THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 22, 1995 TAG: 9501190038
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DONNA REISS, SPECIAL TO SUNDAY FLAVOR
LENGTH: Long : 147 lines
A RECENT ISSUE of Newsweek magazine featured a full-page article on the health advantages of Mediterranean food. That same week in December, Nutrition Action Newsletter reported on the health benefits of Cretan cuisine.
My predilection for fruity olive oils, abundant garlic, fresh fruits and vegetables, pasta, grains and sesame had gained support. How comforting to learn that some of my favorite foods might be good for my heart.
Nostalgia rather than health, I admit, led me to local restaurants in search of tasty reminders of a long-ago visit to Italy, Greece and Israel. There, we ate grilled fish and shellfish basted with olive oil and herbs. Yogurt, blended with vegetables, juices and spices for dips and sauces, often was a soothing complement.
Eggplant and garbanzo beans were mashed with tahini, a sesame paste, for spreads and dips with substance. Salads were made from chopped or sliced tomatoes and cucumbers with fresh parsley or mint.
In Israel, people feasted on fresh vegetables and fruits grown on land that had once been desert. One cool evening in Athens, lured by the aroma from a charcoal brazier, we succumbed to a street vendor grilling lamb chops not much larger than the bowl of a serving spoon - the best we ever tasted.
Italian food is probably the most familiar of Mediterranean cuisines, but it is not the only one worth sampling.
Several recent cookbooks allow home cooks to experiment. Consider Paula Wolfert's ``The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean'' (Harper Collins, 1994); Claudia Roden's ``Mediterranean Cookery'' (Knopf, 1987); and Ayla Algar's ``Classic Turkish Cooking'' (Harper Collins, 1991).
Local specialty markets, such as Bella Monte and Azar's in Virginia Beach, are on the rise as cooks seek ingredients for varied cuisines.
Greek dishes have long been enjoyed in Hampton Roads. ``Come Cook With Us,'' a 1957 cookbook by the Hellenic Women's Club of Norfolk, has been reprinted many times; the popular bazaar at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church on Granby Street is an annual event attended by thousands.
The Orapax, a Greek restaurant in a residential section of Norfolk, has expanded from two dozen seats to more than a hundred since the Seretis family opened it in 1964. Last year, the family opened a smaller version of the Orapax at Hilltop in Virginia Beach. Greek dishes appear on the menus of many Italian and a few American restaurants.
Other Mediterranean cuisines, including Turkish, Persian and Lebanese, have developed a local following in the last decade. Most of these Middle Eastern eateries serve not just the dishes of one land but the best of the region.
Fresh tomatoes and peppers are typical. So are fragrant herbs and spices, such as cumin and cinnamon. Chickpeas, sesame seeds, mint leaves, olives and grains appear everywhere. And proximity to the sea makes seafood central to most Mediterranean cuisines.
Some Greek dishes fit comfortably on menus that also feature other nations' foods. The Saviddes family's Black Angus, one of the area's oldest steak houses, has always offered a few Greek dishes, including salads and baked lemon chicken. Athens Pizza, with its shiny new freestanding structure on Centerville Turnpike in Virginia Beach, turns out a limited selection of gyros and spanakopita, along with its extensive list of pizzas.
Greek and Italian dishes marry especially well at the Boulevard Cafe in Virginia Beach. The restaurant is owned by John Tsouris, originally from Argos, and his wife, Maggie, a Pittsburgh native whose father cooked Italian fare.
Tsouris makes homemade spinach ravioli and penne primavera in the Italian style. He also makes pastitsio, a traditional Greek casserole of macaroni, beef and cheese.
On Colley Avenue in Norfolk, Anthony's has highlighted Greek fare since reopening in 1994. The original restaurant on the site was a neighborhood barbecue shack owned by chef Anthony Chiperas' father and uncle. Now, Chiperas cooks an array of specialties and will prepare anything a customer requests if he has the ingredients.
