food

By Emeri Krawczyk

Buffalo Magazine loves clas-sic Greek-American diners.

The encyclopedic menus. The bottomless cups of coffee.

There is something special about eating pancakes for dinner or chicken souvlaki with your eggs for breakfast.

Yet, as much as we enjoy these traditional eat-eries, we’ve discovered a trend that we like even more — the transformation of some of these places from ordinary to extraordinary in both food and décor. The old stark diner, in many cases, has been reinvented to become something warmer or more elegant — with traditional favorites offered along-side more ambitious (but still affordable) entreés.

Is this a Buffalo phenomenon? We think so, and we are smitten with it.

We caught up with a few of these Greek trailblazers to discover the reason for their decisions to break out of the mold.

Milos: A twist on traditionIn February 2010, Ray Kollidas pur-

chased the former Marinaccio’s/Little White House on Main Street in Williamsville.

Kollidas has spent his entire life in the kitchen at The Family Tree in Amherst —his family’s other restaurant — a mecca for traditional diner and Greek food.

“I’ve been in the business my whole life. I grew up in the kitchen. We go to Greece every summer to visit family. I had a clear vision of what I wanted for this place,” said Kollidas.

That vision included a beautiful space that was modern yet com-fortable. And in keeping with the tradition of the Greek diner, serving

great food at reasonable prices. “We wanted it to be family-

friendly. We didn’t want to omit any clientele. We wanted 20-somethings to be able to come in for a dinner and drinks, couples to come in for a night out or a family to celebrate the grand-parents’ anniversary,” said Kollidas.

The result is décor that is sleek, modern and beautiful. A fireplace enhances the front dining space. There is a full bar and wine sold by the bottle, another departure from

Continued on page 40

Local Greek diners are reinventing themselves, often in dramatic ways

A Greek

OdysseySpecial of the day: Greek Fisherman’s Stew is an example of one of the gourmet menu addi-tions you can expect when dining at Milo’s.

May / June 2013 | buffalom a g a z i n e | 3938 | buffalom a g a z i n e | May / June 2013

Worlds apart: The next generation of Greek dining is taking things up a notch. Sleek and stylish, Milo’s has a different vibe than its counterpart, the Family Tree Restaurant, which is also owned by the Kollidas family.

Phot

os b

y M

icha

el M

ajew

ski

40 | buffalom a g a z i n e | May / June 2013 May / June 2013 | buffalom a g a z i n e | 41

716.688.0361 ê 289 Parkside Ave. ê fairycakesbuffalo.com

KEEP CALMAND

ORDER FAIRY CAKES

Exceptional food,

outstanding ambience.

687 Main StreetEast Aurora, NY 14052

716-652-1253www.RicksOnMain.com

Lo

w S

od

ium

~

G

lute

n F

ree

~V

eg

eta

ria

n Fo

od

servic

e ~

Wh

ole

sale

~ C

on

sum

er

CHEFS: Now for OurNew NO-MINIMUM Foodservice Pricing

Restaurant Quality Flavor

Easy-to-UseVersatileEconomical

Free ChefDeveloped RecipesAdapted forHome Use

Professional Cooking Ingredients:Soup Bases, Sauce Preps, Gravy Mixes,

Flavor Concentrates

FeaturingSOUPBASE.COM

SOUPBASE.COM 4145 Mayfield Rd

800-827-8328 Cleveland, OH 44121

Makes 5 Gallonsfor $11.95

That’s Only $.59 /qt.Compare Anywhere

a traditional Greek diner.“We are developing a

drink menu because of the trend of better cocktails. We wanted Milos to be cur-rent but comfortable,” said Kollidas, who credits his wife Rosanna with the atten-tion to detail, including the fun plates and glassware.

“It makes a huge impression and gets every sense going for the custom-er,” said Kollidas. “The first thing is they smell the food, so when the plate comes it needs to look appealing. If you take that extra step, the customer appreciates it.”

Kollidas spent about eight months develop-ing his menu when cook-ing at the Family Tree.

“It was my test kitchen. I had a lot of ideas in my mind,” said Kollidas.

Interestingly, Milos’ menu isn’t huge. There is a mix of Greek specialties and other items. Kollidas runs daily features, too.

“We do everything home-made. I’m in the kitchen five days a week. Everything is made from scratch. Here I have a little more room to be flexible with more upscale

things,” said Kollidas, who noted that despite being only eight miles away from the Family Tree, Milos’ clientele expects food that’s more upscale, but the same value.

