Acropolis

America’s Greek-style pizza is unique. Its crust is puffier and yeastier than traditional Neapolitan pizza. Restaurants that serve it often bill themselves as “Mediterranean,” meaning that if the menu goes beyond pizza, it likely includes gyros and moussaka as well as lasagna and manicotti (not to mention Turkish baklava for dessert!).

So it is at Acropolis, where pizzas can be had with all the customary Italian-American toppings (sausage, mushrooms, etc.), but where “Specialty Gourmet Pizzas” are the highlight. Some of them have names that suggest Mediterranean travel: Riviera (ricotta, mozzarella, garlic, oregano, peppers, artichoke, eggplant), Florentine (feta, mozzarella, garlic, oregano, spinach, eggplant, artichokes), and Greek Acropolis (feta, mozzarella, gyro meat, fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic). The Magnificent Greek is feta, mozzarella, spinach, olives, onions, and garlic

Best of all is the Gorgonzola pizza – heaped with creamy, vivid veined cheese, plenty of garlic, slices from a whole tomato, and artichoke hearts.

These pizzas can be a hugely satisfying meal – not textbook Greek or Italian, but very much melting-pot American.

Those not in the market for pizza can avail themselves of Italian pasta dishes as well as such Greek classics as roast lamb, moussaka, and spanakopita. In my experience, these items are a hit-and-miss proposition. Best of the bunch is roasted Greek lemon chicken with Greek potatoes. In this case “Greek” means the essential roasting potion of lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and oregano, the brilliant flavors of which infuse the chicken’s skin and turn what elsewhere might be perfunctory potatoes into the most memorable part of the dish. Less felicitous is a gyro plate with sad slabs of dried-out meat.

It’s hard to say whether the Acropolis is romantic or moody. Its decor would look right in a Medici family tomb or a mid-20th century brochure about the joy of traveling around the Mediterranean. The wall above the booths is painted with an artsy fisherman-themed mural that looks like it was put there 100 years ago. There are no windows at all, and it is dark inside. All this might be a ticket to romance for some, but if you come at an off hour and most tables are unoccupied, it can seem like a lonely place.