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Dining Out: Whether mezedakia is Greek to you or not, pay a visit to Aristo's | |
| By Nancy Hobbs Special to The Tribune |
08/15/2003 | |
Finding a good gyro in Salt Lake is fairly easy, but finding one complemented on the front end by traditional Greek "mezedakia," or appetizers, and at the finale with terrific baklava or galaktoboureko isn't as commonplace. Even less common at local fast-food Greek diners: linen-covered tables and full service, wine from the mother country or closer, and patio dining bordered by bona-fide foot traffic. Those are elements found in a true urban Greek café, says Aristides Boutsikakis, who is attempting to replicate that atmosphere with his new venture, Aristo's, near the University of Utah campus. It's still early to speculate on success (Aristo's has been open only six weeks), but the proprietor has discovered the neighborhood's diversity is a boon for business. For the most part, lunch attracts a university crowd, Boutsikakis said, while dinner brings clients from nearby Federal Heights and the Avenues. His toughest critics -- fellow Greeks -- also have been checking out the new place in town. They are dining on dolmathes and souvlaki, made using recipes passed down for generations, with Boutsikakis taking charge in the main kitchen and his mother overseeing the backroom bakery. One of the most popular entrées on the menu is mousaka, a Greek classic that is done especially well at Aristo's, with a layer of eggplant and potatoes on the bottom, followed by exotically spiced ground beef and a creamy, but not too thick, béchamel topping. It is served a la carte for $7.95, or with your choice of salad or soup for $2 more. Either one is a good choice, as the salads are crisp, with slices of cucumber, red onion and tomato and an olive oil vinaigrette, and the soup is another Greek favorite: avgolemono, lemony tart with chicken and rice. Similar to the mousaka, but likened also to lasagna, is pastitsio, a layered dish of macaroni, the same spiced ground beef and béchamel. I preferred the mousaka, with its flavorful and moist vegetables, but my dining companion -- a pasta lover -- would pick the pastitsio ($8.95 with soup or salad). The souvlaki, with chicken, pork or seafood skewers, was also delicious, with generous bites of meat (we tried chicken and pork) marinated and spiced with the classic Mediterranean oregano, rosemary and thyme. It comes with one or two skewers ($9.95 or $13.95, respectively) over moist lemon rice, oven-roasted potatoes or fries. And, of course, there are gyros, which come three ways: chicken, pork or the more traditional beef and lamb. Our server reported that four customers in one day told him the gyros were the best they have eaten in town. Of the three varieties, our favorite was the traditional beef and lamb, which was indeed a treat, with lots of red onion, fresh tomato, generous amounts of meat and the house's tzatziki sauce, a luscious blend of yogurt, cucumbers and who knows what? Boutsikakis is liberal with information, but unwilling to give up all the family secrets. One of the most impressive elements of Aristo's menu is the appetizer selection, with more than a dozen choices. Of course, there are traditional favorites, including spanakopita, which are little triangles of phyllo dough filled with spinach and feta cheese, and dolmathes, grape leaves rolled around a savory filling of meat, rice and, in Aristo's version, lots of tasty mint. But some are less familiar, such as taramasalata -- a Greek caviar made of carp roe -- and marides, smelts from the Mediterranean Sea, battered and deep-fried. If you are plagued by vampires or arthritis, scordalia may be the ticket. This dip, as the menu describes, is made of "garlic, garlic, more garlic and potatoes." It is pungent, but definitely delicious spread on toasted pita wedges. With each "meze" order priced from $3.95 to $7.25 (more for assortment plates of dips or meats), you could simply order several for your table and enjoy a Spanish tapas-type dinner. Many Greeks would wash down their mezedakia with retsina, wine with a strong flavor of pine. Aristo's offers that and other wine varieties by the glass or bottle. Boutsikakis explained the history of retsina, which originated thousands of years ago when Greeks added pine resin to their wine so that invading armies would be repulsed by its flavor and not steal it. "It's part of our culture now," he said. "We've been drinking it ever since." The young cadre of servers at Aristo's, many of whom appear to be fairly new to the job, are working hard to learn those nuances of Greek food and culture, some of which is imparted by the clientele. In the meantime, service is friendly and capable. Ekaterina Boutsikakis, Aristide's mother, gets all the credit for Aristo's desserts, which are among the first things diners see in the display case as they enter the restaurant. All of the confections, from flaky almond cookies to beautiful, chocolate-glazed individual tortes and the house specialty -- galaktoboureko, a custard pastry -- are picture-perfect and hard to pass up. Don't. Speaking from experience, everything tastes as good as it looks. -----
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