Greek bites, full bellies at Snack

Last weekend, BD was in town, and we decided to meet for dinner before his friend's improv show. A reasonably priced meal in the Village at someplace I'd never been before? That was a challenge. After some diligent opentabling, I landed on Snack Taverna, a small Greek joint about which I'd heard good things. We were set.

I arrived a few minutes early, taking solice from the chill in the warm and inviting dining room. After seating the group in front of me, the host greeted me. I gave my name and he checked my reservation. Then, the awkwardness: "We have your reservation," he told me. "But we tend not to seat incomplete parties..." Trailing off, he seemed a little uncomfortable. And I could see why: I glanced to my left, toward the small, six-seat bar area, whose six seats were all full. I glanced around the rest of the tiny restaurant and its many empty tables. "Well," I replied, "Given that there's nowhere else to sit or stand except for at a table, is there any chance you'd be able to seat me? Otherwise I will literally just be standing here." And that was true-- I was standing in the narrow doorway to the restaurant, and if I weren't shown to the table, I would quite literally just be standing right there until BD arrived. "Yes, of course," the host then gushed, "Yes, we can seat you." Great. All righty. Ready to roll. Now wherefore all that awkwardness, eh?

He showed me to a tiny, tiny table tucked next to the partition at the end of the bar. The table itself was miniscule, and it was shoved in next to the neighboring party of two, who were so close that I brushed both their persons and their table merely trying to slip into the seat. Once seated, I knew damned well I wasn't getting up for a quite a while.

Fortunately, BD arrived only a minute or two later, and we commenced ordering. Our server was friendly, funny, and personable, a true highlight of the meal. And though were ordered relatively quickly, it took quite a while for the food to arrive (a problem our neighbors also experienced)-- it seemed the kitchen was a bit overwhelmed by the half-full dining room.

Once the food did arrive, however, it was all worth it. BD chose the skordalia crusted Atlantic cod, served with cranberry bean "fassolada," squash, red peppers, and baby arugula. While the top half of the garlicky blanket seemed, honestly, burnt (see the picture--surprising that they'd allow that to come out of the kitchen), BD raved about the flavors and textures of the dish and the fact that it was a good portion without being an overwhelming amount of food.

Yikes

My pick, the special salad of the day, was also a hit. It was a plate of roasted vegetables served with melitzanosalata (garlicky eggplant puree) and a big ol' slab of feta. After smelling the aromatics around me, I expected the vegetables to be warm, but they weren't; even chilled, the sharp flavors popped. The melitzanosalata was especially good, although not a good option for daters (its potent bite lingered on my breath for hours). The feta was salty and creamy, everything good feta should be. And there was a good mixture of veggies, from roasted tomatoes to beets to zucchini, squash, mushrooms, eggplant, and scallions. This was filling and a satisfying value for $12.

Smorgasbord of vegetable matter

Snack is an interesting little beast. The service isn't exactly silky smooth; awkward and lengthy at times, it can also be warm and enthusiastic (if you get the right server, that is). The food, while certainly not cheap, is quite tasty. And the dining room is a nice place to be, if you don't mind a certain amount of intimacy with your neighbors. While it wouldn't necessarily be my first choice for a return visit in the Village, or even necessarily the first Greek restaurant to which I'd return in the city, I certainly wouldn't mind going back for some more tasty Greek bites. As such, Snack receives a respectable three Offset Spatulas.

Snack Taverna
63 Bedford Street
212-929-3499

Kashkaval still doesn't quite get there

Last week, KS and I stopped in for an early dinner at Kashkaval. I've been once before with BL, and my experience was mixed; the food was okay, but the atmosphere wasn't great. This time around, we had a pretty similar time, with slightly better service and slightly worse food.

We were some of the first customers for dinner, so we got our choice of seats. We managed to order relatively quickly, though we had to flag down our server; the food came without too long a delay. KS ordered the sampler plate of five cold Mediterranean tapas, which supposedly serves 1-2 but actually serves more like 2-3. She selected the hummus, baba ganoush, taramosalata, piyaz (white beans with scallions, parsley, and dill), and taboule. While Kashkaval gets points for value, the food wasn't compelling enough for KS to want to take the ample leftovers home.

