Taxim showcases diverse Greek dishes in Wicker Park
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The restaurants in Greektown have been serving up heaping plates of moussaka and gyros for decades, but ABC7's Steve Dolinsky says the best place to find regional Greek cooking is in Wicker Park.
There are no steam tables, or young, handsome waiters yelling "Opaa!" at Taxim, and that's fine with chef and owner David Schneider. For the past few years, he's been focused on the kitchen.
"Trying to showcase that Greek food is not a homogenous entity. It's something that's evolved in different geographies, different places within kind of the Greek world. And because of that, there's a lot of diversity," he said.
It begins with his salads and spreads. You've probably seen eggplant other places, first grilled until blistered, then pureed with garlic and tahini, but Schneider's is slightly different.
"This one we call politikimelitzanosalata, which for Greeks, 'politiki' means 'of the city. The sesame paste - or tahini - that they make they toast the sesame first and it gives it a darker, nuttier flavor," said Schneider.
Octopus is first braised then steamed and finally grilled, along with fennel and onions, for a unique spin on a typical starter. Seasonal greens - in this case watercress and Swiss Chard, are sauteed, then crowned with haloumi cheese, which is fried in oil like it's Greektown cousins, only without the drama.
Even bread is unique here. Sometimes stretched thin on a large pillow, then griddled for a few seconds on a saat.
"The panteons are the Greeks from the Black Sea region and they used saats, which are kind of a steel domed griddle that they put over a fire or burner and they make a very thin phyllo," he said.
Other times, dough is rolled up with scallions and fennel, then griddled and cut into wedges, served over a pool of goat yogurt.
"They have a lot of fennel in Crete, they chop up the leaves put it in some phyllo and griddle it up," said Schneider.
And for dessert up in the front case, homemade Greek cookies and then of course Greek coffee made extra strong, and loukumades, which is a mastic and rosewater flavored dumpling - kind of a fried doughnut if you will - with a little bit of honey and cinnamon.
Taxim
1558 N. Milwaukee Ave.
773-252-1558
