Dallas Best Brunch - Celebrate Easter and Spring

Treat your Mom to an extra special event this Mother's Day: The ritual of Ziziki's!  Bring the family and celebrate your Mother at all three Ziziki's locations with Dallas' best Sunday Brunch.

   

Mother's Day Brunch Event 2013 

  

You'll begin by enjoying a complimentary glass of champagne or a Mimosa. Then, choose from a flavorful selection of your favorite Ziziki's items: Spanakopita, Dolmades, Mediterranean Salad, Greek Island Chicken, or Rigatoni with Roasted Red Bell Pepper Sauce.

Plus these signature brunch items will be featured... 

• Mediterranean Shrimp 
• House Smoked Salmon with Bagels & Herbed Cream Cheese 
• Buttermilk Pancakes with Honey Cinnamon Syrup 
• Greek Scrambled Eggs with Feta Cheese & Basil 
• Roasted Leg of Lamb with Red Wine Sauce 
• Ya Ya Katina's Baklava

3 seatings at 11am, 12:30pm & 2pm 

$24.95 per person

Reservations accepted for any size party.  Ziziki's regular dinner menu will be offered on Easter evening. 

Celebrate MOM! OPA! 

Enjoy a Greek Coffeehouse Experience

Few things sound better than a coffee drink poured over chilly ice on a warm, summer day in Texas. Whether it be sitting outdoors at a Starbucks or your local coffee shop, there’s something relaxing (and tasty) about iced coffees, especially the frappé coffee.

After being invented on accident by coffee makers in the city of Thessaloniki, it soon evolved into a hallmark of Greek coffee culture, and is enjoyed by Greeks and foreign tourists alike.

Frappé coffee is very popular in Greece and is starting to emerge an alternative to sugar-heavy frappuccino and cappuccinos at chain coffee stores.

When a representative from Nestlé visited Thessaloniki for a trade fair, he came promoting a new chocolate-flavored beverage aimed at children that was made by adding milk and powder into a cocktail shaker and shaking it. One afternoon, an employee from Nestlé who had seen the presentation was in search for a way to enjoy his coffee. With no hot water on hand, he mixed instant coffee with cold water and ice cubes and shook it up. This experiment led to what Nestlé deems its “most popular drink in all of Greece.”

So how can you make your own frappé coffee and taste the history of Greece in your own home? It’s simple. Add a couple teaspoons of your favorite instant coffee with sugar (to taste) and a small amount of water to a cocktail shaker. The foam that comes as a result of the heavy shaking should be poured into a tall glass and over ice cubes – best served with a straw. Opa!

How the GREEKS Perfected Wine

Summer wines can be a delicious addition to any summer time meal. Isn’t it nice to sit outside, dine on the patio in warmer weather, enjoy decadent food and sip on a delicate red or white wine while enjoying the company of friends or family?

Wine is a great addition to nearly any meal, but do you know some history behind our favorite
(Greek) beverage?

History tells us that Greece is the 2nd oldest wine-producing region in the world. Early records
indicated that grape wine remnants and evidence of squashed grapes to produce wine began
in Greece nearly 6,500 years ago. Early evidence of wine production, potentially dating back to
the third century BC, was found on the Greek island of Crete, one of the largest islands in the
Mediterranean Sea.

The history of wine and Greece intertwine beautifully.
Early Greek physicians like Hippocrates were said to have prescribed wine for their patients
to treat a variety of illnesses. Trade materials often included Greek wines as currency when
bartering for food, livestock or clothing with others. Religious ceremonies included wine for
communal purposes as well as in large gatherings and celebrations with friends and family.

We’d like to think not much has changed.

Celebrate with Ziziki’s Restaurant for your next special occasion and taste the delicacy of Greek
wine like the popular Cabernet Sauvignon, one of Greece’s first vineyards or try and of our other
popular wines.

So - join us in “studying” history. We’ll have a glass waiting for you.

Celebrating the Mediterranean Diet

A recent Spanish medical study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals that a diet full of low-fat “Mediterranean” items can drastically reduce your risk for heart disease and a variety of other heart related illnesses.

So what does this mean? It means that the Mediterranean diet is good for you - and that Ziziki's, Ziziki's Taverna and The Greek One Arts are EXCELLENT choices for lunch and dinner! Opa!

