Back to NYC. Back for More Greek food at Kefi

Another excellent meal at Kefi. I went for an early dinner on Sunday, and it was exactly what I needed. The first time I went, I wanted to try the sweetbreads, but I was sharing with a friend who wasn’t so sure about it. This time, they were all out. I was disappointed, but the feeling vanished completely once I started eating the octopus with bean salad. The octopus  had an excellent sauce, and was extremely tender. I had an octopus appetizer at another Greek place the last time I was in New York, and this was leagues above it. It was as tender as any piece of fish you might eat. I am no longer disappointed that they did not have the sweetbreads… although I will try again with it. For the main course, I had the pulled rabbit pasta. The pasta was cooked well, although some of the noodles were a little stuck together. The tomato-based sauce was extremely flavorful and enjoyable, even if a touch salty, with crispy shallots and some very small, tender onions. The rabbit was extraordinarily tender, it was pulled apart and could not have been better. Overall, a very successful dish that I would love to have again, and I probably will (although have also been craving the pork souvlaki I had here the last time I went).

10/24/2009

Kefi in New York City, NY

I read about this place, looked at the menu, and was staying on the upper west side, so this was an obvious choice for dinner one night. I was about twenty minutes from going to eat when I saw the chef’s name. I recognized the name, and I thought it was funny when I realized that he had been on Iron Chef. But the food?

The food was great. I got a relatively light meal with a friend. We got the meatballs for an appetizer, then I ate the pork souvlaki sandwich. The meatballs were excellent, an extremely moist mixture of beef and pork. The tomato sauce it came in was very flavorful and the tomato flavor was great. The one thing that I thought when eating that I wasn’t the biggest fan of was the number of olives. I think that with all of the olives, the dish was a little bit salty if you had too much sauce with a bite of meatball. If the meatballs are eaten with just a touch of the tomato sauce, it was up there with the best meatballs I have had. The pork souvlaki was great. The pita it is served in is soft and chewy in a great way. It is served with a light serving of veggies, including tomato and lettuce. The pork was not what I expected considering the cuts of pork that are rolled up in pitas in most city establishments. There are large chunks of pork tenderloin, not dry at all, with a nice slightly pink center. I will definitely return to try more of what Kefi has to offer. I had wanted to try the sweetbreads. I really wanted to try them, but my friend, who was providing me with a place to stay, did not feel like thymus gland. He did say that he may eat them another time if I get them and don’t tell him what it is. I will get them next time I eat here, hopefully within a couple of weeks. Obviously I enjoyed the meal, and I would recommend both things I ate, and my friend said the chicken souvlaki was fantastic as well.

09/30/2009