Holy moly

I chose the Greek salad, which promises "tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, herbs, feta." I asked about the dressing, and our server dismissively said it's very light and a non-issue. Well, this salad came pretty drenched in the pungent dressing-- and not only that, it was about 50% red and green peppers, where weren't exactly listed on the menu. I'm not a huge fan of bell peppers, so I picked out the tomatoes, olives, and cucumber and left a bowl half-filled with peppers swimming in a pool of dressing.

Yup, peppers

Once we were done, we sat for a while with the discarded plates in front of us before ultimately flagging down a waiter to get us the check. Overall, it wasn't the most successful meal, but it got the job done. If you're in the market for a wine bar in Hell's Kitchen, you have much better choices merely a few blocks away (included Bocca di Bacco, Casellula, Riposo 46, Vintner Wine Market, and Ardesia, to name but a few).

Kashkaval
856 Ninth Avenue, between 55th and 56th Streets
212-581-8282

LWF&D goes back to colleeggggggeeee... back in time

The next stop on my journey was Williamsburg, PA, for William & Mary. I'd been to Williamsburg once a long, long while ago, and I was pleasantly surprised this time around to find that I still liked the area quite a bit.

The old town area has quite a few tempting restaurants, from the Fat Canary to Trellis, but I was looking for something quick and simple. Off to Aromas, a local coffee shop, I went, and soon I had a Greek salad and a seat at a nice people-watching outdoor table. The salad was typical but fresh, with a lot of extremely salty milky feta. The balsamic vinaigrette on the side was particularly tasty.

Yup

And after dinner, I headed for the final treat of the trip. You'll laugh, but I'm serious: Dairy Queen. I love DQ. This one was a drive-through, and I honestly haven't procured any food in a drive-through manner in so many years, I actually can't even remember where or when the last time was. But fortunately I remembered the technique, and soon I was digging in to a small cup of their vanilla-chocolate swirl. Milky, sweet, chocolate-vanilla heaven. Why, oh why, don't they have DQ in NYC?

Oh DQ, how you tug on my heart

And then back home the next day to enjoy the beautiful fall weather in the city. Hope you all are having a delightful early September as well!

Aromas
431 Prince George Street, Williamsburg, VA
757-221-6676

Dairy Queen
105 Bypass Road, Williamsburg, VA
757-229-0324

Get us to the Greek (food)

Last week, AS and I were on our way to the movies to see Get Him to the Greek. But we needed dinner first--something light and quick and not too fancy or expensive. Since I always, always insist on eating thematically, we HAD to have Greek food. And there just happened to be a Greek restaurant a block from the theater. To Dafni we went.

I'd been twice, one time that was only okay, one time that was great. Which way would the balance tip after visit number three? Read on, gentle reader, read on.

We walked in and were able to get a table without waiting, which was great. A few minutes of menu perusal, a brief ordering dialogue, and we were off to the races with their basket of pita, warm, as usual. Extra points to Dafni for giving an ample amount of pita to a table for two-- no fighting over the "third piece" here.

Pitahhhhh

Our selections emerged promptly. My choice, as usual, was the Islanders salad-- mixed greens, fennel, dried figs, and grilled halloumi. This wasn't quite as spectacular as the last time I dined at Dafni, but it was pretty darn good. The flavor combination is perfect, the portion is ample, and the price is right. What's not to love?

Yum salad

AS chose the pikilia, a selection of three of their appetizer spreads. When the server took our order, AS asked her to choose the three best spreads on the menu. This request was met with a mixture of confusion, horror, and skepticism. Once she was reassured that he'd eat any of the choices on the menu, she reluctantly agreed, thought for a bit, and took the order. What emerged-- we think-- was tzaziki, melitzanosalata (eggplant puree with garlic, olive oil, and lemon), and taramosalata (fish roe with lemon and olive oil), along with three dolmades and a border of grilled pita points. These selections were met with approval, and once again, it was a huge portion for $10.75.

Pretty!

AS also ordered a side of sauteed spinach, which was pretty delicious. And also- again- a hearty portion ($5).

