Oh the days that I dream of jumping on a plane and exploring the world. However since I don’t really have the funds or roadmap to do so, I’ll stick to the exotic flavors found here in New York City. Last week just so happened to be my college friend Michelle’s birthday and her restaurant of choice was Taverna Kyclades in the East Village. Taverna Kyclades is a little Greek haven right off the L train (14th street and 1st avenue) with an original location out in Astoria.
The name Kyclades stems from the group of islands in Greece, islands known for its beautiful beaches, gorgeous sunrises, and apparently delectable food and since Astoria is known for its Greek population, it would be an obvious choice for the first location. But back to the location in the East Village. I must have walked past that bright blue awning more than 50 times, each time reminding myself to check out the menu. Well, finally Friday was my chance!
Taverna Kyclades
228 1st Avenue, New York, NY 10009
~ History ~ Menu ~
Here we are with the birthday girl getting the rundown of menu specials and making the tough decisions of what to order. The way to go is by ordering a few large dishes for the table and eat family style rather than individual platters. After all, you can sample so much more this way 🙂
^^ Traditional Greek Salad with one big HUNK of feta. There was another gooey cheesy dish >> saganaki << dough filled with graviera cheese, but it was inhaled before I could obnoxiously take a picture.
Side note – I decided Friday would be the last night of whole30 so that I could enjoy the family style festivities. I’ll draft up some of my thoughts on the experiment but do have to say, going out and being social was quite tough with all the food “rules” and I didn’t want to miss out. Friday meant wine and cheese to the face and eating at such a lovely restaurant was well worth the splurge.
^^ Greek style shrimp covered in some sort of tomato sauce. I’m not much of a shrimp person but soaking up the remaining pieces of sourdough bread with this sauce was an excellent life choice.
^^ Our main event – baby shark. Yes folks, we made that happen. But I swear, it tasted like a mix between white fish and tender chicken. Michelle had actually been wavering between the baby shark and one of the market specials, but when our waiter dropped the $75 a serving price tag, we made the decision to stick with mr. shark.
^^ We had asked to have a candle in the shark but when that wasn’t possible, we settled for candles in the custard. 😉 Happiest of birthdays Michelle! So glad we could help you celebrate and explore a little more of the city.
California Endless Summer 