PRICE:
Frommer's Exceptional

Kefi is like your Greek mother's (if you had a Greek mother) kitchen, and, in fact, the restaurant was inspired by chef Michael Psilakis's mother and her traditional recipes. Greek standards such as moussaka, spinach pie, Greek salad, and grilled fish are featured here. But oh what Psilakis does with the standards. The mezes (Greek appetizers) are good enough to make up a meal; it's hard to resist the selection of spreads accompanied by pita, the warm feta, tomatoes, capers and anchovies, and especially the sublime grilled octopus salad, as good as I've had anywhere. But something's gotta give if you want to save room for such entrees as the flat noodles with braised rabbit; the grilled whole branzino with potatoes, olives, tomatoes and feta; or the slow cooked, comforting lamb shank on a bed of orzo. If it is humanly possible after indulging in all of the above, don't miss out on the desserts, most notably the walnut cake with maple walnut ice cream. Service is casual and the space is a bit cramped, but not enough to deter you from the many pleasures of Kefi.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's New York City 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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