Dining out: Dask's

Those of you who remember the twisty, pleasantly warren-like space that used to be the Richards Street Marketplace — i.e., food court — at Crossroads Plaza probably also remember Dask's Greek to Me. I know I do.

Whenever my family stopped at Crossroads for shopping, or when I drove to downtown Salt Lake City with friends, I always tried to stop there for a gyro.

Fans of Dask's were confused when it disappeared and the Greek Town Grill took its place. Little by little, they discovered Greek Town was just Dask's — same ownership, same menu — under a new name.

Still, I missed Dask's. And now it's back, albeit in another corner of the valley.

For almost a year now, Dask's has been serving up Greek classics while tucked into a shopping center in the midst of a growing little restaurant district in the Holladay-Cottonwood area. I was delighted to see the name gleaming out at me in silvery letters as I drove by recently on 3000 East, and as soon as I could I wrangled the family down there for dinner.

The new Dask's is spacious and modern with distinct Greek touches, like the ochre-yellow walls and the original art and art prints that decorate them, all of which glow with vibrant Mediterranean colors and themes.

But there's really only one reason to go there: fresh, carefully made Greek food that takes me right back to stopping at the Crossroads kiosk after a hard day of shopping at ZCMI and Contempo Casuals.

We ordered a whole bunch of Greek favorites and shared, which is a nice way to go at Dask's since you'll want to try a bite of whatever's on the table. My husband had the chicken gyro plate and I the traditional beef and lamb version, and both were very good. Dask's offers lettuce on the chicken version in addition to the usual tomato and onions, and in our case the chicken gyro was much more drippy with creamy, sour white sauce (though the lamb gyro had enough, too). The meat in both was ample, lean and well-cooked, and the pitas were fresh with just a hint of crispness on their outsides.

The plates are a good option because you get your sandwich, plus two sides. I much prefer the Greek salad — lettuce, cucumbers, carrots and tomatoes lightly dressed with herbed, oil-based dressing and topped with feta and a single, deliciously sour-bitter olive — and the creamy lemon-and-pepper rice to the fries, but they're fine, if basic.