FOLLOW-UP REVIEW: Big Fat Greek shines on return

Often conservative and predictable, chain restaurants aren’t the most thrilling dining destinations. Their well-oiled kitchens, however, are also usually reliable and consistent.

Therefore I was surprised — shocked, really — when visiting My Big Fat Greek Restaurant for my Oct. 14 dining review to be served a pizza (the El Greco, $10) that not only wasn’t tasty, but was downright stinky with an unpleasant and overwhelming smoky odor. At the time, management explained that the problem was an off-batch of wood used as fuel in the woodburning pizza oven.

MBFGR pleased me in many other ways, including with killer gyros and the baklava cheesecake, which I have described in luscious detail to many people since. Mistakes happen, but quality kitchens process customer input in order to correct those mistakes and improve.

Well, my El Greco this week was much improved. Feta and mozzarella are melted over a base of pesto, topped with red onions, pepperoni and beef-lamb gyro meat. It’s a very American pizza, meaning a little doughy and cheese-heavy, the type that sags into your hand or should be eaten with a fork, but it’s good.

Frankly, it’s what I expected the first time.