Peachy Picks Loi Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins
Maria Loi
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If you think you've been to the best Greek restaurant in Manhattan and you haven't been to Loi, you are sadly mistaken because Loi cannot be beat. From the moment you enter Loi on West 70th Street, it will become immediately apparent to you that you are in the presence of not only greatness in the culinary sphere, but also one singular sensation that exudes passion for her vocation and when you taste her cuisine, you will feel as if you are on the best vacation of your life to Greece. The name of the singular sensation with the chorus line of hit after hit by course is Maria Loi, and she is fantastic. We liked her so much that we're writing in her favorite color. When in Greece you do as the Greeks do, and Maria recommended this superb full-bodied Greek red: Naoussa Grande Reserve 2000. It was a triumphant companion to each and every course we tried. By the way, she does not use butter. At all. Maria uses Olive Oil.
Now, Kali Orexi. That means Bon Appetit in Greek!
The yogurt is heavenly and you are going to want to bring it home with you, it is that good. The good news is you can as Maria sells it as well.
Loi has been open for just over a year, and of course it is named in honor of one of its owners and its Executive Chef, Maria Loi. Maria grew up on a farm and knows all there is to know about the Mediterranean diet. The ingredients she uses are of the utmost quality and we even took a tour of the kitchen prior to eating, and we found it to be well-organized, expansive and spotless. This only upped our total excitement to try each exquisite course.
There is a lot of love at Loi. We don't see many restaurant owners that go around hugging and kissing their employees, in front of us anyway, and we see even fewer where the employees are returning the love. We found it all to be genuine and we've never met Maria or anyone there before this review.
Loi was first featured in Tasty Tidbits:
We are pleased to announce it has sailed into Peachy's Picks without hesitation! The incredible cuisine and the sheer joy you feel from Maria in the spot where she shines will bring total happiness to all that have the excellent taste to dine at Loi. And there is total girl power going on here too-even the Chef de Cuisine is female. We've said it once and we'll say it again: anything boys can do, girls can do better!
You should know that in addition to the food being tops, it is FUN to eat it. Some restaurants can be so serious and uptight, the fun can disappear. Eating out should be FUN. Everything about Loi is fun, because Maria is fun and that is immediately apparent. Did you know she has 53 kids? Those lucky ducks....the menu reads: "In Greece, we don't have chopsticks, we have fingers...the silverware you know you can trust!" We were happy to dive in with our fingers to sample the only Greek sushi we've ever had: Horiatiki Roll-Naruto Style. Very refreshing, it contained feta cheese, kalamata olives and tomato with kafteri piperia me Yaourti (greek salad). We also tried some lovely green peppers to start. They were fiery enough but did not put us on fire.
On the appetizer menu, Peachy Deegan gravitated towards the Solomos Marinatos: Salmon Tartare. Served with Chives, Shallots, Horseradish and Lemon on a bed of shredded Phyllo with Yogurt-Dill emulsion, you will think you must be in the greek islands, but no, you are on the new greek island of Maria Loi called Manhattan. We asked Maria what the first thing she ever made was and she said meatballs at age seven...the farm she grew up on produced olives, tobacco, corn and tomatoes and this taught her how to identify quality and freshness.
It is a sign of a superior restaurant when they do octopus right and Maria does: she slow cooks it for ten hours in the oven. The name on the menu you must order is Htapodaki Stin Shara: Grilled Octopus Served with Red Wine, Macerated Onions, Capers, Almonds, Fresh Herbs, Oregano and Ladolemono. And when you ask her what she does to get the Octopus right, she is not all cunning and secretive like some chefs can be: Maria Loi takes her vocation seriously. As an ambassador of Greek Food, Maria wants to tell you how she does it, and she did with three key steps: 1. Fresh Octopus 2. Wine to Cook it in 3. Time. She did not say love but clearly there is love going into every dish. It is a pleasure for us to review a place such as Loi because when the owner is this excited about their restaurant, we cannot help but be excited too. When an owner is not too enthused, that should tell you something.
We next sipped this clean sparkling wine from Greece that highlighted main courses. It was divine! It is made from the Debina grape and its name - Floara di Munte - means flower of the mountains.
Above you see the incredible Papoutsakia, which should be your new comfort food! Baked baby eggplant stuffed with caramelized onion and vegetable medley, topped with Feta mousse also has intricate notes of cinnamon and nutmeg which are a majestic little highlight of this succulent dish.