And yes, breakfast is served all day — along with fresh-squeezed orange juice from a swanky Zumex machine that Kollidas discovered while on a beach in Greece.

“Nothing is better than fresh orange juice. I took down the information and bought it for my father. I remember him being mad trying to fix the old machine at the Family Tree. There would be a line out the door and he’d be fighting the machine,” laughed Kollidas.

Will his modern ver-sion of the Greek diner help the bottom line?

“It’s to be determined,” said Kollidas. “We have the old model to go against, the traditional diner model, but I think it will go.”

We do too.Milos • 5877 Main

St., Williamsville • www.milosonmain.com.

Milos is open 7 days a week at 7 a.m.

A Greek Odyssey, continued from page 39

Acropolis: The next generation

Now in its 31st year, Acropolis has long been a mainstay on the ever-changing Elmwood Avenue.

In January 2010, son Paul Tsouflidis took over the traditional, one-floor Greek diner from his parents, Effe and John.

Renovations began immediately. The result is a gor-geous restaurant that now spans two floors and includes a beautiful bar area with high ceilings and flat screen TVs — a completely redefined space. Tsouflidis’ upstairs childhood bedroom is now part of the dining area.

“My vision was to be a truly Greek restaurant,” said Tsouflidis. Unlike other Greek places that renovated and expanded their menus to include more upscale entrees alongside its tried-and-true diner food, Tsouflidis moved away from the all-day-breakfast model.

“I’ve created what I’ve seen in Thessaloniki. After 5 p.m., we are strictly dinner. It’s one of the things I wanted to get away from. It’s difficult to justify a $24 entrée when someone is eating pancakes next to them,” said Tsouflidis, who is also the executive chef.

Now, about 95 percent of the dinner selections are Greek or Greek influenced.

“Our place has two totally different feels and vibes between breakfast/lunch and dinner,” said Tsouflidis. “It’s really a dual personality. Even the staff is different.”

The food was revised for both dining times, though.“I revamped the entire menu. I wanted more raw and

fresh food. Everything is made from scratch. We wanted

“We do everything homemade. I’m in the kitchen five days a week. Everything is made from scratch.”

— Ray Kollidas, owner and chef of Milos

Above. Milo’s Horiotiki is a traditional “rustic” Greek salad of cucumber, tomatoes, green

peppers, onion, kalamata olives, pepperoncini and feta.

Right. Milo’s serves what it calls “Fabulous Four” — Classic Greek

Meze of tzatziki (cucumber, garlic, dill yogurt), melitzano-

salata (roasted eggplant spread), taramosalata (carp roe caviar mousse with lemon and olive

oil) and tirokeftiri (Greek cheese and roasted red pepper dip).

Phot

os b

y M

icha

el M

ajew

ski

Phot

o by

Mic

hael

Maj

ewsk

i

No need to call the fire department. In the chic Acropolis on Elmwood Avenue, Michelle Tomasello, left, awaits her appetizer — Saganaki, flaming Greek cheese (often feta) — to arrive from server Nada Jamil. This dish is eaten with pita and lemon (after the fire goes out, of course!). Opa!

Continued on page 42

TasteTempters

42 | buffalom a g a z i n e | May / June 2013 May / June 2013 | buffalom a g a z i n e | 43

Walden Galleria • Buffalo716.683.5986

Eastern Hills Mall • Williamsville716.633.3580

to be healthier too. We’ll serve fresh fruit instead of home fries for free,” said Tsouflidis.

The change is welcome by customers and is more in line with what they are look-ing for, he said. Yet it was difficult for his father, who retired from the restaurant.

A Greek Odyssey, continued from page 41Greek to meHere are a few other local temples of Greek dining, many of which have redefined themselves in recent years with new cuisine and/or a new look:

BuffaloPano’s, 1081 Elmwood Ave., www.panosonelmwood.com

Mythos, 510 Elmwood Ave., www.mythosbuffalo.com

Kostas, 1561 Hertel Ave., www.kostasfamilyrestaurant.com

The Towne Restaurant, 186 Allen St., thetowne.net

‘BurbsZoe, 5711 Transit Road, East Amherst, www.thezoerestaurant.com

Olive Tree, 5240 Broadway, Depew, www.theolivetrees.com

Hillview, 6135 Transit Road, Depew

Forestview, 4781 Transit Road, Depew, www.forestviewrestaurant.com

Pegasus, 5748 S. Park Ave., Hamburg, pegasusrestaurant.net

Ambrosia-Nektar: Time for a taverna

Stavros Malliaris left Greece in 1977 and moved to Toronto to live with family. On weekends he’d come to Buffalo to visit cousins, and eventually got a job at Pano’s.

