When the Daily News published a recent article about Greek food losing its spot as the top food offering in Astoria, it’s no surprise they called Elena Papageorgiou, whose Mother and Father opened Zenon Taverna on 31st Avenue 26 years ago this summer.
While the stories of the waning influence of Greek cuisine in Astoria may be greatly exaggerated, there is no exaggerating Elena’s tremendous knowledge of Greek and Cypriot cooking and her keen acumen for what it takes to manage a successful restaurant.
Well-known and loved in Astoria, Zenon Taverna has been participating in food festivals, like the Village Voice’s Choice Eats festival, to gain exposure for their beloved neighborhood restaurant. Jeff Orlick did a great post recently about how outer borough restaurants like Zenon Taverna carefully weigh the decision to participate in these types of festivals.
Tomorrow night, Zenon Taverna will be participating in Queens Taste, an annual networking and culinary event brought to you by the Queens Economic Development Corporation that highlights some of the the vast diversity of the borough’s food offerings. I attended last year for the first time, and loved the way the event brought together neighborhood institutions Leo’s Latticini/Mama’s in Corona and Rudy’s in Ridgewood, with start ups and newcomers like Astoria Coffee and this year Astoria Distilling.
Make sure you get a ticket to Queens Taste if you haven’t already, and stop by Zenon’s table for a taste of Astoria and a total immersion in the Greek and Cypriot dishes that put Astoria on the map as the food neighborhood it is today. While no festival menu can be inflexibly set in stone, they are considering serving their famous grilled octopus and well as lamb meatballs – a personal favorite- and caviar in filo shells.
Queens Taste
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel, 135-20 39th Avenue, Flushing
$100 single ticket | $175 pair of tickets
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