Even the less-familiar fare of the Eastern Mediterranean is becoming better known in Hampton Roads with the opening of a number of Middle Eastern restaurants.
The menu at Anatolia in Virginia Beach spotlights Turkish classics. In the deli section, pita, white and wheat breads bake in a brick oven. Homemade hummus spread and tabouli salad are available for takeout. Ramazan Yuksek, who opened Anatolia five years ago, includes sampler platters to help acquaint Americans with the dishes of his native land.
At Val's Mini Italia in Virginia Beach - a small strip-shop restaurant with an Italian emphasis - is a list of Persian specialties, including grilled kebabs and yogurt-cucumber salads.
Masood Ayat, a native of Iran, kept the name of the previous shop when he took over the site in 1985. Two years ago, he began adding the Persian items. ``Most people call me Val,'' he says. ``My mother and grandma were Italian.''
Also from Iran is Fouad Mohit, who last year opened Norfolk's Tabouli, on the former site of a 24-hour diner.
A veteran of the local hospitality industry and a professional mime, Mohit said he once studied cooking under an Egyptian chef at the United Nations in New York.
At Tabouli he offers a diverse menu of Middle Eastern food representing Syria, Lebanon and Israel, as well as Egypt and Iran. Vegetarian dishes are among his specialties, including the bulgur-wheat-based salad after which the restaurant is named.
On Southern Boulevard in Virginia Beach, a small sandwich shop and well-stocked specialty market called Azar's has modernized Middle Eastern vegetarian cuisine with chick-pea and fava-bean-based falafel-style sandwiches dubbed ``nada burgers.'' Unlike the golf-ball-sized, somewhat greasy falafel sandwiches sold by street vendors in the Middle East, Azar's versions are baked instead of fried.
``Lebanon has been a stepping stone to the east for many European nations and has a very cosmopolitan cuisine,'' says owner George Azar.
But his Mediterranean meals have a contemporary twist: ``We don't fry anything,'' he says. ``We bake or broil with little oil or meat.''
The successful market will open a second location on Bonney Road in Virginia Beach by the end of February, Azar says.
In the meantime, here's a sampler of non-Italian Mediterranean restaurants in South Hampton Roads:
Anatolia, 2158 N. Great Neck Road, Virginia Beach (496-9777). Turkish and some American dishes; small market and bakery. Lunch from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. daily.
Anthony's, 2502 Colley Ave., Norfolk (622-7411). Greek dishes. Open from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday
Athens Pizza, 1929 Centerville Turnpike, Virginia Beach (479-9873). Primarily pizza, plus a small selection of Greek dishes. Open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Azar's, 5032 Southern Blvd., Virginia Beach (490-7309). Varied Middle Eastern prepared foods for takeout; extensive market. Open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.
Black Angus, 706 Atlantic Ave., Virginia Beach (422-8300 or 428-7700). Steak house with a small selection of Greek specialty dishes; Open in winter from 4:30 to 10 p.m. daily (from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily beginning in April).
Boulevard Cafe, 2935 Virginia Beach Blvd. Virginia Beach. Italian and Greek dishes. Open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Orapax, 1300 Redgate Ave., Norfolk (627-8041). Greek dishes for dining in, takeout or delivery. Open from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday; closed Sunday. Also at Hilltop West Shopping Center, Virginia Beach (428-3137). Hours: from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.
Tabouli, 4140 Granby St., Norfolk (627-1143). Middle Eastern dishes. Open from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Val's Mini Italia, 4586 Pembroke Meadows Shopping Center, Witchduck Road and Independence Blvd., Virginia Beach (490-2151). Italian and Persian dishes from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. ILLUSTRATION: D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/Staff color photos
Ramazan Yuksek, the chef-owner of Anatolia in Virginia Beach, bakes
bread in a wood-fired oven. His menu spotlights Turkish classics,
including Yogurthu Kebab, below, and also offers a variety of
sampler platters.
by CNB