New Arrivals – July 2024
Posted by estiator at 13 July, at 06 : 00 AM Print
A coast-to coast glance at some of the industry’s newest additions
NAXOS ESTIATORIO
Named for the largest of the Cyclades islands, this elevated-casual spot opened on the site of a former Mexican restaurant. “We aspire to transport our guests to the sunkissed, picturesque shores of Greece, our ancestral home,” the restaurant’s site says. Sam Mathews, owner of the nearby Pompton Queen diner, is behind Naxos Estiatorio. “Our menu includes the most sought after Greek cuisine, from the freshest seafood, to succulent aged steaks, freshly carved lamb, and organic chicken. Every element is chosen with care to ensure an unparalleled dining experience,” the web site says.
Woodland Park, New Jersey
naxosestiatorio.com
TAZIKI’S MEDITERRANEAN CAFÉ
This national chain, founded by an American couple who fell in love with the cuisine on a visit to Greece, has opened its first location in Dallas. The menus features Greek salad, gyros, whipped feta, and avgolemono, along with pastas, burgers, and salad bowls. Desserts come from Florida’s Hellas Authentic Greek Bakery and include baklava, baklava cheesecake, and chocolate chip cookies. Taziki’s has more than 90 locations across the US.
Dallas
tazikis.com
MEZZELUNA
Co-owned by local chef and restaurateur Ali Cetin and chef Baki Bekci, formerly of the Four Seasons Hotel in Napa, this new Greek spot “is giving Cotati just what it was missing,” a local newspaper enthused. “Decked from top to bottom with hues of Grecian blue and white, and walls adorned with evil eyes for protection, it is clear that attention to detail was important when designing.” The menu leans traditional, with tzatziki, souvlaki, gyros, dolmades, and spanakopita, along with Mediterranean plates like babaganoush and the Turkish dessert kunefe.
Cotati, California
mezzeluna.com
FETA FLAV GREEK TAVERNA
After a smash three-year run with his Feta Flav food truck, Chef Alex Baxvanis has opened this casual eatery in an Asheville strip mall. The playful menu includes a lamb gyro dubbed Mary Had a Little Lamb, the Please Romaine Calm Greek salad, and the Fun Guy mushroom gyro, along with avgolemono, tirokafteri, spanakopita, and dolmades. “Some of these recipes are 300 to 400 years old. They’re from my mom, grandmother, great grandmother and my great great-grandmother. They’ve been passed through the family for generation,” Baxevanis told a local news site.
Asheville, North Carolina
fetaflavgt.com
TO STEKI
Pete Tzimpas has been working in kitchens and restaurants since he was 13; for 35 years, he cooked at another McHenry restaurant that his family ran. But when a space opened up on McHenry’s main street, it seemed perfect for a Greek restaurant, he told a local news site. The building that houses To Steki – meaning “gathering place” or “stomping ground” – dates to the early 1900s, Tzimpas said. The casual spot features gyros, souvlaki, dolmades, and a feta plate, along with burgers, sandwiches, and salads. McHenry is 35 miles northwest of Chicago.
McHenry, Illinois
https://www.facebook.com/p/To-Steki-61557942575930/
GYRO KINGDOM
Brick mayor Lisa Crate was on hand for the opening of this fast-casual restaurant, opened by local entrepreneur James Komninakis. ““My inspiration came from the years I spent in Greece as a young athlete, traveling throughout the country and being enveloped in its amazing culture and cuisine,” he told a Greek news site. From grilled red snapper with signature sauces to crispy, stuffed cod fritters wrapped in kataifi, each dish “tells a story of the Mediterranean’s rich culinary heritage,” the site says. Expansion plans include designs for “the very first Greek drive-through,” Komninakis told the site.
Brick, New Jersey
gyrokingdom.com
