GL_122916

glenviewlantern.com Dining Out
the glenview lantern | December 29, 2016 | 21
Yanni’s brings a modern take on Greek food to The Glen
Courtney Jacquin
Contributing Editor
If you leave Yanni’s
hungry, you’re doing it
wrong.
The Glenview restaurant,
managed by seasoned
restaurant veteran Andy
Kalyviaris, is a little like
going to your grandma’s
house for Sunday supper,
if your grandma is a
world-class chef.
Yanni’s opened in October,
taking over the old
space of Jameson’s Charhouse
in The Glen Town
Center.
Kalyviaris and his family
owned the original Yanni’s
in Arlington Heights,
which served upscale Mediterranean
food for 13 years
from 1999–2012, but after
a changing of ownership
and closure, Kalyviaris and
his team decided it was
time to bring Yanni’s back.
“When that all happened,
we thought it might
be nice to bring it back,
and we saw demand in the
area,” Kalyviaris said.
The new Yanni’s is upscale
yet comfortable,
with a modern interior that
Kalyviaris says is “what
you would see in today’s
Greece.”
What Kalyviaris stressed
as the most important distinction
for the restaurant
was its focus on fresh and
quality ingredients. All
chicken is organic, hormone-
and antibiotic-free
meat is used in all dishes
and seafood is fresh daily,
including Gulf shrimp and
octopus from Spain. Classic
Greek fare such as the
Spanakotiropita (spinach
pie), moussaka and pastitsio
are made fresh to order,
while many Greek restaurants
typically prepare
them a sheet pan at a time.
Because of the focus
on freshness, the menu,
while filled with both hot
Yanni’s
2601 Navy Blvd.,
Glenview
(847) 832-9000
yannis-greek.com
4:30–10 p.m.
Tuesday–Thursday
4:30– 11 p.m. Friday–
Saturday
Noon–9 p.m. Sunday
and cold appetizers, salads,
fresh fish, kabobs and
Greek specialties, isn’t as
large as typical Greek offerings.
The menu also
comes with a warning: supplies
may be limited. For
Kalyviaris, he would rather
tell a customer something’s
sold out for the night than
give them sub-par quality.
While Kalyviaris is
the face, the men behind
the food are Kostas Anyfantis
and Charles Bowman.
Anyfantis is a native
Greek who was trained in
Athens, and Bowman was
the original chef at Yanni’s
who returned from a job in
New York to head up the
kitchen at the new venture.
When 22nd Century
Media came to try a sampling
of what Yanni’s had
to offer on a frigid December
night, we tried just
about everything and the
kitchen sink.
For starters, the standout
items include pikilia
kria ($12) and marides
($13).
Pikilia kria is a trio
of three dips: tzatziki, a
yogurt-based spread with
cucumber and dill; taramosalata,
a caviar mousse with
olive oil and lemon; and
melitzanosalata, a roasted
eggplant spread. The taramosalata
was similar in
consistency and taste to
hummus, but more sophisticated.
The dips are served
with crostini, but also pair
well with the restaurant’s
homemade bread. The taramosalata
and melitzanosalata
are also available on
their own for $8 each.
The marides, lightly
floured fried smelts, are
served with a tangy garlic
spread call skordalia. The
smelts are crispy, bite-size
and addictive. Similar in
taste and texture to popcorn
shrimp, but better.
In other pre-entree options,
Yanni’s offers four
salads. The maratho salata
($8) includes thinly sliced
fennel, pomegranate seeds,
pine nuts, tarragon and
dill, tossed in an olive oil
and lemon vinaigrette and
topped with feta. The sweet
pomegranate seeds add an
unexpected, but welcome
layer to the salad. The salads
can also be turned into
a heftier meal by adding
chicken ($8), salmon ($10)
or shrimp ($14).
Pastitsio ($16) is a
Greek lasagna made with
ground lamb and beef,
macaroni noodles and bechamel
sauce. It’s baked
to order in a souffle dish
and oozes with flavor. It’s
thick, heavy and ideal for a
cold winter night.
The youvetsi, braised
lamb with orzo, also deserves
mention for the tender
lamb in a red sauce.
On of the restaurant’s
most popular dishes is the
solomos exochiko ($26),
salmon baked in filo dough
with spinach and feta. It’s
similar to spinach pie, but
a thick piece of salmon
adds a unique touch and
puts an elevated spin on a
typical wrap or sandwich.
The kota lemonati agriomanitaria
($18), chicken
breast with wild mushrooms
sauteed in olive oil,
lemon and white wine is
similar in taste to chicken
piccata.
But it wouldn’t be a
meal without dessert. Yanni’s
has a rotating dessert
menu of four to five options
at $8 each. While options
vary, there are usual
favorites available daily.
The classic option is
baklava, with layers of
chopped nuts and filo
dough drizzled with honey.
For the more adventurous,
however, the Greek
yogurt mousse is the way
to go. Served with a tomato
marmalade and mint
syrup, upon description it
sounds like a savory dish,
but it’s refreshing and
lightly sweet without being
overpowering, a light
way to end a big fat Greek
meal.
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OPEN
Solomos exochiko ($26), a wrap consisting of salmon
baked in filo with spinach and feta, is one of the most
popular dishes at Yanni’s, located at 2601 Navy Blvd. in
The Glen Town Center in Glenview. Sarah Haider/22ND
CENTURY MEDIA
&
Above specials cannot be combined with any other offer.
Bonus Gift Cards cannot be used for these specials.
New Years Eve 11 am – 2017
New Years Day 12 Noon – 9pm
847.699.9999
1740 Milwaukee Avenue (at Lake Ave.) Glenview
No Limit