Greek Pizza - Dan's Newest Pizza Innovation

It's no secret that Dan has seriously amped up his homemade pizza making skills lately, and today's creation just topped it off.  In addition to making traditional red sauce pizzas, Dan recently had a the great idea of making his own rendition of a Greek pizza - incorporating quintessentially Greek ingredients such as olives, halloumi cheese and octopus.  Although it may sound odd to a pizza purist, I was sold immediately and had a good hunch that it'd be delicious.

We stopped in at Mediterranean Foods II to get most of the ingredients including a variety of black olives, halloumi cheese (Chorio brand) and marinated octopus.  All ingredients were fresh and delicious and essential to the success of this pizza.  Here's how Dan constructed it:

Dan's Greek Pizza (serves 2-3)
1 lb of store bought dough (or you can do homemade)
1/2 lb of halloumi cheese cut into 1/4" squares
1/2 cup of freshly made olive tapenade (see method below)
1/4 small red onion, sliced thin
1/4 cup of marinated octopus, sliced into small pieces
Olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 525 F.  Place pizza stone into the oven.

Make the olive tapenade by chopping 1 cup of mixed black olives and 2 cloves of garlic.  Mix with a glug of olive oil (about 2 tbsp), pepper and coriander to taste.

Roll and stretch out the pizza dough until you get an 12 inch pie and top with tapenade, halloumi cheese, octopus and red onion.  Set the oven to broil and put in your pizza.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is fluffy and golden brown.

Make sure you keep a good eye on the pizza because it cooks faster than you may think.

Friday is National Eat Outside Day - For Real!

Recently learning about this random yet fun little food holiday through Mojave's newsletter, I was only too happy to start thinking about some of my favorite places in Astoria with the best outdoor spots.  Mojave of course tops the list, but here are a few others.  For the record, National Eat Outside Day is this Friday, August 31st.  Happy dining!

Mojave - My We Heart Astoria colleague, Meg recently shouted them out as having a beautiful outdoor space, and she has some pretty neat pictures up on the site.  I couldn't agree more and think Mojave is a great respite after a long grueling day in the city.  My favorites to get are their frozen margaritas (especially the mango), the plantain empanadas appetizer, Motherroad Roadhouse Chili (yes...even during the summer!) and any of their fajitas.  22-36 31st Street, Astoria.  718.545.4100

Ovelia - Being around for a few years now, Ovelia has always had fabulous sidewalk seating that snakes around the side of the restaurant.  It's also great when they open up their "garage door" window, which makes you feel like you're sitting outside even if you're technically inside.  There's so many awesome yummies you can grab here including their fried feta cubes, coated in black sesame seeds; fried-to-perfection zucchini croquettes; the spicy kafteri feta dip and more!  34-01 30th Avenue, Astoria.  718.721.7217

5 Napkin Burger - Even though you normally may not think of this place as a choice for outdoor dining, their sidewalk seating is enormous, and it's right in the middle of the 35th Avenue action.  I love this place a lot because their food really accommodates any kind of diet restrictions, as both carnivores and vegetarians can chow down without compromise.  Although I'm far from a vegetarian, I often get their veggie burger, since it's so darn exceptional and filling.  Don't forget to get a side of sweet potato fries along with it.  35-01 36th Street, Astoria.  718.433.2727

Winegasm - Recently coming here with Mackenzi, we sat outside and enjoyed a really pleasant evening.  While the outdoor seating isn't as extensive as some of the other places I mention here, it's really nice and generally provides a private atmosphere.  If you're just stopping in for a quick snack, I urge you to try the mushroom crostini, which contains generous amounts of truffle oil and gooey fontina cheese.  31-86 37th Street, Astoria.  718.932.3331

At Home! - While we enjoy eating out as a special treat, there's nothing like cooking your own homemade meal and eating it on the porch, in the backyard, on the front stoop, front yard or what have you.  Some delicious resources that will surely keep you stocked with interesting foods include: Mediterranean Foods, Artopolis Bakery (just next door to Med Foods), Titan Foods, Parrot Coffee Market, Rosario's and more.  

Happy Eat Outside Day!

A Little Taste of the Mediterranean in Astoria

After a week of indulging, I was ready to lighten things up this weekend.  Taking a trip over to Artopolis Bakery for some peasant bread, I was inspired to hit up Mediterranean Foods, just two doors down for some delicious provisions.  

Known for their authentic Greek groceries, including, pita, cheeses, prepared foods, olive oil and various sweets, I enjoy visiting this specialty foods store when I'm in the mood for a treat.  This time once again did the trick, as I picked up a few staple goods to create a really light vegetarian dinner, including:

Homemade Tzatziki - Even though I've tried to make tzatziki at home, it never comes out as good as in restaurants because the texture is always too runny.  Med Foods has their own version, which is really delicious and tastes like the tzatziki you get in any top Greek restaurant in Astoria.  It's tangy, refreshing and perfectly spreadable.

Mixed Olives and Stuffed Grape Leaves - I was immediately drawn to the olive bar, which boasted many (up to 10!) varieties of olives, including giant stuffed olives with garlic or peppers, tiny Koroneiki black olives, bright purple Amfissa olives and more.  Loading up my container with all of these varieties, as well as their stuffed grape leaves, I really enjoyed them on their own, but also dipped in the tzatziki - especially the grape leaves.

