|
FOODIE
A Feast For The
Gods At Greek Village
By Luann & Richard / foodie@longislandernews.com
In 1956, Milton Steliaros,
a young immigrant from the Greek Island of Chios made his
way to America and began his career in the restaurant business.
He opened Greek Village restaurant less than 30 years later,
and has been bringing authentic Greek cuisine to Commack ever
since.
In a business where new players pop up daily and old veterans
unexpectedly fizzle out, Greek Village is celebrating its
28th year on Veteran’s Highway, just east of the road’s
split with Jericho Turnpike. Now a partnership between Milton
and his son Aristides, Greek Village is where a comfortable
atmosphere meets classic Greek cuisine and consistency is
the name of the game.
Aristides said the restaurant’s secret is simple: “Just
using good ingredients.” At Greek Village, all herbs
used are grown in-house, and all dishes are made on premises.
That fresh fact is evident in no better place than Milton’s
salad dressing – a delightful take on a traditional oil-based
dressing that Milton created shortly after opening the restaurant.
We don’t know what was in it, but we know we liked it,
and at $3.50 a bottle available for purchase, we thought about
getting some to take home and enjoy.
A counter displaying dozens of homemade desserts meets the
eye when you walk in. A little seating area to the right with
vines hanging overhead and a fountain spouting water on the
wall almost transports one overseas as melodies of soft, but
lively, Greek music plays in the background.
We started with a round of appetizers to whet our palates,
beginning with pita bread and caviar dip, a welcome change
from the more traditional butter spread. We also opted for
the humos ($7.50), simple, fresh and perfect on a pita or
with vegetables. A cold salad of kidney beans, chicpeas and
onions is a pleasant, refreshing surprise for something so
straightforward, and of course, a Greek salad with Milton’s
dressing is a must; but it was the Boureki ($5.25) that stole
the show. More than enough for a meal for two, the Boureki’s
flakey phyllo dough comes stuffed with warm, spicy ground
lamb mixed with feta and herbs.
Delighted by the Boureki, we moved on to our dinners. The
chicken gyro ($8.25 for a sandwich, $14.25 for the platter)
comes well seasoned and flavorful with each flat strip folded
over in perfect presentation.
Choosing a broiled tilapia filet for our second entrée
was easy – we heard Greek Village has good fish dishes
– but picking a sauté proved harder than we thought.
Upon the advice of our server, we went “Mykonos Style,”
($17.95) with tender sautéed artichokes, capers, garlic,
lemon and white wine. The capers provide a burst of flavor
with every bite and the fish comes plentiful and moist, but
is still cooked thoroughly. Long, seasoned potato wedges come
as a tasty and crisp side.
Dessert can only be described as sweet, heavenly bliss. Homemade
baklava, phyllo dough layered with almonds and walnuts, comes
cooked to a golden brown, then soaked in honey syrup and dusted
with powdered sugar ($3.95). The crisp top layers play well
against the sweet syrup-soaked bottom layers. And Milton’s
homemade cheesecake ($3.50) was so rich, so creamy, so delicious,
that we literally forgot our topic of conversation after taking
a bite.
With a friendly wait staff, wide array of dinner specials
(that included a tempting coconut crusted catfish) and affordable
lunch specials Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
it’s no secret to us why Greek Village has been around
for so long. We’ll be sure to stop by again; a few more
dishes are calling our name.
Greek
Village
44 Veterans Highway
Commack
631-499-6590
www.greekvillagecommack.com
Cuisine:
Greek
Atmosphere: Comfortable, casual dining
Hours: Mon-Thu 11am-9pm,
Fri-Sat 11am-11pm,
Sun 11am-9pm
Main
Menu
|
