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| Yia Yia's Sign |
THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE
YIA YA’S KITCHEN’S DOWN-HOME GREEK CUISINE:
FLAVOR! FLAVOR! FLAVOR!
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| Convenient Location off Route-1 in Beltsville, M.D. with plenty of parking |
YIA YIA’S
IS AN UNCOMMONLY FLAVOR-FRESH OAISIS...
Yia Yia’s cuisine is easily the soul-food kitchen of the
Mediterranean. They have transformed the simplest traditional Greek dishes such
as chicken and beef souvlaki, eggplant moussaka and of course the three choices
of pork, lamb and chicken gyro into a virtuous celebration of flavor. Yia Yia’s
lemon-chicken soup with fresh dill is also a surprisingly fresh and complex
dish that you’ll want to have just for yourself.
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| Greek Meatballs |
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| Beef Souvlaki |
I discovered Yia Yia's whilst parking for a different restaurant.
The sign said that it was a gyro shop but it actually offers so much more! After I walked inside and up to the counter the full range of Yia Yia’s kitchen opened up before me. When I found moussaka on the menu I was all-in! I watched people from every walk of life place their orders. That is
always the hallmark of a restaurant that has amazing food accessible to the
tastes of everyone. People know good food when they taste it and come back to celebrate it faithfully.
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| Traditional Gyro |
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| Lemon Chicken Soup with fresh dill |
The chef’s at Yia Yia’s are contagiously enthusiastic about their
culinary creations. Not only do they personally bring entrees to their guest
but they are constantly coming out from the kitchen to talk to and briefky mingle with diners bearing fresh samples of
new and standard menu items. Its a friendly place for first-timers. That’s why I look forward to returning so I can try the next entrée… and the next time it will be the hearty Greek meatballs.
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| Spinikapita, Pita Soup and Baklava |
The food-forward atmosphere was a refreshing change from the often bland restaurant scene in
nearby Washington, D.C. which can be more focused on paying the rent than mastering the art of delicious food which is why we bother to go out to restaurants in the first place. With so many choices I never go out just to fill my belly but to have an extraordinary culinary experience… l have always upheld
one primary standard for evaluating eating establishments and that is, “Flavor!
Flavor! Flavor!,” the other variables being universal expectations for all restaurants.
So many restaurants serve food that sounds interesting on the menu, plates
beautifully and is impeccably healthy but somewhere along the journey between
the menu and our tongues the most memorable ingredient, flavor has been
hopelessly lost. I will go on record saying that Yia Yia’s is the antedote for flavorless
food… it’s cusine is rich, bold, healthy and simply refreshing…
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| My Favorite... Moussaka |
One of the common flavors distinguishing Yia Yia’s cuisine
is fresh lemon juice. I tasted it in so many of the delicious entrees and it
was never bitter or overpowering. But the main element that makes the goodness
of the food outstanding is the overall freshness of the meats, vegetables and
other ingredients.
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| Me and my moussaka with a fresh Greek Salad |
I would never waste my readers time reviewing an eating
establishment that was not excellent, why bother at the end of the day to
obsess on negatives when food can truly be such a positive thing? I gravitate
to exceptional cuisine the artistry and flavor of which should be celebrated on
the tongue. So when I finished my meal and walked up to the chef to tell him
that the food was virtuous I meant to share my happy experience with the world…
So go to Yia Yia’s and have a taste of happiness!
For those who are
down for a memorable culinary experience Yia Yia’s Kitchen is located at
10413 Baltimore Ave., Beltsville Maryland 20705 their phone number is
301-595-1855.
