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John's Excellent Adventure

Lincoln Avenue eatery serves up Greek
specials with American coffee shop ambiance

By Broos Campbell

John's is a throwback to how we think restaurants used to be: good food, lots of it, low price. The emphasis is on robust grill cookery, with a wide assortment of American, Italian and Greek dishes to choose from. Dinners include soup, salad, a hunk of flesh, mixed vegetables, potatoes or rice, bread and butter, and dessert. The with-meal desserts consist of various puddings, Jell-O, ice cream or sherbet, usually.

But John's is no slop-the-hogs-and-move-'em-out type of joint. The pleasant, airy dining room features a trompe l'oeil view of the Mediterranean, a wall of windows letting in plenty of light, and an outdoor dining area that offers ringside seats for people-watching on downtown Willow Glen's Lincoln Avenue. (On a recent frosty evening, a party from Minnesota elected to dine alfresco to enjoy the "balmy" California air.)

On the Greek side of the menu, try the gyros sandwich with fries (marinated beef with tomato and lettuce on pita bread with yogurt-cucumber sauce, $5.25); the lemon-marinated baked chicken riganati (with plenty of crispy-chewy skin, $8.85); the Greek mezze lunch (dolmades, keftethes, feta cheese, olives, tomatoes and hard-boiled eggs; $6.50 for one, $11.25 for two); makaronada (Greek-style macaroni in brown butter with Mizithra cheese, $8.65); or our favorite lamb chop (don't be misled by the singular "chop"--it's a much larger portion than one might expect, with oregano and lemon-oil sauce, $9.95). The Greek-flavored but all-American grill offerings include the 10-ounce "Xlnt steak" (with sautéed mushrooms, $9.75), veal scaloppine ($9.25), burgers and deli sandwiches.

There's nothing overly fancy here, but that's just the way a family restaurant ought to be. The only surprise is just how far a dollar can go these days.

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John's Xlnt Foods 1238 Lincoln Ave., Willow Glen (408/998-1440).


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