Kalí óreksi!

About 2 years ago, I was supposed to take a trip to Greece. Unfortunately because of personal reasons and the economic situation there, the trip had to be canceled, but there's something about Greek culture, especially food, that continues to call to me. So when Faros, a Greek restaurant in Park Slope, invited me for a tasting, I obviously said yes.

As a blogger, I go to a lot of tastings and they are usually all pretty good. The waiters are polite, the wine is delicious and the food never seems to stop coming. But at Faros, the ante was upped. We were greeted by one of the most friendly waitresses I've ever encountered (and not in a creepy way but in a "welcome to my grandma's house, make yourself comfortable" kind of way).

We were seated right in the front of the rather large restaurant (it has 2 stories!), which was nice because we could people watch out the window. The host/manager brought us a nice bottle of 2006 Greek wine from the Moraitis Winery in Paros, and it perfectly complemented just about everything we ordered. Also, to whet our appetite, they brought us delicious fresh bread with olives and a fava bean puree.

Then it was on to the real appetizers. Let me just say that Faros will not short you on food. We ordered two appetizers to get a feel for the menu, but I would definitely not recommend ordering more than one for your party of two. The cold appetizer we ordered was Taramosalata ($5), fish roe mousse with lemon and onions. It reminded me a lot of lox spread but it was served with delicious pita. The hot appetizer we got was Saganaki ($8), which they claim is classic baked Kefalograriera cheese, but who are they kidding? It's pan fried and comes to the table with flames as high as the waiter. A pretty amazing sight to see, but to be honest, I only could eat a few bites of this. It's a giant platter of fried cheese, and while it was delicious and gluttonous, more than a few bites would have done me in.

Taramosalata 

Saganaki 

Next it was time for the mains. Because I can't resist a good branzino, we ordered the fish special for the night ($20-$25) served whole with garlic, lemon, and capers. There's something about good olive oil that makes all the difference. We also went with a classic Greek comfort food, Spitikos Mousakas ($15), layered with potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, ground sirloin and luscious béchamel sauce. If you want to go for a traditional, amazing, yet very filling dish, this is it my friend.

Branzino

Spitikos Mousakas

At this point, we were stuffed to the brink. However, in the way that only your Greek family would, our waitress insisted that we at least try dessert. And you can't get more Greek than baklava. Sticky and sweet like it should be, this was the perfect way to cap of a perfect meal.

Baklava

So though I'm still longing to hop on a plane and visit the whitewashed, sea cliff villages where this cuisine originated myself, I'm content hopping on the 2/3 to Grand Army Plaza and getting my fix at Faros.

Faros is offering a special menu just in time for Father's Day! Come in Saturday June 16, 2012 - Sunday June 17, 2012 and celebrate dad with their $50 per person, three-course, prix fixe menu which includes a bottle of wine per 2 adults. Kids are only $10 each! I promise he'll love it!