Food

If you are craving Greek cuisine, Loukoumi Taverna is one of the top Greek restaurants located in New York City. Loukoumi is a Greek term for something with exceptional taste and flavor. As Chef/Owner Kostas Avlonitis puts it, loukoumi is “something that you still feel it in your mouth long time after you eat it.”

Kostas Avlonitis, a Greek immigrant himself, is credited with opening one of the first Greek restaurants in New York City. As a group we set out to learn more about his history and purpose in coming to America, as well as to enjoy a mouth-watering Greek lunch.

We interviewed Kostas’ son, a first generation Greek-American, Spirrow Avlonitis, who told us of his father’s journey to America. After jumping off a boat when he was only 17-18 years of age, Kostas initially opened a chicken coop which soon transformed into the current Loukoumi Taverna.

Adamant about maintaining the Greek culture, Spirrow tells us of some essential Greek values his father retains such as, ‘keeping it simple’ and ‘doing it his way’.

Below is a video of our interview with Spirrow along with some pictures from our expedition around Astoria:

Craving a good Greek meal, we had the following for lunch:

Pikilia
Pikilia is one of the most popular taverna dishes all over Greece. It is a selection of appetizers. At Loukoumi Taverna, Kostas offers four well-known Greek piquant dips: melitzanosalata, tzatziki, taramosalata, and skordalia.

Melitzanosalata is a traditional Greek eggplant dip that is best served with crusty bread or home-made pitas.

Tzatziki is a dip made of yogurt mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, lemon juice, and dill, mint, or parsley and is always served cold. It is usually served with a meat dish.

Taramosalata is traditionally another dip made from the salted and cured roe of the cod or the carp. In Greece, taramasalata is usually eaten on Clean Monday, which is the first day of Great Lent when Greek Orthodox believers leave behind sinful attitudes and non-fasting foods.

Skordalia is a thick spread made by combining garlic with pureed potatoes and then mixed with olive oil and vinegar to make it smoother.

Keftedakia
Similar to Middle Eastern koftas, Keftedakia is a smaller version of a meat balls (-akia at the end of a word in Greek means “small”) consisting of beef, veal, or pork. They are traditionally eaten as a snack, mezze (selection of appetizers to accompany an alcoholic beverage) with ouzo (anise-flavored alcoholic drink) and/or beer, or just as part of a buffet meal.

Loukaniko Skaras
Lukániko is a Greek word for pork sausage flavored with a variety of dried herbs and seeds and smoked or grilled over aromatic woods. Traditionally in Greece, pigs were mainly used for food since they anything almost anything (scraps and leftovers) and sausage was a prominent Greek way of preserving their meat. Kostas’ Loukaniko Skaras are home-made charcoal grilled Greek sausage with fresh herbs.

Ta Keraa Tou Via hou
This entree is a mixed grilled combination of chicken breast, lamb chops, sausage, bifteki & quail.

Loukoumi Taverna
45-07 Ditmars Blvd (Btwn 45th & 46th St) (718) 626-3200
http://www.toloukoumi.com/