RESTAURANT: Athena Greek and Lebanese, Monroe, LA

RESTAURANT: Athena Greek and Lebanese; 318-322-1113; (call for hours)

LOCATION: 1700 N. 18th (@ Ave. of the Americas), Monroe, LA 71201

ONE OF THE DATES WE VISITED THE RESTAURANT: 6-15-05

PRICE RANGE: moderate

FAVORITE FOOD: Chicken, grape leaves

OTHER GREAT FOODS: Lamb

FOOD WE LIKED LEAST: Hommos (their spelling)

MOST OUTSTANDING FEATURE: N/A

SPECIALS: 15% discount on food for senior citizens 65 and older

APPEARANCE: Clean

SERVER: Alison

SERVICE: Good

UNIQUE FEATURES: N/A

COMPLIMENTARY RECIPE: N/A

COMMENTS: We arrived 3 minutes after the 3 p.m. cutoff for the lunch specials. We were the only diners for the duration of our stay.

We shared the premier item on the difficult-to-read menu, Athenas Combination Extrodinaire. Seasoning of the food was mediocre particularly the hommos. None of the dishes appeared to be branded.

This was previously the Palmira under new ownership since Feb. 05. They have a poor sense or knowledge of marketing. Atmosphere of employees appeared to be fearful of manager, "Sam." With the present state of affairs, it is doubtful to last another year.

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