The study revealed that the participants of the study experience a near 30 percent drop in risk for major cardiovascular problems. How many of us would be comforted by a 30 percent decrease in risk? I know we would.

The “Mediterranean Diet” isn’t a new fad but a long-researched (and ancient) meal planning method used by many in the Mediterranean region. It consists of eating fresh food on a more regular basis, including fish, grains and plenty of fruits and vegetables.

The Mediterranean Diet is based on eating less “meats & sweets” and deciding to choose more
fibrous carbs and healthier proteins. Of course, everything should be portion-controlled.

Mayo Clinic suggests that while eating according to the Mediterranean Diet you should use herbs and spices instead of salt to season your entrees while remembering to replace butter with healthy fats and oils.

The best part of the Mediterranean Diet is that it leaves room for one of our favorite meal
accents, wine! The diet suggests drinking red wine in moderation while limiting your intake of red meat.

Stop by and sample our wide variety of wines from all across the globe and embrace a healthier
diet and a healthier you.

Spring Is Here - Demeter Style

Who can we thank for Spring? According to ancient Greeks, it'd be Demeter. Demeter, is actually a major Greek goddess, even though we don't hear about her as much as we do even some of the lesser gods and goddesses from ancient Greece.

She was the daughter of the Titans Rhea and Chronus. So in Percy Jackson terms, she'd have been sister to the BIG THREE, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. She's symbolized by the 'horn of plenty' (Cornucopia? Hunger games anyone?) and was pretty much in charge of agriculture and fertility. All things that represent Spring and renewal.

Her daughter - Persephone, was kidnapped by Hades. In return, she forbade all plant life and growth while he held her prisoner. Once she was released, the green leaves and grasses resumed growth. So from this story, it was believed that Spring occurred when Persephone left the underworld, and Hades, and was returned to her mother for a short time.

Image and content from About.com Ancient History.

Taking Cues From Ancient Greek Culinary Tradition

Even in modern times, we look for cues from our ancestors for culture, tradition, and culinary know-how. And even now, in Athens, Greece - there are those who thrive learning to cook and eat like the ancient Greeks did at this foodie-lovers workshop where meals are prepared using the same ingredients as the ancient Greeks used, and then a state fair-style sampling of their recipes.

[Andrew Dalby, Food Historian]:
"It was the center of ancient life as it can still be the center of life now. If we take our life and if we take our family seriously, eating can still be the center. It certainly was to them."

Being the premier Dallas Greek Restaurant, we know for sure that the main staples in Greek cuisine are olives, olive oil, parsley, oregano, honey, fish and bread, - and have been for centuries. We also know how healthy Mediterranean dishes are - considering the longevity of Greek people.

Some distinct differences between ancient times and modern were pointed out, however - such as the fact that ancient Greeks didn't eat much meat.

[Andrew Dalby, Food Historian]:
"Meat was not a big item in the ancient diet - and perhaps not so much in the modern diet as in some other countries, but people are getting more and more interested in meat, which is not necessarily good for us."

The three main meals of modernity were observed in old days, though - breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast was a bit different, with wine and bread being the fare.

The Luck Of The Greeks?

Go green in Greece! Of course, St. Patrick was obviously Irish, and never lost his love of his Emerald isle for the ones in Greece, but there is a large Greek-Irish community in Greece, as well as Irish pubs all round several cities in Greece. Celebrations are imminent.

But what do you really need for a proper St. Patty's day celebration? Beer. Try FIX1864 Greek beer - (the original, royal beer of Greece since 1864!) you can rest easy that there will be some pinching, good luck, and all the rest - in Greece - as there is here in the U.S.

Can't get to Athens? If you wanted to try the Greek beer and enjoy some Greek cuisine on St. Patty's day - visit any of our Ziziki's restaurant locations or pop in to Ziziki's Taverna in Addison. Of course, if you want to have ANY beer or even wine - our night scene is wonderful at all locations, with a fully stocked bar and wine list.

So - enjoy the night, wear your green, and toast away! In Greece, the Irish version of "Cheers", "Slainte" is acctually translated a bit - to "Yasou!" or "Yamas!"

We'll just keep it simple here - and say, "OPA!"