Keifer's

Jackson, MS

$6-$9 Entrees

Ah, Keifer's! How I have craved thee since I moved away from Jackson! While a student at Millsaps College (go Major's!), I ate at Keifer's on a weekly basis. (This was back when I was a serious lap swimmer and could regularly burn off the ridiculous number of calories I was consuming.) I still get a hankering for their feta sauce, especially when under stress, or while relaxing on the couch, or ... okay, it's all the time. There needs to be a Fetaholics Anonymous.

Basically, Keifer's is an American restaurant. Their menu says "Keifer's, Est. 1980, A Taste of the Mediterranean." This is accurate. You will get a taste of the Mediterranean, including but not limited to: lamb, tzatziki sauce, feta, chickpeas, cracked wheat, mozzarella, artichoke hearts, stuffed grape leaves, pita bread, and baklava. You may also get a taste of honey mustard, hamburger, ham and cheese, smoked turkey, smoked bacon, tuna salad, and potato, to name a few of their other ingredients. This melting pot could best be described as "exciting Mediterranean male seeks a forgiving Southern female."

At any rate, last week while visiting Jackson, I relapsed. My coping skills all failed, and I'll have to surrender my chips. After parking my car in the familiarly crowded parking lot, I entered the equally crowded and bustling restaurant with welcoming, outdoor side decks. (I've always liked the white lights they string along the ceilings outside.) My way to my table was fraught with perils, including speed walking waiters carrying pitchers of beer, plates of gyros, and cottage fried potatoes. Seriously, if you want to avoid a nasty collision, be careful while walking through this restaurant! I sat down and looked around at the many open rooms forming the interior of the building, each lined with Mediterraneanesque curio. Keifer's is fun, casual, and very popular. However, I have often observed that the restaurant would benefit from a) a thorough cleaning, b) a larger parking lot, c) a larger building, and d) reevaluation of the flow of foot traffic. It is also e) virtually inaccessible to the handicapped. I prayed for the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.

Keifer's service is always rushed. Your waiter is rushed, the busboys are rushed, and the cooks are rushed. The upside: service is fast. The menu is the same for lunch and dinner. The restaurant tends to have regulars, and if you go there enough, you will identify your usual. I myself have three usuals (see the subtitle to this blog): The Pita Mozz, the Cucumber, and the Chicken Gyro. The Pita Mozz is fresh pita bread topped with mozzarella cheese, grilled, and served with my DOC, feta sauce. Sometimes, after my Pita Mozz slices are gone, I just sit there and eat the feta sauce with a spoon. But I digress.

The Cucumber consists of marinated, sliced cucumbers with white onion served with ... you guess it ... feta sauce. The cucumbers have a sweet bite, which is complimented by the garlicky feta sauce. The Chicken Gyro contains spiced chicken roasted on the rotisserie (specifically, the spit commonly used for lamb at Greek restaurants) and then shaved off into thin slices. It usually is served with lettuce, tomato, onion, and honey mustard. However, I recommend that one holds the honey mustard and substitutes ... feta sauce. Just for today.

No matter what you order, the price will be right. The college crowd is evidence one can eat here on a budget. As I paid the check, I sighed, knowing I'd have to drive back to Birmingham and get back on the wagon. Until next time ...

3 Kudzu