Mmmmm ... Greek food

One thing for which I will be forever grateful:  Drew introduced me to Greek food long before it was popular.

Drew's mother's family is Sephardic.  Sephardic Jews trace their heritage to Spain.  In 1492, during the Inquisition, the Jews were given the choice: covert to Catholocism, or leave Spain.  Those who were expelled from Spain settled in various parts of the Mediterranean.  They continued to speak Ladino -- Jude-Spanish -- but they adopted the culture and cuisine of their neighbors.  Drew's family originated in Greece and Turkey, hence the familiarity with Greek food.

It's like soul food for him.  

One of our favorite places to get our fix  is Ayhan's.   Ayhan Hassan owns several restaurants here on Long Island.    His food is slightly different from most Greek places, since Hassan was raised on Cyprus, and brings Turkish influences into his menu.

We satisfied our craving last night.  

The meal started with soft Turkish bread and garlicky tzatsiki sauce, followed by a generous portion of Greek salad (love the feta cheese).  

Our favorite appetizer is saganaki.  Traditionally, saganaki is fried cheese, similar to mozzarella sticks.  But at Ayhan's, it's a fondue served with pita bread.  Very gooey, and very good.  You can't go wrong with melted cheese.

My entree was the chicken kebab platter -- skewers of white meat chicken, peppers, mushrooms and onions, with rice pilaf and steamed vegetables, served with more tsatziki.

Drew had a platter with gyro meat, lamb sausages and three types of kebab -- beef, lamb and chicken.

As usual, we were too full for dessert....