Good Eats: GREEK FOOD!! (Astoria, Queens)

A Greek couple invited us for lunch at a Greek Taverna located in the midst of a thriving Greek community - in Astoria, Queens.

Most houses had well-kept gardens and some had festive Easter-themed decorations on their windows. Whereas this pair of shoes hanging from the telephone line reminded me of a scene from Tim Burton's "Big Fish" movie.

There was an eye-catching building with blue domes (I guess it was a Greek church), and a smattering of Greek restaurants within a couple of blocks from each other. Our friends strongly recommended Telly's Taverna though. When it comes to delicious authentic Greek food, I'm betting these two couldn't possibly go wrong.

Telly's Taverna is located at 28-13 23rd Avenue between 28th and 29th Street. To get there, take N or W train and get off at the last stop: Astoria-Ditmars Blvd. Business Hours: Mon.-Sat. 4 PM to midnight; Sun: 12:30 PM to midnight. Cash only.

For appetizers, we all shared plates of tasty Fried Calamari, very good Saganaki (olive-oil fried kasseri cheese) which was crusty on the outside and bubbling and runny within, a platter of 4 different dips (includes the garlicky yogurt - tsatsiki, and tangy carp roe - taramasalata ) which we ate with baskets of bread and deep fried thinly sliced eggplant "chips" (which the kids loved). For entree, I had the grilled swordfish (which was huge) while the kids shared meatballs with fried potatoes. One dad had the Sardines - and the order came on a plate teeming with heaps of small deep fried fish. You're supposed to eat them whole: head, body and tail. Another friend ordered a large grilled fish which was served whole. The waitress gladly deboned it, removing its head and tail before finally presenting it. Dessert was complimentary - 2 plates filled with fried dumplings (similar to zeppolis). But instead of confectioners sugar, these were generously dizzled with honey.