My big fat Greek casserole

Lasagna is a sure thing on a restaurant menu: cheesy stacks of noodles bathed in meaty red sauce - what's not to like? But replace the pasta with spongy slabs of eggplant, the beef with gamey lamb, and the gooey mozzarella with bruléed béchamel, and the result - Greek-style moussaka - can be a bit hard to swallow. Regional additions like grease-slicked potato slices and waterlogged zucchini only worsen its fate.

Even Hollywood's a critic: A supersized helping terrorized Athenians in "Attack of the Giant Moussaka," then the heroine of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" suffered lunchroom jeers about the "moose kaka" packed by her mother. It's a Greek tragedy any way you slice it.

But surely some chef has staged a successful revival of this classic Hellenic casserole. We scoured local diners and souvlaki shacks to no avail. Only a pair of unlikely players, Waban's Kouzina and the Theater District's Avila, successfully sidestepped soggy eggplant and nubby gray meat to advance to the championship match.

Kouzina charred three slices of eggplant on the grill before wrapping them rotini-style around spiced lamb and neatly cubed potatoes. Avila nestled thick, firm discs of the purple globe in a velvety béchamel that bested Kouzina's thinner, cheesier dressing. Both dishes had punchy hints of tomato and a few shakes of warm spices, but it was Avila's delivery from the mezze section - literally en cocotte (read: piping hot) in a precious mini Staub - that clinched the victory.

Advantage, Avila.

TRY IT TONIGHT Baked moussaka (left), $6

Avila, 1 Charles St. South, Boston. 617-267-4810. www.avila restaurant.com

JUST TRY IT, ALREADY Moussaka, $16

Kouzina, 1649 Beacon St., Waban. 617-558-7677.