GREEK FOOD IN ASTORIA...AMAZING!

Taverna Kyclades
33-07 Ditmars Boulevard, Astoria NY

       At last, my quest for discovering authentic Greek cuisine has finally come to an end...

Greek Salad

I have been searching for the perfect Greek restaurant for months, tried a few spots but no winners.  Who better to inquire about Greek food then a Greek himself, and with a last name like Nikolas, I knew that I couldn't go wrong.  So I decided to meet up with a good friend for our weekly "coffee talk" at a local cafe on the upper east side.  For months, he has been raving about this Greek restaurant in Astoria that he frequents,  often sharing his food experiences, as I'm left drooling...  Nickolas offers me to tag along on his weekly trips over to Astoria, where he was born and raised.  I leaped at the invitation...literally!  I couldn't help myself, an opportunity to enjoy an afternoon off the "beaten path" without subways and foot traffic... Not only did i get to experience amazing Greek food, I even got a tour of a great part of Queens, rich in culture with a real neighborhood feel.  
       Now back to the meal...The menu is written in Greek and English, offering a wide selection of dishes from land and sea at reasonable prices and sizable portions. The starter included a mini loaf of warm bread dredged in olive oil, oregano and sesame seeds and a Greek salad with a colossal piece of perfectly moist and firm feta cheese, which would have satisfied me.  Maybe not!  Then the feast began...it was my first time eating whiting, served whole and fried to perfection.  A white fish, savory and rich in flavor...loved it!  The fried calamari was tender and crispy served with a side of lemon,  grilled shrimp that were flawlessly prepared, in texture and flavor... I would venture to say that the shrimp were the best I have EVER eaten...The smell of fresh fare from the sea, simply seasoned yet tasted exquisite.  But wait, there's more... sides included roasted lemon potato's that were the beyond delicious, I had to refrain from devouring every plate that passed by me...upon sides, of Horta, a heaping plate of steamed dandelions and a generous plate of rice.

 Whiting

I regret that we didn't order the octopus because I witnessed the lanky pink charred legs leave the kitchen every 2 minutes and they looked amazing!  The entire meal was beyond exceptional and worth waiting for.  The service was great and the ambiance was comfy authentic Greek flare, with walls and tables decorated in breathtaking images of Greece.  
       Worth mentioning, if you plan on having lunch or dinner there, be sure to arrive early.  We arrived at 12:15 and were seated promptly, however, By the time we were finished with our meal, there was a line around the corner.
       We ended our food excursion at Artopolis, a local Greek bakery, offering an impressive variety of Baklava beautifully displayed on a "self-serve" counter... I was tempted to just leave with the entire tray,  among other delicious deserts.  We had a petite cup of Turkish coffee and the perfect sweet treat. 

Ahhh, what a day... Can't wait to go back for the octopus!
THANK YOU NICK!

BROWN BAG LUNCH...

       As I was preparing one of my favorite dishes, which happens to be one of my father's recipes (o.k. mom's too...but i prefer my dad's), it brought back memories.  The dish has a couple of names in Italian, I've heard my parents refer to it as Ciambotta or Stufada. As many of you 1st generation Italians know, that asking your parent to translate a word or phrase in English is like asking to translate Sanskrit, historic scroll, or sacred glyphs... you can forget it if the word is in dialect!

       It's a roasted vegetable dish from southern Italy that is so simple and easy to make with tons of flavor (recipe below) served with a crusty loaf of bread.  It brought back great childhood memories of being sent to school with a brown bag lunch.  Of course, back then it had no significance, we just thought it was normal to eat  homemade sandwiches filled with whatever mom put in it...you didn't get a choice....you ate what you got!  Although we didn't have much growing up (Translation= abundance of "material things"/"not spoiled tyrants"), we did have great parents, a roof over our heads and healthy, nutritional meals.   Most days, the brown bag included  homemade roasted peppers with tons of raw garlic, pepper's roasted in the oven then placed in a brown bag to help steam off the skin, and a slice of cheese on bread, or broccoli rabe and cheese, typically day old crusty Italian bread or American white bread.  It's no wonder that my sister and I dislike roasted red peppers and rabe now as adults!  My favorite was and still is,  a mortadella and provalone cheese sandwich...YUM!  As I'm preparing dinner, chopping the vegetables and roasting them until perfectly done, I begin to realize how fortunate we were.  Mom would work all day, come home to prepare dinner and then made sure we had lunch for the next day.  I realize now, that all of this took time and lots of effort, when she could have easily sent us off without or even just a spread of pb & j on white toast everyday.  I feel so lucky to have had that as a child and hope to someday pass it along to my children.  If i could go back for just one day, I would want to say

"Thank you mom, for making my lunch".  

As food was of great importance in my life as a child, it remains even greater today as an adult.  I believe that it's food that brings people together.  For instance, in our family, as loud and dysfunctional as it can be at times, we yell, scream and fight with each other,  but then five minutes later it's, "what do you want to eat"?  By the time we were done eating, we wouldn't even remember what the argument was about.  Even my boyfriend jokes and teases me because he says that regardless if you've just murdered or maimed someone, mom would still ask "but did you eat"?  Not only do I enjoy eating and making it an important part of everyday, I also enjoy cooking traditional family recipes and creating my own.


Recipe "Ciambotta or Stufada"
- 2 small or 1 medium eggplant
- 2 zucchini
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves garlic (or more)
- 1 package of portobello or wild mushrooms
- 3 Italian sweet peppers (or any other pepper)
- fresh cherry tomato's or a jar of homemade preserve
- olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste, crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- loaf of Italian ciabatta bread
* You can use just about any veggies that are seasonal, including red peppers, celery roots and hot peppers.


Preparation: 10 min. Cook time: approx. 20 min.
Roughly chop/cube the veggies
Saute onions a few minutes, then add garlic and cook another few minutes
Add eggplant first and cook for 5 min., then add the remaining veggies.
Add all the veggies to skillet and continue to cook until tender
Drizzle a good quality extra virgin olive oil before serving. A side of your favorite cheese, glass of vino and you have a fantastic meal!