We do not believe we have ever had Moussaka before, but let us warn you, you will be in love at first bite. This is a staple of Loi and you must try it. Maria's Traditional Moussaka is eggplant layered with slow cooked ground beef and bechamel sauce, finished with graviera cheese. It had a beautiful consistency -not oily, not milky, just right for Goldilocks Peachy. Every bite an exuberant triumph of taste and when you eat it you will feel like you are not at a restaurant, but rather at Maria's house.
Spanakopita was a terrific side-Fresh Spinach, Herbs and Feta cheese in Homemade Phyllo Layers.
Did we tell you she does not use butter?
We also sampled the luxurious little Tyrokeftedes: baked cheese croquettes with goat cheese and manouri with spiced fig compote. Peachy does not even like goat cheese, however, she likes MARIA's goat cheese. Just fantastic!
Seafood Orzo was the entree Peachy Deegan picked originally, and it was delicious! Yiouvetsi Thalassinon is the proper Greek name and here shrimp, clams, scallops and mussels party in caramelized red wine tomato sauce topped with feta cheese. If you adore seafood as much as her, you will love both this above and the Grilled Whole Branzino -Lavraki- below. Neither could have been better!
They also offer the most beautiful event spaces:
The night we visited, each were booked however we were there before these specific parties...
More on their great kitchen spaces:
Maria is extremely photogenic and winning in front of the camera! She was a celebrity chef in Greece with a top television show for many years prior to opening Loi.
Last but not least, do not forget dessert! Loi is a diet-friendly restaurant, but if you are on one perhaps do not order quite as many desserts as we tried.
We tried most of them! Above you see the Ekmek Kataifi: Shredded Phyllo Soaked in Honey Topped with Custard, Toasted Nuts and Light Cream. This had a lovely texture contrast and was totally original-to someone that is not Greek like Peachy we suppose!
Maria touches on a New York favorite with her cheesecake, further enhanced by blueberries! The Greek Cheese Cake is called Tyrogliko and has Crushed Mixed Nuts with a Honey Crust.
The Chocoholic-in-Chief totally loved Maria's Special Rich Chocolate Flourless Cake.
The Hermes Red Dessert wine was the right compliment to each component of the array of desserts!
Of all of the desserts, Peachy Deegan loved the blueberry yogurt the best. The original flavor was also fantastic. We're not sure we have ever, ever had yogurt this good, from the opening appetizer to the closing dessert.
You're going to think you're in heaven and Maria is an angel bringing you ambrosial concoctions of perfection.
Yaourti Me Meli is its proper name so you can order properly for yourself when the menu is in front of you. All names of dishes are in Greek with English descriptions so you will also be getting a cultural education here!
A cappuccino, and the night was complete. Don't forget: Maria doesn't use butter! The food is incredibly healthy here. And note she doesn't have customers: she has guests and YOU want to be one of them. You might even turn Greek and become her 54th child.
Our esteemed panelist adds:
Chef Loi's face was the first thing I saw when I arrived at this incredible venue. I immediately thought how awesome it is to have beauty and talent! The restaurant is very nice and the staff was eager to please. When Peachy arrived, we debated having a drink at the bar but decided to be seated.
Maria Loi (Chef/Owner) approached our table with a smile that lit up the room. She welcomed us as if we were old friends, but I quickly learned, she shares that warmth with everyone. She took her apron off - sat at our table and ask what we like to eat. She took it upon herself to order appetizers and WOW is all I can say. She shared her life, passions and the things important to her.
We ate Spanakopita, Papoutsakia, Htapodaki Stin Shara, Solomos Marinatos, her special sushi and cheese croquettes. Everything was amazing, but I was really impressed with the Octopus. Octopus can be very tough but she slow cooks hers for 10 hours. Maria ordered an amazing bottle of Greek red wine that complimented everything to perfection.
We could have ended our dining experience there and been completely content, but Maria had other plans. She ordered Moussaka that was to die for, Arnaki Sto Fourno – OMG, Yiouvetsi Thalassinon – with an amazing amount of seafood and Lavraki.
YESSSSS, dessert followed; Sokolatopita – ummmm, Ekmek Kataifi, Tyrogliko – homemade berry ice cream, THE BEST Yaourti Me Meli I’ve EVER eaten and more.
There was Greek champagne, a wonderful dessert wine and cappuccino to cap the evening off…they rolled us out!
Maria Loi is a very special woman who makes a difference in the lives she touches.
Chefs are “a dime a dozen” but she is truly something special!!!
Take a second to look her up…it will be soooo worth your while!!!
Peachy Picks Loi.
Loi is Highly Recommended by Whom You Know.
