The Crazy Greek brings cherished family recipes, Greek food back to Linn County

FAIRFAX — Growing up, George Bohren was a helper at church events and Grecian festivals for his Greek family.

“We’d roll dolmades, thousands of them. My uncle would cook the chicken,” he said. “We’d get up at 3:00 in the morning and I’d go with him. That’s how we learned — seeing.”

Bohren, whose grandparents came to Iowa from Greece about 65 years ago, learned by osmosis from his yiayia — soaking in knowledge from recipes that permeated the family’s mark on the community.

But the cycles continued, as they do in every family. Grandparents grew old and passed, as did many of their Greek friends who immigrated to Iowa around the same time. Children grew up.

Bohren’s grandmother and uncle died in 2021.

“Once she was gone, there was this void. We missed that food,” Bohren said. “The Greek community was small to begin with around here, and now a lot of the older ones are gone.”

Outside the family, dining habits changed, too. Greek food has been notably absent from the Corridor for years.

One of the Cedar Rapids area’s last Greek restaurants, The Vernon Inn, also known at The Greek Place, closed in Cedar Rapids in 2012 after 36 years.

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Then people started asking for the food — the same food they missed — and Bohren knew it was time to respond.

“If we wanted it, we had to do it — start cooking it ourselves,” he said. “I just felt like I was the only one that could do it.”

So they did, first with pop-ups, and then with a food truck that opened in April. Since then, the people whose lives yiayia touched have started coming out of the woodwork.

“I had an older guy show up, he walks up to the window,” Bohren said of one customer.

Remembering Bohren’s grandmother as a customer at the bank his wife worked in, the lemon cake was one of the first things he ordered. All these years later, he said it tasted exactly the same.

“It almost made me cry,” Bohren said.

What’s old is new again for a food truck gaining ground in Linn County, as a new iteration of family cooking picks up where the tradition left off.

The food

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There’s a resurgence in popularity for the food, but he knows it’s not a fad. His cooking has not translated or evolved his grandmother’s recipes to modern palates — it has remade them exactly as they were.

For walk-up service, the food truck offers a relatively simple menu that reminds you what makes Greek food Greek — lots of oregano, olive oil and minced garlic.

Lemon juice is used like it’s going out of style. All sauces, including the tzatziki and souvlaki, are made in house.

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The popular sauce will be exclusive to their entrées — at least for now.

“We only make enough to supply us,” Bohren said.

Enjoy gyro or chicken souvlaki in the traditional pita wrap or over a bowl of lemon rice topped with tomato, onion, tzatziki sauce and feta cheese.

Athena fries are seasoned with a signature blend, and can also be topped with gyro meat, tomato, onion and sauce.

Salads are made with tomatoes, peppers, onions, olives, cucumbers and tossed in olive oil and red wine vinegar.

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Notice the lack of lettuce — an element the owner says separates good Greek restaurants from bad ones.

“If you ever walk into a place and see lettuce on their gyros, turn around and walk out,” he said.

Over time, they plan to add limited-time specials and seasonal treats.

Dolmades, grape or cabbage leaves stuffed with herbs and rice, might be served on weekends. Bohren, with his wife, Allison, also hope to offer pastitsio, the Greek response to lasagna, and avgolemono soup with a rich, fragrant blend of chicken, lemon and egg.

Pastries like Koulourakia will make a buttery, hand-rolled appearance around Easter, and treats like the galaktoboureko will roll in as custard pies set in crispy phyllo at an unspecified time.

That’s in addition to the lemon cake, baklava and baklava sundae on the dessert menu year-round.

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.

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