Mountain of spinach

So does Dafni maintain its four Offset Spatula upgrade, or does it revert to its three OS original rating? I declare Dafni is still a four OS restaurant, mainly by dint of its value. You get good food-- sometimes awesome, always at least good-- and lots of it for a very reasonable price. If you can get past the horrendous location on 42nd Street, you'll agree that Dafni is a neighborhood gem that's a great addition to the neighborhood. Oh, and definitely see Get Him to the Greek-- it's hilarious. Oopa!

Dafni Greek Taverna
352 W. 42nd Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues
212-315-1010

Second time's the charm at Dafni

Last Saturday, I met JR for dinner at Dafni Greek Taverna, a restaurant I'd been to once before with mixed success. It was ah-kay, but given how glowing the reviews were, I was kind of disappointed. This time around, however, I was fully on the Dafni train.

Make no mistake-- this restaurant is still on the most miserable stretch of block in NYC, a desolate area of 42nd Street across from the Port Authority. But inside, it's warm and welcoming, if still a little loud. You know what was also warm and welcoming? The basket of warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven pita that landed on our table after we placed our orders. I only wished the accompanying olive oil had a bit more of a peppery bite, but as it was, this was some gooood pita.

Yum

Both JR and I went for salads. He had chosen the Greek Salad with Salmon, which epitomizes one of the things I like most about Dafni: the prices are right and the portions don't skimp. All the ingredients in this large salad were fresh (including the included stuffed grape leaves, which is a nice bonus!), and the salmon was well-cooked and tasty. Thumbs up.

A salad that will fill you up

My choice once again was the Nisiotiki salad, which came with mixed greens, grilled fennel, dried figs, and and the key-- grilled haloumi. This time around the haloumi was fresh off the grill, warm and pliable and savory and not rubbery at all. The fennel was tasty, if a bit oily, and the dried figs were as loveable as ever. Truly a hearty and enjoyable salad.

Excellent

We skipped out on Dafni's limited desserts for some ice cream a few blocks away. This time around, I'd say Dafni actually earns an extra spatula-- for the price, this is actually one of the better four Offset Spatula meals you'll get around town. Check it out, especially if you're looking for an off-the-beaten-path pre-theater option.

Dafni Greek Taverna
352 W. 42nd Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues
212-315-1010

Birthday bites at Kefi

Let's travel back one more time to the pre-Vegas days, if you'll come with me. As I mentioned, the Saturday before we left was AV's birthday. We had a bunch of things to do for the upcoming trip, for which we were leaving at the crack of dawn the next day, but we also had to celebrate, of course. We had been talking about Greek food recently, and so I scoured the interwebs for some good, not too formal Greek places. It dawned on me-- Kefi was perfect. There was a reservation available, which I grabbed. We were off.

You may recall an unsuccessful foray I had to Kefi with BL a while back. Usually I hold grudges, but this time I put my personal feelings aside in favor of some good food. Fortunately, this time our reservation was accepted and we were led to a small table in the back. Let me echo the other reviewers on this point: Kefi is not a romantic restaurant. It's loud. There are screaming babies and kids swarming the tables next to you. The servers rush around, and there are a few too many tables for the space. But nonetheless, the bright farmhouse decor creates an upbeat atmosphere, and the place never lacks energy. A search for the bathrooms downstairs revealed that there's another, classier and quieter-looking dining room downstairs below the main dining area upstairs. If you want a calmer experience, ask to be seated there if you can when you make a reservation.

But more importantly, how is the food? Pretty darn good, it must be said. We started with bread, which was hearty and tender but was shoved awkwardly in a metal cup. Why do restaurants do this? It seems almost deliberately to be devaluing the bread. At least give it a loving, gentle basket of some sort.

Bread: disrespect

We didn't have too much time to dwell on the bread, though, because our entrees arrived promptly. I had chosen a standard Greek salad. Note the extremely generous portion-- Greek salad is uncommonly filling due to all the cheese anyway, and this plate had me stuffed. Yes, I know that's pathetic. There was finely chopped lettuce, fennel, onions, and cucumber; some halved tomatoes, olives, and some peppers; and of course, a generous shower of salty feta. The dressing was flavorful, if a bit heavy-handed, and it brought the salad together well. A true bargain for under $7.

