Restaurant review: International Food of Denton

by Melissa Boughton of North Texas Daily , Chris Speight of North Texas Daily

International Food of Denton seems to have its heart in the right place, but it could use a little help in the kitchen.

A pale-blue sign next to Arsenal Tattoos marks International Food’s modest exterior in the Sunset Center commercial complex.

Walking in, the place is reminiscent of a small hole-in-the-wall place you’d find after stepping off a boat somewhere in the Mediterranean. The music sounds like something you’d hear at a restaurant in that part of the world, so it was appropriate.

White Christmas lights give nice ambient lighting for the meal. They’re hung from the ceiling throughout the restaurant. The dining space is intimate, comparable in size to an average classroom on campus.

On the wall are the cashier and the foods section of International Food, an interesting feature. Here, you can buy goods like red and green lentils, date-filled cookies, and various types of oils, among other international treats.

A pleasant mural of an old Greco-Roman city adorns the wall across from the entrance, where the kitchen is located.

The staff is warm and happy. The employees talk to all the patrons frequently, both newbies and regulars, and are attentive to their needs.

The restaurant is also clean and pleasing to the eye.

But don’t expect to be as wowed by the food as you are by the atmosphere.

Starting with the hummus, there was something missing. The appetizer was lighter in color than most other hummus, and was a bit on the bland side. It could have been better if there was more garlic.

On a side note, no alcoholic drinks are served at International Food, but you can bring your own.

A Greek salad arrived promptly and was not on par with expectations.

Traditional Greek salads have a tomato base, whole olives, feta cheese, basil, cilantro, olive oil and optional cucumbers. This salad had a lettuce base, which is OK, but there were only two slices of tomato in it. There was also a strange, acidic quality to the salad from the dressing that overpowered the dish.

A gyro costs a mere $5.99. The lamb meat in the gyro is very good, but the rest is nothing special. Instead of a thick, soft and warm pita, it was thin and burnt on the edges, making for a pretty crunchy meal.

The lamb kabobs served with rice and sautéed veggies were also a disappointment.

The lamb was overcooked and required double the normal number of chews, meaning the only way to eat it was with the tzatziki dip.

This would have been fine if the dip were good. It tasted like mint, had an unusual, slightly watery texture and did not taste like cucumber at all. There was the same acidic quality with it as the Greek salad.

Finally, the baklava dessert had a good taste, but was just too hard to eat.

It tasted like it was frozen and then microwaved until hot. It was similar to cutting a piece of rubber. The cinnamon and walnut flaky pastry could not even be cut through.

Again, if you wanted to eat this dish, it required quite a lot of chewing.

Leaving with a sore jaw and acidic aftertaste, we weren’t thrilled with International Food. This eatery seems on the brink of something extraordinary if it can nail down some culinary issues.

Also, it was $23.24 for the Greek salad, lamb kabobs and an iced tea, which was a little much for the quality of the meal.

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