PlanJam!From your screen to the scene

Round up your friends for a good meal with wine or coffee and cakes at Artopolis.
This Greektown eatery offers a wine bar, sandwich counter, pastry case and the agora, a small market selling imported art, olives, cheese and jam. The big casual dining room invites you to hang out. Find a table in the balcony level and watch the world go by on Halsted street.

Smaller and simpler than many Greektown restaurants, Artopolis emulates a Mediterranean shop and café. Customers hang out after work for wine and dinner, many of them conversing in Greek. I enjoyed finding pastries and dishes that were new to me, including the signature artopitas. The spanakopita “spinach and cheese pie” is one of many types of dinner pastries here, including the Kotopita of chicken, mozzarella, peppers and a baked ham and cheese pie ($8-$10). The name “Artopolis” means “city of bread” and the fresh bread, thick crust pizzas, sandwiches and artopitas are baked fresh daily.

Soup and salads are excellent here too. Try the traditional soup, a golden avgolemono with lemon, egg, white rice and big chunks of chicken ($3.75). Salads include the Frutti di Mare with shrimp, calamari, octopus on greens and French style Jardin with big slices of Brie cheese and pears on mesclun greens. The no-lettuce Greek Country salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, feta and Kalamata olives remains my favorite. If you and your friends meet here for lunch, you can have the soup and salad combos or split a big pan pizza.

The wine list and shop features imports such as Retsina and some domestic wines, by the bottle and by the glass. Mediterranean cocktails, like the champagne and peach Bellini or the Café Calypso with iced coffee and rum complete a meal on a high note.

For those with a sweet tooth (everyone I know), Artopolis offers an assortment of Greek cookies and pastries like baklava and honey puff loukomades. Other types of new and traditional sweets include tiramisu, chocolate mousse in chocolate cups and mango yogurt tarts. Coffee choices include espresso, hot or iced cappuccinos and wonderful Greek coffee ($2-$2.75). Served in a small cup and brewed strong, the Papagalos Greek coffee here tastes dark-roasted and aromatic, either sweetened or plain, with none of the bitter edge of many espressos.

If you are looking for a last-minute gift for a friend or food to bring to a party, Artopolis can help. The wines, cheeses, cakes and cookies here make unique and delicious presents with optional gift wrap. You would have to come back to Artopolis many times to try everything, but the varying daily menu adds to its appeal.