Copious and filling

AV went with the chicken souvlaki, another surprising bargain. A generous street-food-style pita held chunks of chicken, lettuce, and assorted other veggies, and cool tzaziki sauce. A dish on the side held a smaller portion of the same Greek salad. And a handful of housemade herbed potato chips completed the trifecta. AV loved it-- a complete, well-composed, fresh three-course meal (sort of) for around $12.

Rockin' souvlaki

We may or may not have had surprise birthday cupcakes waiting at home (ahem), so we skipped dessert and headed back to the home base. Kefi, while atmosphere and upscale service may not be your overwhelming strong suits, your food is noteworthy. Reluctantly, I'd be back-- considering the value pricing, it's a commendable three Offset Spatula place.

Kefi
505 Columbus Avenue, between 84th and 85th Streets
212-873-0200

Pre-theater ups and downs at Dafni

This past weekend was my father's 60th birthday celebration, and my mom surprised him with a weekend in NYC packed full of fun and family. On Friday evening, we were headed to an 8PM showing of God of Carnage, so we had to grab a Theater District dinner first. While sometimes that can spell disaster, there was a local restaurant I've been meaning to try for a while: Dafni.

Dafni is located on a miserable stretch of 42nd Street, facing the street serenely like an oasis of calm across from the hulking Port Authority. It's a relatively new restaurant, but I remember walking past it a few months ago and subsequently looking it up online when I got home. Surprisingly, it had nearly unanimous positive ratings on Menupages; intrigued, I put it on my list of places to go. On Friday, Mom, Dad, the bro and I headed over.

The dining room is typically Mediterranean-themed, filled with light woods and tasteful decor, and nicely bright. However, we noticed as the meal went on that there are pretty much no textiles in the room, making the noise level almost extreme. People on opposite sides of the table basically relegated themselves to not conversing during the meal.

But more importantly, how was the food? For appetizers, Mom and Dad shared the maroulosalata, a mixture of chopped romaine, dill, and scallions with lemon vinaigrette. I tried a few bites and it had a nice bright, zippy flavor.

Huge portion, too

As a table, we shared an order of tzaziki, which comes with warm, fresh pita. This was notably delicious, touched with garlic and scallions and expertly scooped with the very, very addictive pita. (N.B.: If you're on a date or hope to engage someone of the opposite sex during the night, be careful with this stuff... the garlic is subtle but increasingly powerful in the hours after the meal.)

Thick 'n' creamy with a garlic kick

Our final appetizer was spanakopita, the classic Greek pie of spinach, feta, and spices enfolded in crisp phyllo dough. Dafni's version was hearty and well-seasoned-- well done.

Crisp and creamy

On to the entrees. My selection was the Nisiotiki salad, which consisted of mixed greens, grilled fennel, dried figs, and haloumi cheese. Oooooh, do I love haloumi. I asked for the dressing on the side, and it turned out to be an interesting vinagrette of indeterminate ingredients-- tasty, but the salad didn't need it. The fennel provided a soft contrast to the thick and chewy figs; the haloumi had been pre-grilled, which meant it was tasty but a little bit cool and rubbery. Overall, a good salad, but I was a bit too full from the appetizers to enjoy it fully.

Beautiful, beautiful haloumi

Dad and the bro shared the souvlaki and the tigania, both pork dishes. The souvlaki, offering skewers of meat and vegetables, was a hit, but the tigania was a pan. Even the tigania's "Greek fries" (covered with Oregano and thereby, evidently, Greek) weren't that great. Oh well.

Souvlaki-- yea

Tigania- nay

Dad also inadvertently ordered a side of greens, which were truly gross. What is it with Greek greens?

Eew

Mom chose the solomos, a grilled salmon steak presented alongside bland rice. She gobbled the fish up and voiced her approval.