In 1984 he bought the former Taki’s Texas Hots on Elmwood and opened Ambrosia. In 2001, he opened Nektar just down the street.

This year marks a new chapter for both Elmwood res-taurants. Ambrosia will close at the end of May, while Nektar will be expanded and redeco-rated. The two will become one by June. He is still debating the name in lieu of state require-ments, but is hoping to call it Ambrosia Taverna and Lounge (in Greek, “taverna” is the word for a restaurant).

Nektar’s patio will be enclosed to create extra space.

While plans are still in the works for the food, Malliaris definitely wants to create something fresh.

“I decided to go with a more limited Greek menu. I am going to bring in a chef consultant from Greece. We are going to serve authentic Greek, like when you go to Greece,” said Malliaris.

Malliaris believes Buffalonians are ready for this type of dining experience.

“In Greece, we don’t order like we do here. You know, like a steak. The Greeks say ‘we’d like to have tzatziki, some potatoes, some dandelions.’ It’s family style. Everyone gets a plate and helps them-selves. Then you ask for, say, a kilo of lamb chops or say ‘give us two kilos of fish and more dandelions,’” said Malliaris, who will encour-age this type of dining in his new version of Ambrosia.

Greek food focuses on letting the food speak for itself, he explained.

“In Greece, you get a nice piece of fish and you don’t want to ruin it. It only needs virgin olive oil and lemon,” said Malliaris.

He also plans to put new twists on old Greek favor-ites. For example, Malliaris described a moussaka dish he tried with the twist of a gorgonzola béchamel sauce. (Mousakka is a layered egg-plant and ground meat dish.)

“It was spectacular,” he said.

The new interior design sounds spectacular as well. Customers will enjoy a casual space with subtle color changes, and warm wood tables and wicker furniture from Greece. The full bar will remain, as well as the night-life with a DJ on weekends.

But what about loyal Ambrosia customers seeking breakfast and lunch?

There are a few new features coming, like made-to-order crêpes and breakfast smoothies, plus the usual fare.

Like Acropolis, the new place will stop serving breakfast/lunch and switch to dinner at 4 p.m.

“Instead of keeping the whole menu and confusing people, we’ll still offer a few sandwiches and then all dinner. This way we can provide higher quality food,” said Malliaris.

Chef Matt Flores will con-tinue to cook in the kitchen while creating a new menu with his Greek chef consultant.

“He’s not egotistical or crazy. This kid listens. He’ll learn the Greek way,” laughed Malliaris.

We’re just as eager to learn the Greek way of eating.

Nektar • 451 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo

Emeri Krawczyk, a content writer in The Buffalo News marketing

department, reports on food and restaurants for Buffalo Magazine.

“Presentation is important, especially the plates. Even our hash plates in the morning are special.”— Paul Tsouflidis, owner

and executive chef,

Acropolis Restaurant

“It was a struggle for my dad. He put a lot of heart and energy in this place. But after a year he was full speed ahead,” said Tsouflidis.

His mother still works the early shift, and is on board with the changes now, too.

“I couldn’t do it without my mom,” said Tsouflidis, who still uses her recipes.

Like Kollidas, Tsouflidis concentrates on serving delicious, beautiful food.

“Presentation is important, especially the plates. Even our hash plates in the morning are special,” he said.

Yet with all the changes and more upscale touches, the prices remain reasonable.

“Our price points are around $20 or below for dinner. That is our comfort zone for our success. I like seeing my customers here two or three times a week,” he said.

Tsouflidis said the changes are also helping the bottom line.

“My number one decision was to install a bar. Economically and financially it’s needed to sustain my investment. The money you put in has to be maximized throughout the day, including a nightlife after the kitchen closes.

“Acropolis is a good example of a new Greek-American restaurant. It’s got everything you want.”

Acropolis • 708 Elmwood Ave. acropolisopa.com

Acropolis kitchen is open every day from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Bar is open later.

Left: Chef Paul Tsouflidis plates the Saganaki. Above: Is there anything better than hot, flaming Greek cheese? Get us some pita, ASAP.

Milo’s Caramel Custard Creme tastes as good as it looks.

Phot

os b

y M

icha

el M

ajew

ski