By Maria A. Pardalis
“In Greece you trust the chef to give you the best,” says chef Maria Loi. The self taught Hellenic food guru, who is known as the Martha Stewart of Greece, can be seen on PBS where she hosts the cooking show, “It’s All Greek.” The show enables Maria to share her recipes and love for Greek food with her American fans, but she soon realized that something was missing. Maria needed to be able to give her “best” and share her real Greek home-style cooking face to face. Opening up her very own authentic Greek food mecca was the way to do this and so Loi Restaurant was born.
What distinguishes Loi from many other Greek restaurants in Manhattan is that Maria herself is in the kitchen 7 days a week. She happily bustles around the white trimmed rooms adorned with images of Nafpaktos ensuring that her customers are not only satisfied with their meals, but feel as if they are dining at home. Hospitality is especially important to Maria who says, “My goal is for my diners to leave Loi relaxed and as if they had just visited Greece and indulged in its finest delicacies.”
Loi’s menumay slightly read as your typical Greek taverna fare, but the food certainly does not taste that way. Maria’s “traditional” moussaka is by far the best version in town. Sauteedminced meat and thinly sliced eggplantare perfectly stacked below layers of elegantmousse-like cream, topped with light béchamel - this moussakais simply plate-smashing bliss.
It’s important to pace yourself during dinner in order to save room for dessert. Loi’s robust glyka taste as if they have just arrived from Greece’s finest patisserie. After salivating over the rich menu composed of honey infused ekmekkataifidelicately laced with toasted nuts and creamy cheesecake adorned with freshly made cherry preserves, I knew I had to ask for a recipe. After tasting several soft wedges of heavenly walnut cake soaked in cinnamon syrup, I sneaked into Loi’s kitchen and convinced Maria to share her prized recipe for this luscious dessert.
