Interesting Facts About Greek Desserts

What makes YaYa's desserts so scrumptious?  It's years of experience and family tradition - coupled with some little-known trivia.

1. Ancient Greeks used Honey instead of sugar because sugar as we know it did not exist in Greece.

2. What sets Greek desserts apart is their eastern influence. Whereas western desserts are more sponge and cream based, the Greek sweets are sugar based. Many include fillo pastry, which is paper thin sheets of pastry, layered upon each other to create a multi-layered effect, as in baklava. With many nuts - such as walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts and almonds being in abundance in Greece, it is no surprise to see these nuts used widely in their desserts. Once the dessert is baked, it is drenched in a sweet aromatic honey syrup, as in walnut cake - Karythopita. Apart from the beautiful flavors it infuses, the syrup helps to preserve the dessert.

3. Although Americans call these 'desserts' - Greeks refer to them as sweets - they are generally not eaten after a meal as we would in other western countries. In Greece dessert is rarely eaten after a meal and if so it is most likely to be whichever fruit is in season. Rather, desserts are kept and brought out during the day, along with a Greek coffee and a glass of iced water, especially when there is a visitor. In this way the sweets can be savored and enjoyed completely on their own, away from the fullness of a meal, which is fitting since they are in themselves very filling and a truly sensational taste.

The next time you’re looking to share a coffee and a sweet with a friend, skip the standard drive through your friend to Ziziki’s.

Greek Art - The Language Of Statues

Can statues really talk? Don’t answer too quickly. They do talk, only not in the way we think of verbal communication. Like a lot of art, the reason for its existence focused on providing representations of the Greek gods and goddesses.

Like so many elements of modern culture (including art, Mediterranean food, politics and more), the Greeks moved art forward by a quantum leap with their sculpture during the Archaic Period (8th to early 5th century BC). Their influence provided the foundation for the later Classical and Hellenistic Greek ages and later for the Romans. Broad, well-laid foundations last. This one did right into the western sculpture we know today.

It didn’t happen over night. And like those who came after them, the anonymous Archaic Greek sculptors built on the work of the Egyptians. Perhaps because of this, the early Greek statues depicted rigid, unnatural forms similar to today’s mannequin—feet together and a blank stare on their faces. But even this was a tremendous advance because the Greeks of the Archaic Period were the first to create free-standing statues. The Greeks eventually did away with colorful adornment via paints and dyes. They paid more attention to the details of facial feature and the anatomical construction.

Look a little closer and you’ll hear better. The sculpture Kritios Boy (c. 480 BC) depicts a young man standing at rest. His body language tells us he’s on his way to somewhere—the position of his legs for the implied weight shift of walking and the subtle motion of the hips. The Greeks captured the fluidity of movement in most of their statuary.

The high point of Greek sculpture came during the Hellenistic Period (late 4th—1st Century BC). The ideas and techniques of the previous centuries blossomed to true greatness when the emphasis went onto the dynamic and extreme poses. The epitome of Hellenistic art shines in Nike of Samothrace—you can hear the wind blowing the folds of her clothing and through the feathers of the extended wings.

Perhaps the most talkative of the statues is named Laocoön, which shows the tormented Trojan priest Laocoön and his two sons in a battle to the death with sea serpents intent on strangling them. This was heavy penalty for offending Apollo or Poseidon (the history isn’t clear) by warning Troy about a wooden horse. Just looking at their faces and the strain of their bodies shouts to us.

But you won’t need to shout when you take a break from the culturally rich world of Greek statuary at Ziziki’s. Our Dallas Greek restaurants provide plenty of culinary communication. Just peruse a Greek art book—after you examine our delicious Greek menu and enjoy a scrumptious meal.

Going Greek In Dallas

Ziziki’s is a fast growing, upscale greek restaurant with an outstanding line of Greek and Italian Cuisine. They opened the very first Ziziki’s at Travis Walk in July of 1994. Since 1994, the owners, Mary and Costa Arabatzis, have been providing outstanding food in a warm and inviting environment. The opening of this restaurant marked the beginning of a long road to success!

With the owner’s restaurants blooming in Dallas, they decided to make a life changing decision to move to Maui, where they would open an additional Ziziki’s restaurant. You may be thinking to yourself, “Why Maui?” The couple choose Maui because they had a growing family, and what better place to raise a family than on an island that is truly magical. The opening of this new location in Maui seemed as if it was going to be a successful business decision, but the business was soon affected - as so many businesses were - by the 9/11 attacks on the United States. This tragedy nearly wiped out business for all of Maui’s restaurants. With sales slipping and cost rising at all of the locations, the Arabatzis were faced with another important decision.

After a lot of soul searching, the couple decided to close the Maui location and return to Dallas to focus on the growth of their other locations. In order for the growth of the Dallas locations to continue, they had to make some changes. These changes would involve managing operations themselves, and address the rising food cost. After realizing the changes that needed to be made they quickly addressed them. With the smart business decisions of the owners following the 9/11 attacks and the devastating impact it had on the economy and business, Ziziki’s remains no less than brilliant!  There's more than just great food at Ziziki's - there's great ownership.

Given that it has been 15 years since the original Ziziki's location opened, it comes as no surprise that the brand has expanded, and continues to be successful. Since the original opening of the restaurant they've added on two additional private dining rooms, which are a great place to host a private party or a company lunch, and an expanded kitchen to accommodate the needs of the additional seating.

In addition to the original Zizikis at Travis Walk, Mary and Costa have opened two other locations in the Dallas Area. They opened their second location in North Dallas in the Shops of Spanish Village, but in 2005 moved the restaurant to the renowned Preston Hollow location which is located at the corner of Preston and Forest.

In 2008, Zizikis announced the opening of their third location, in Plano, which has a modern approach to Zizikis traditional bar. It is located in the Lakeside Market area of Plano.

So the next time you are craving a delicious Greek meal or just a unique place to hang out, stop by one of our three locations and be a part of our history in the making!