grilled octopus – Harmonious Belly

This year I ate at a lot of restaurants, but didn’t write about them here—sometimes I didn’t blog about them at all. I’ve been meaning to do a roundup of some of these places and the dishes that thrilled me the most this year, so I figure an end-of-year summary seems appropriate. So, here are thirteen of the tastiest things I ate in 2013.

Achat at Savory Cafe

achat-savory-cafe-astoria-queens

This past Fall the first restaurant serving Malaysian food opened in Astoria, Savory Café. They also serve American food, but for me their Malaysian dishes really stand out. In particular, I loved this achat—crunchy pickled vegetables like cabbage, carrots, and cucumbers, marinated in a vinegary homemade dressing that was nice and tangy, with a little bit of heat and sweetness. It’s quite a large portion, served in a bowl, and topped with toasted crushed powdery peanuts and lightly toasted sesame seeds. I loved how refreshing this was and found that it was a great way to start the meal. 47-12 30th Avenue, Astoria Continue reading “13 in 2013 – Good Eats in Queens (and Brooklyn)”

I’m currently in the middle of a giant project – happily, it’s food-related – so I’ve taken an unexpected baby break from the blog. Once the project is done, I’ll talk a little more about it. Right now, though, I want to tell you about a recent meal I had here in Astoria, at Taverna Kyclades.

Taverna Kyclades is a staple Greek restaurant here in the neighborhood that is extremely popular with locals and tourists alike – in the evenings, you’ll see lines to get in, snaking down the block; we ate there at 1pm and were seated right away. It’s very close to my apartment, and after this meal I just had I’m kicking myself for not eating there sooner. The food was fantastic – so fresh and clean tasting. I had heard rumors that the use of olive oil was excessive, but I thought they used the perfect touch for everything.

The meal was shared among three of us, which means we got to taste a variety of dishes. We ordered two appetizers and two main dishes. The appetizers were a platter of dips – taramasalata, tzatziki, and skordalia – and grilled octopus. We chose grilled calamari and fried sardines for our main dishes, and they came with a side of horta and a side of lemon potatoes. Everything was excellent. My favorite dish of the whole meal, though, was the octopus. I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did.

The octopus was tender yet meaty, a texture I did not expect. Wonderful! There was a little olive oil, which added nice flavor. The meat itself was very mild but not devoid of flavor. I would eat this again in a heartbeat.

The spreads were also lovely. We all remarked that the taramasalata was light, not heavy and gloppy like it can be. I loved the salty little roe present in the spread. The tzatziki was more cucumber than yogurt, and the skordalia, a garlicky potato spread, was smooth and perfectly garlicky.

We ate it with some semolina bread, which was no doubt baked nearby.

Continue reading “Lunch Yums at Taverna Kyclades”