El Greco’s Pizza Villa & Polixeni Room

El Greco’s is sadly closed but it’s near and dear to my heart so I’m keeping this post on my blog in memory of this iconic Dayton establishment.

Sometimes the El Greco’s cravings can get pretty intense and then the only thing you can do is visit El Greco’s because no one else serves the unique blend of Tex Mex / Italian that makes El Greco’s so memorable.

One weekend we had to get our El Greco’s fix so we headed to Salem Avenue and got all of our favorites.  As you can see, I was pretty jazzed about being at El Greco’s.  It feels a little like coming home because my dad used to take my sister and I here to eat all the time while we were growing up.

If you’ve never had a peta or some delicious nochos (taco shells broken in half, covered in melty cheese, topped with a solitary jalapeno slice – although lately they’ve had 2 or 3 each!), you haven’t really lived.  Well, ok, you may have lived but give them a try sometime.  We make a version of a peta at home but it will never be the same as El Greco’s petas.

Speaking of which, I’ve often wondered if Dayton invented the peta or if maybe it was just something that was popular in the 70s and Dayton is just the last hold out on the trend?  For those of you who haven’t had one, it’s a paper-thin crust with Mexican sauce and cheese, topped with anything you want and cut into diamonds.  El Greco’s is the last place I know of that has them but they were once a bit more prevalent in Dayton.  I’ve NEVER seen them outside of the greater Dayton area.

If you’ve never been to El Greco’s you really need to make that a priority.  It’s the perfect old Dayton bar and restaurant that lets you imagine Dayton as it must have been back in the day.