Thick Greek-Style Pita - To keep all these goodies in one place, I needed a good sturdy pita bread to hold everything.  I went with the Kontos brand, hand stretched, pre-oiled pita, which tasted lovely when grilled and was definitely robust enough to hold a generous helping of tzatziki, tomatoes and olives.

Cost:
Another thing that I love about Mediterranean Foods are their prices.  The above mentioned shopping cost me just a little over $6, which will last me for almost the whole week (at least the pita and the tzatziki will).

Mediterranean Foods II - 23-18 31st Street, Astoria NY 11105
718.721.0221
N/Q Train to Ditmars Blvd

Porchetta's Chef Gives Astoria Restaurant Recos

New York’s annual cheap eats list made its way on to newsstands this week, much to the delight of budget-conscious foodies citywide. This year’s trends include fried chicken, meatballs, dan dan noodles, and tortillas.

Astor Bake Shop was the only Astoria spot to made the list for its combo burger shop and bakery set up. Luckily, Sara Jenkins (the chef-owner of Porchetta and consulting chef at Veloce Pizzeria) gave the magazine her money-saving food picks in the neighborhood.

1. Agnanti
19-06 Ditmars Blvd., nr. 19th St. 718.545.4554
My favorite Greek restaurant. The little zucchini fritters ($7) and tomato fritters ($7.50) are amazing.

2. Rosario’s Deli
22-55 31st St., nr. Ditmars Blvd. 718.728.2920
Amazing cheese, sandwiches, pizza, and bread. He has only one kind of slice (Neapolitan), and it’s really good ($2).

3. Mediterranean Foods
23-18 31st St., nr. 23rd Ave. 718.721.0221
This shop has all the great prepared foods like taramosalata, a classic Greek dip with salted cod roe ($3.85/lb).

4. Naseem Meat Market & Grocery
25-65 Steinway St., nr. 28th Ave. 718.777.7032
They make the best merguez ($3.99/lb). Also: really good Moroccan preserved lemons ($3.99/lb).

5. Seva
30-07 34th St., nr. 30th Ave. 718.626.4440
I particularly like the fried-bok-choy appetizer ($3) at this Indian restaurant. Also, the apricot-lamb curry ($12).

6. Petey’s Burger
30-17 30th Ave., nr. 31st St. 718.267.6300
It’s kind of In-N-Out inspired. I do delivery and get the double cheese with sauce and extra-crispy fries ($9.01).

7. Cedars Meat House
41-08 30th Ave., nr. 41st St. 718.606.1244
Their shish tawook sandwich ($3.50) is the closest thing to the grilled-chicken sandwich in Beirut.

8. Laziza
25-78 Steinway St., nr. 28th Ave. 718.777.7676
A pastry shop that makes classic Middle Eastern sweets: phyllo-and-nut pastries, baklava ($1.50, or $12/lb).

So Foodista fans, what do you think of Chef Jenkins’ list? What are your favorite Astoria cheap eats?

Excerpted from New York Magazine.

By Nicole K.

Greek Appie That Makes You Happy - Grilled Halloumi

It's no secret that I love Greek food, and living in Astoria has certainly intensified my affinity for it.  Since moving here over six years ago, I've grown accustomed to Greek foods that were downright foreign to me in the past - dishes such as spanakopita, gyros, tzatziki and also halloumi cheese.  Mmmm...just thinking about the latter makes me hungry for a bite. 

For those of you who aren't that familiar with it, halloumi is a traditional Cypriot cheese that comes from a mixture of goat's milk and sheep's milk.  It's deliciously salty and tastes wonderful when grilled or even on its own, without fancy preparation.

The only other time that I've worked with halloumi was when I made pastichio.  Dan and I loved the cheese sprinkled on top of this hearty Greek pasta dish and we were eager to try it again, but this time prepared in a different style.  So I decided to grill it and serve it simply with grilled pita, fresh tomatoes, lemon and parsley.  Yum! The freshness of the dish spoke volumes, and the salty bite from the halloumi made it a treat.  I love all the gorgeous grill marks that the cheese acquired, but just to give you a hint, make sure to leave it on the grill for a few minutes before you turn it.  If you do it too fast, the cheese can fall apart, as it needs a few minutes to firm up.

Here's how to make this at home:

Grilled Halloumi on Pita (serves 2)

Ingredients:
1/2 lb of halloumi cheese, sliced into 1/2 inch slices (you can buy it at a specialty foods store - I got it from Mediterranean Foods on 34th Street near 30th Avenue)
2 small tomatoes, sliced across into 1/2 inch slices
2 pita breads, grilled and cut into fourths
1 whole lemon, quartered
Fresh parsley, chopped or ripped
Olive oil

Directions:
Heat a grill pan or a grill on medium - high heat.  Lightly brush slices of halloumi with olive oil and place on hot grill.  You can lightly brush the grill with some oil to prevent sticking.  Turn after about five minutes or until the cheese has settled a bit.  Turn over and check if the cheese has acquired nice char marks.  Grill the other side for another 5 minutes.

In the meantime, assemble your grilled pita slices.  Place a tomato on top of the pita and then top with the halloumi and then the parsley for garnish.  Arrange on platter and place slices of lemon between the halloumi pita.  Squeeze lemon juice over pita before taking a bite.