Thursday, March 29, 2012

Celebrate Greek Easter at Zaytinya!

By Amaia Kirtland
Capital Cooking Contributor

Prepare yourselves for a culinary celebration of Greek Easter at Zaytinya April 8th through April 22ndThe Chef’s Experience menu will not disappoint.   Featuring lamb, the ten dishes highlight the Mediterranean flavors the restaurant is well known for and offer a complete experience with complementing cocktails and desserts.


 Created by Head Chef Michael Costa, the Chef’s Experience menu allows guests to enjoy a variety of dishes honoring Greek Easter like the Glossa, thinly sliced lamb tongue with potato skordalia, green olives, pickled red chilis, celery and candied pistachios.  Also on the menu, and not to be missed, are the Spanakorizo, a rice pilaf dish with wilted spinach and tomato, spinach puree, feta and preserved cherry tomatoes, as well as the lamb sausage dish called Loukaniko me Patates, a house made lamb sausage with potato and garlic.



The staff will guide you through the menu with perfect descriptions of the other dishes like the Asparagus Salata, the Mayiritsa, a lamb broth with short-grained rice, caramelized onions and lamb liver and the Greek Easter Maroulosalata a salad with green and red tango lettuce, caramelized myzithra cheese, ladolemono and flowers.  The menu offers something for all preferences.



Both cocktails feature bright spring flavors.  Created by ThinkFoodGroup Lead Bartender Owen Thomson, the Attica and Anastasis are refreshing and crisp.  The rose colored Attica combines Plymouth gin, rose buds, lemon juice and house made grenadine and is garnished with Retsina air, named after the Retsina wine producing island. 

The Anastasis, with its molecular cherry is made with Beefeater gin, Cocchi Americano, kumquat liqueur and lemon juice.



Dessert of Easter cookies, an assortment of Greek biscotti called Paximadakia, Pastoules Amygthalotes, the traditional almond cookies, Melamokarina a honey soaked spiced walnut cookie and the crescent shaped Kourabiedes, made with pine nuts and Metaxa are perfect with coffee.   Or choose the Tsoureki Bread Pudding, the crunch of the candied almonds completes this dish, to wrap up the meal with refreshing tastes of orange flower ice cream.


Additionally, Zaytinya will offer its lamb sandwiches on the patio to go.  Well worth the lunch hour run, these sandwiches will be offered starting at 12 noon until they are sold out.  Get there early as these sandwiches will go fast.  The sandwiches are spit-roasted lamb on a fresh pita with tzatziki and pickled onions.

This menu definitely gives a reason to celebrate!



Top photo by Greg Powers


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