By Maria A. Pardalis
Persephone, a cozy and modish restaurant located just steps away from Bloomingdales on the Upper East Side, offers the pleasures of high Greek cuisine with a locavore spin. This rustic and friendly eatery is a breath of fresh air in an era of pyrotechnic nouveau and over excessive Greek cooking. You won’t find anything resembling feta soufflé at Persephone, instead you will be served home style dishes made from locally sourced products and fish caught from Long Island waters and the Eastern seaboard.
The proprietors of Persephone are a dynamic husband and wife duo, Steve Tzolis and Nicola Kotsoni, who also own Il Cantinori, Periyali and Bar Six. They take great pride in their award winning wine list, which certainly separates Persephone from many other Grecian restaurants. It’s composed of a colorful array of robust wines made strictly from Greek grapes and produced only by small artisanal and organic wine makers in Greece.
If the thought of selecting wine from such an extensive list is intimidating, fear not! Greek wines are extremely food friendly and you won’t have to make the decision alone. Persephone’s pleasant staff will help you with your food and wine pairings. I particularly adore their vibrant white wines that pair beautifully with one of my beloved menu items, Meditierranean Sea Bass. Persephone’s chef kindly shared his famed recipe for this popular fish dish, that is naturally prepared using strictly local products, even the sea beans come from nearby Long Island waters!
