing up at Romy’s with road rage is actually a good thing.

Ok, so what’s the food like?

Don’t miss Teddy’s version of cioppino. This is one of the hybrid dishes. Steamed New Zealand mussels on the half shell decorate the rim of the plate while a school of squid occupy the broth. This sumptuous soup plumbed the depths melding the brine of seafood paired with a deep tomato flavor. Here’s the Italian part. An island of al dente linguine rises from the sea of cioppino. Use the soup as a sauce. Oopah!

Greek salads are the greens du jour here in LVNV. Restaurateurs think if they put feta cheese on some chilled Romaine they have a Greek salad. But the Oracle at Delphi will tell you different. It’s the salad dressing that provides the distinctive voice. A true Greek salad will assault all your senses: the sharp rasp of the vinegar, the sweet flecks of basil and parsley, and salty rush of the creamy feta all demand to be heard. They scream at Romy’s.

The lamb shank looks like it was something Fred Flintstone brought home for dinner. It was huge. The meat was unforgettably tender; it fell off the bone when you looked at it. It was covered with a mantle of meaty button mushrooms that were the basis of a rich gravy.

The veggies were equally wonderful. Green peppers and carrots were cut in wedges and sautéed for seconds; they were still crunchy. At the very bottom sat pan-fried potatoes. They waded in the mushroom gravy which gave them the limp wrist feel. But ooh. What a divine combo. The mushroom gravy was a far better condiment than boring ketchup!

Romy’s uses kasseri cheese for its Saganaki. The cheese sits in a pool of brandy which ignites instantaneously. The cheese became a lush pile of goo with brie overtones after torching. I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!

Traditional avogolemeno soup is a refreshing summer soup even though it’s served steaming hot. This cream of chicken soup is spiked with the pucker of fresh lemon juice. The broth is thick with snowy rice. Large chunks of succulent chicken breast make the soup a meal in itself.

Romy’s pays attention to detail. It serves a whole loaf of sourdough bread that arrives steaming. The bread tastes like it just emerged from the oven.

Dessert in the desert: The star here is hard to pronounce but sure easy to eat. The galacdoboureko is a pastry featuring egg custard wedged between layers of lacy phyllo dough. Honey serves as the mortar to hold the whole thing together. This dessert satisfies the sweet tooth without sending you into diabetic shock. Wash it down with a bracing cup of java and the result is magic.

The rice pudding is Greek style—no raisins. It’s topped with lots of cinnamon. This is a great bathing suit dessert – it won’t increase your waist size.

History: Daginis grew up in the restaurant business. He worked seven years in the kitchen on cruise ships. He was the chef at Café Michelle before he opened his own restaurant, the Kitchen Café, which closed in January, the by-product of a divorce. He’s resurfaced at Romy’s.

Favorite Waiter: It’s all in the family.

The last word: The entertainment makes this place wall-to-wall crazy. It would be a fun place to go even if the food sucked. But it doesn’t. Romy’s serves authentic and absolutely delicious Greek and Italian food. It’s a great place for gourmets, as long as they aren’t shy.

Where is it? 8565 West Sahara. It’s in a shopping center on the southeast corner of Sahara and Durango. The phone is 702.242.7669.

By: The Culinary Curmudgeon Lady of the Night Out

My therapist attributes all my problems to my mother. She says deep down I’m really mad at Mom and I can’t be a success unless I release that anger. So Romy’s Café is just what the doctor ordered. For less than $20 I can publicly chastise Mom and smash plates to my heart’s delight cheered on by my fellow psychopaths. Bam! I figure if I break enough pottery, I’ll be ready to run Wynn Resorts.

However, I don’t understand the psychic pleasure of throwing $1 bills at the stage. I can think of a lot better things to do with that legal tender. In fact, it was hard concentrating on my lamb chops with all that cash lying near my feet. And just how safe is Romy’s? Why aren’t the criminals ordering moussaka in droves and then sweeping up the cash after coffee? And who gets to keep the money anyway? I hope no one at the IRS likes stuffed grape leaves.

I really enjoy breaking bread with my kind of people. It’s no fun consuming comestibles in a dining room as starched as my dress shirts. The hootin’ and hollerin’ really spices things up. Romy’s is almost as fun as major league baseball (even though he doesn’t serves $15 hot dogs.)

In my opinion LVNV doesn’t have enough restaurants with belly dancers. They really are a magic ingredient. All is well with the world when a muscular woman wiggles in front of you as you nibble on a prehistoric lamb shank. And talk about enviable abs! I wish I could get the Hausfrau to take some classes.

Teddy is so thoughtful. Thanks, thanks, thanks for shrink wrapping my leftovers. I usually find them on the floorboard by the time I get home (thanks to those sudden stops on Sahara) and then they are truly dog food. Now I get to enjoy the great repast a second time.

The only bad thing about Romy’s is there is no non-smoking section. What’s up with that? The tables are close; if a pair of smokers sits next to you, you’re soon enveloped in as much smoke as Lance Burton during a vanishing act. Ugh. I wish Teddy would make them disappear!

It’s also nice to eat at a place where the owner really cares. Folks treat Teddy like I treated my mother: they constantly summon him to their table to fetch something they desire. Maybe Teddy breaks the last plates after everyone leaves.

Aired 04 July 2003

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