Down the hatch

We were all too full for dessert, so we paid the bill and headed out towards the theater. I must say, I'm a bit puzzled by Dafni-- our experience wasn't entirely consistent with the overwhelming raves populating their Menupages site. The food was somewhat uneven-- some was superlative while some was subpar. And the insane noise level definitely diminished our enjoyment of the dinner. However, since my own dishes were tasty and the restaurant is quite reasonably priced overall, I'll give Dafni three Offset Spatulas and recommend it as a good alternative to the typical pre-theater options.

Dafni Green Taverna
352 W. 42nd Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues
212-315-1010

The Rereview: A birthday revisit at Pera

It was the bro's birthday this past Wednesday (April FOOLS!!! Hahahahaha. No wait, it really was), and for an extra special treat, the Mom came in from Massachusetts to take JT, the bro, and me out to a celebratory dinner. Per my suggestion, we made our way to Pera Mediterranean Brasserie, a place I'd been to with my mom and thought the bro would like.

We were seated at a large table with a great view of the open kitchen (score!). We took our time placing our order, but shortly after we had completed the transaction, Pera's interesting bread basket arrived. I say interesting because the bread is tasty-- almost completely hollow and studded with sesame seeds. But, being hollow, it's almost entirely unsatistfying. The best part of the basket is the tangy, pungent feta cheese that's really delicious ladled into the empty interior of each small pocket.

Bread. It will fool you with its emptiness.

Our appetizers emerged quite promptly. The bro had selected the crispy phyllo rolls, which our waiter described as "Turkish mozzarella sticks." Once the rolls had arrived and the bro had taken a bite, he described the order as "a mild tweak." According to their consumers (JT had one as well), the rolls were okay but not great. Not worth ordering again.

Tweak!!

Mom and I split the Maroul salad, which she had gotten last time. It was a delectable mixture of shredded romaine, dill, scallions, and feta cheese. Light, salty, and tasty, it's a salad worth traveling to.

Crunchy, light, green, and white

After we finished our apps, we sat and waited. And waited. The wait for our entrees stretched on and on, long enough for me to begin picking the sesame seeds off my half-eaten roll. Finally, after our waiter assured us our dishes were coming right out, the entree course did arrive. First up: my mom's fish, the catch of the day. I believe it was dourade, prepared the same way as it was last time, with a green foamy sauce and a fried pepper on top. She enjoyed it, as she does all sea creatures.

Like froth from the sea.

For my entree, I got the grilled vegetable and haloumi salad, which I had so enjoyed last time. This time, I requested the chef go easy on the oil, because it was a wee bit oily last time. I'm not sure if that request was what did me in, but this version of the salad was not nearly as yummy as last time. The cheese, in particular, felt as though it had been grilled many moons ago and sat there for a while-- the edges were incredibly tough and oil-saturated, so much so that I wished I had had a steak knife to cut it properly. Taste-wise, it was still on point, but I was disappointed by the texture.

The cheese looks like chicken

Finally, JT and the bro had both gotten the lamb steak special, a fajita-esque sizzling skillet of lamb with a little arugula salad on top. Both consumers absolutely RAVED about the lamb. JT deemed it the best lamb he's ever had. Let's say that this dish produced two very contented customers, including one contented birthday boy, which did my heart good.

Best. Lamb. Ever.

So there we go. Needless to say, we had a Billy's Bakery birthday cake waiting at home, so we passed on dessert and headed home. While the pacing was a bit of a lapse in the otherwise up-to-par service, I will add one thing worth noting: About halfway through the meal, one of the drunk, loud idiots sitting at the table next to us spilled a glass of red wine, which splashed all over my umbrella and my purse. While the drunkard made no effort to apologize, at the end of the meal the manager of Pera came over, gave me his card, and told me if I had any dry cleaning bills as a result to send them his way. Not that I'm going to dry clean my purse (if I knew what other ridiculous crap was all over that purse, I probably would have dry cleaned it long ago, but as it stands... well, meh). But it was a very classy gesture. So while my food was a bit less stellar than last time, the raves from JT and the bro and the extra-mile effort from the manager mean that Pera keeps its four Offset Spatula designation. It's a truly great place for upscale, tasty, generally well-excuted Mediterranean food in a beautiful and buzzing dining room.

Pera Mediterranean Brasserie

303 Madison Avenue, between 41st and 42nd Streets

212-878-6301