Betcha never thought you’d see a place in an airport terminal reviewed on a food blog.  I betcha a million dollars.  You know why?  Cause airport eating sucks.  It sucks so bad.  Todd hates flying for 4 major reasons: 1) security (usually former prison guards), 2) jet lag, 3) non-free access to the inter-webs, and 4) horrendous food on the plane, at the airport, and even on the way to the airport (strip clubs, hooters, and “Chotchkie’s”-styled terrible chain restaurants just don’t do it for me).

Why?  Why do this?  Especially to the poor traveling public, many of which do not appreciate being frisked for no good reason only to go on to eat at one of the many terrible airport burrito chains.  [Fun side-note: to create your own burrito chain, use any fun combination of the following words, in any order: baja, chipotle, fresh, fast, fiesta, amigo, taco, pepper.  Now you too can open the fun, new “baja amigo fiesta fresh” restaurants in the airport of your choosing!]

Well, friends, the world changed when JetBlue decided to be a unique example of an American airline taking their heads out of their backsides and opened an airport terminal that actually acts as a functional hub for a modern, traveling, HUNGRY populace.  The new Terminal (#6) at JFK airport in New York is a beacon of gastronomical hope in a world of shit-laced peanuts and crappy, greased up tacos.

Eateries opened include a cake place (serving NY cheesecake among others) called “Aunt Butchies,” as well as a “Famous Famiglia Pizzeria,” a NY-style pizza chain that started on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.  How about that?   A NY Cheesecake/pizza place in…New York.  An airport that actually desires to serve regionally-styled food to the gazillion people that pass through it a year?  And that’s not all friends…

Among many others, there is a burrito place (yes – ‘mex and the city,’ witty if not slightly offensive), a smoothie place, Dunkin Donuts (god yes), and an honest to god Boar’s Head Deli.  Boar’s head!  A great mass-market deli meat now forms the basis of an airport deli, which, by the way, employs a touch-screen ordering system.  I was as shocked as you are.  So the next time you have the choice between flying direct on some crappy 5:30 am flight or taking a quick spin through JFK, remember that your trip could be substantially more pleasant given good architecture, free WI-FI, ample laptop plugs, and food that actually makes you look forward to grabbing a bite at the airport.  Oh yeah, did I mention that you can order food at a laptop stand and they actually deliver it to you…in the airport.

For more info: http://www.jetblue.com/about/jfk/food.html

For more about the even more hoity-toity dining opportunities in JFK: http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sunday/travel/ny-trglobe5886195oct19,0,7935547.story

If you don’t know a lot about who runs this site, we are actually a two man team.  John, who is currently writing this, lives in Ann Arbor, MI and Todd lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  This past weekend we came together and decided to head to Detroit, which hosts many delicious restaurants.  Our hotel was in Greek Town, so many of our adventures took place there.  If you are not familiar with Greek Town, it is a district in down town Detroit that is home to over 20 great restaurants (ranging from fine dining to authentic Greek fare), pastry shops and the Greektown Casino.  The New Hellas Cafe was once featured on Emeril Live.  If you are ever in the Detroit area, I highly recommend stopping by and checking it out.  I will be posting many pictures and stories from our stay over the next day or two.

Our first stop was Cyprus Taverna.  This is one of the less touristy restaurants in the area, and is serving some great authentic Greek food for a very reasonable price.  It was only right that we began our meal with Saganaki, or flaming Halloumi cheese.  This always goes great with the bread, and is flambeed at your table by your waiter or waitress.

We then moved on to our appetizer, which was the fried calamari.  I have a huge fan of calamari but it is difficult to find people who can properly cook it.  Often you get a dish that is so fried that you can not actually taste the delicious calamari.  Cyprus Taverna’s calamari is lightly fried which gives you a crispy exterior and a delicious interior.  You can actually taste the calamari and the outside has a nice crunch.  This was definitely some of the best calamari I have ever tasted.

We then moved on to our entrees.  Our waitress was a delightful Greek woman who grew up in London and had many recommendations for our meals.  Todd decided to go with the lamb, which Cyprus Taverna is known for.  His girlfriend, Ghazaleh, picked a stuffed pepper and tomato, and one original John went with the Greek Trio with a spinach pie, Moussaka, and one other selection that I can not recall.  Sadly I did not write down or remember what everything was served with so I can not explain our dishes in much detail.

All in all, Cyprus Taverna is definitely making some of the best food in Greek Town.  It is reasonably priced, the service is great, and it is less touristy than other locations.  If you are ever in Greek Town, Epic Portions highly recommends you stop in for dinner.

Cyprus Taverna
579 Monroe St
Detroit, MI 48226
(313) 961-1550