Greek-inspired pizza: A walk (Part 1)

When I first moved to Astoria three years ago, I figured it would be temporary, until I could comfortably afford Manhattan. Over the next couple of years, as my dreams of girl-about-town morphed to woman- wanting-space-and-home, Manhattan was still on the horizon (maybe when I published my first, best-selling, made-to-movie novel), but Brooklyn came to mind, as most people I know have such a fondness for it, and the aesthetics of Prospect Park were enticing. Now, entering year four in NYC, we plan on moving out of our current place and for a while, since rents are so low, had some fantasies of fleeing to the Village, to Park Slope, even the Long Island City waterfront. But a couple of weeks ago, as I was buying a tub of imported parmesan from Dave and Tony's  salumeria off of 30th Ave, the wise-guy counter banter made me sad at the thought of leaving. A trip to Trade Fair a few days ago had a similar, appreciative effect; despite it often being a clustered nightmare, I was impressed by the variety of spices, grains, and exotic herbs they carried. While diversity is definitely not a sole property of Astoria (though I do think Queens as a whole may beat out the other boroughs?), I have grown slightly accustomed and increasingly comfortable with what this Greek-Mexican-Czech-Middle Eastern infused neighborhood has to offer. I think I will stick around for a bit longer.

That said, there is still much left to explore. Since living here has so extensively opened my palate, I thought food-related walk through my neighborhood was in order, or more specifically, a trek to find the freshest ingredients for my Greco-Roman fusion pizza. More simply, a Greek-inspired pizza comprised of sautéed fresh spinach and red onion, kalamata olives, feta, and sundried tomato along with some of the standard Italian staples. Served with a side of tzatiki.

Colin (acting photographer and taster) and I appropriately embarked on our epic recipe journey at Athens Square Park on 30th Ave at 30th, paying homage to a watchful Athena to ensure mercantile wisdom. This place is bustling in the summer, with live Greek music and accompanying circle dancing, and occasionally Spanish singers. At times there is club music. At times, there is a combination of club music, singers and dancing.

After a brief walkthrough of the square, and a smile at an elderly woman with pigeons on her shoulder, we skipped over to 31st street and made our way to ingredient destination number one, Titan Foods, praised by numerous Yelpers. Titan seems to be the hub Greek foods in Astoria, and is a full-on market with an abundance of imports, a bakery (I am still kicking myself for not trying their baklava), and a deli where one can purchase a variety of meats and fish (fresh, dried, salted), imported and domestic feta cheese, bountiful, glistening olives, and homemade yogurt. I opted for the latter three as they were necessary for my pizza and tzatziki.

I was literally the only non-Greek in Titan, ordering from a staff that seemed to deal mostly in Greek, and probably only spoke English when needed. I was actually pretty shy about asking the deli-man what his best feta was, particularly when I was not greeted with a smile. But he told me, softly in a thick accent, arahova, and then cut off a chunk for me to sample. He cut off a second for Colin. This made me feel better and I realized smiles aren’t the only way of being welcoming. In fact, many times they’re fake. A couple more visits and perhaps I won't feel so far out of my comfort zone.

After Titan we continued to trek down 31st with the intent to head up to Ditmars, passing by the Greek Music and Video Cyberstore and braving the intersection between Astoria Boulevard and Hoyt Ave. En route, we stopped at Agora plaza, towering over us like a renovated Acropolis (okay, I'm laying it on...), and housing a variety of shops and medical offices.

Here we discovered Artopolis bakery (looking lovely in that antiseptic sort of way, but we didn't stop in), yet another meat market advertising baby lamb and baby pig (something I have yet to stomach) and Meditteranean Foods II. Venturing in here, I sampled some cheese and took stuffed vine leaves for the road.

Yum!

Finally we approached 31st at Ditmars, where right under the subway trestle is Rosario’s Italian specialty shop and deli, which produces possibly the best fresh mozzarella that I have yet tasted. Of course, I  purchased some, along with a half pound of sundried tomatoes. I was nearly was ready to drop $30 on imported olive oil. Next time.

As the weather had tinges of spring on Saturday, we meandered a bit in the Ditmars area, peeking in bakery windows, making mental notes of restaurants to try. Taverna Kyclades was yet again packed at 1:30 in the afternoon (I have never seen this place without a line out the door). There is a great little soap shop right off of Ditmars at 36th (called, actually, The Little Soap Shop) which is a favorite of Colin’s. Here we bought some olive oil and rosemary soaps, and I got treated to a handmade bracelet.

Afterwards, we made the trek back to our neck of the woods to get the final ingredients, en route observing the brick houses of 36th street and cutting across to Steinway, where just above 23rd Ave we were met with the perfume of sweet tobacco from open-door hookah lounges. (I believe a Middle Eastern recipe walk is in order in the near future.)

Cutting onto to 28th Ave, then catching 36th street back up to 30th Ave, we went straight to Dave and Tony's for fresh, imported parmesan which they grated for me. Here, I stepped back into my comfort zone and grabbed a bag of tarralles (a staple of my childhood), proudly answering Colin when he asked me what seeds were in them. Fennel, of course!

Down the street is Astoria Bakers, whose perfect bread dough keeps preventing me from perfecting my own dough for pizzas, and then just two blocks down is Elliniki Agora Fruit and Vegetables for four bunches of fresh curly spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers and red onions.

Exhausted at this point, we finally made it back to our apartment, first grabbing some meat on a stick (it was pork, maybe? Charred and tasty!) from Jimmy, the souvlaki man at the corner of our street.

And there you have it. A day’s worth of searching out ingredients, and coming up, a night’s worth of preparation, enjoyment and insight...