“Pastitsio” braised beef cheeks, homemade pasta, brown butter béchamel, graviera (bottom right).īy: Michelle Katz below courtesy of on Instagram. Maitake portobello ‘souvlaki’ with smoked graviera cream, hazelnut praline, cured egg yolk, truffle balsamic (bottom left). Prawn “saganaki” ceviche, spicy tomato leche de Tigre, feta, nori, ouzo (top right). Pictured: Greek cheese pie, house made laffa, feta, graviera, chili pepper infused smoked raw honey (top left). The team decided on Pike & Rose because “that neighborhood is awesome.” The team has had a great experience with Julii in that area, and they love how the Pike & Rose community embraces interesting and unique concepts.Ĭhef D and the rest of the team cannot wait to share what they’ve been working on when they open and they want everyone to know that “everything we’ve done has really come straight from the heart.”įeatured photos courtesy of Melina’s instagram. The kitchen will be open and visible to diners, which will allow patrons to feel the intimacy of being in someone’s home while they’re cooking for you. The dishes that they’re serving will echo that same femininity, strength, and vibrancy. It will be soft, feminine, strong, and colorful. In addition to the food, Moshovitis is excited about the design of the restaurant. All bread and pastries will be baked in-house, thanks to Chef Aris’ expertise and experience. Moshovitis is also particularly proud of and excited about Melina’s bread program. For example, they took a traditional Bougatsa (dessert with phyllo and custard) and flipped it by flavoring the custard with tonka bean and adding hot greek coffee, chocolate caramel, and cinnamon ice cream to the dish. The team spends a lot of time on R&D taking the Greek flavors that they grew up with and “flipping them on their head”, all the while still maintaining the integrity of the original dish. The name Melina carries another meaning for people who understand Greek– meli means honey, which is the reason why their logo has a bee in the design.Ĭhef D shared examples of the thought and care that goes into all of the dishes. Melina is named after Moshovitis’ daughter, but the restaurant symbolically represents and celebrates all the women in a family– moms, grandmas, sisters, daughters. Dimitri felt inspired by Aris’ ideas and thought that they could create wonderful things together. The time to start a new venture felt right when he met Chef Aris Tsekouras, owner of Microwheat Bakery. Moshovitis also explained that after years in the restaurant industry, he has seen how Greek cooking has evolved and he wanted a new opportunity to showcase modern Greek cuisine. Chef D, as he’s affectionately called, is one of the founders along with Ted Xenohristos and Ike Grigoropoulos–the same team responsible for Cava, Cava Mezze, and Julii.Īccording to Chef D, the inspiration behind Melina is the desire to share traditional Greek recipes and techniques, but with a creative spin. We interviewed Chef Dimitri Moshovitis about Melina, a new Greek restaurant opening in Pike & Rose this April or May.
It was here that he developed his knowledge of food and polished his winning way with people.The Inside Scoop on Melina: Pike & Rose’s Newest Restaurant Sam spent the next 10 years learning the business of diners and restaurants in the area. Four years later, he came ashore in New Orleans, MS and worked his way to New York City. Just as the platias are the center of life in Greece, we believe the dining table is the central place for. In traditional villages and provincial communities, platias are the central places for feasts, celebrations and events. Even after finding factory work in Athens, he continued working in restaurants in the evenings.Īt age 15, he joined the Merchant Marine and traveled the high seas, working in the ship’s kitchen. Platia is the Greek word for town centre.
He learned quickly that working in a restaurant was a great way to avoid going hungry. He headed to Athens, where he found work in a restaurant. The prospect of farming life in the small town of Sofiko Evrou was not appealing to the young man. At the tender age of 13, he left his hometown in Northeastern Greece to seek a better life. Sam had spent his entire life in preparation for the Olympia dining experience. Sarantis “Sam” Tsirtsakis has traveled halfway around the world and worked in countless kitchens to bring recipes and hospitality to Western New York.