On Tuesday evening my father and I went to the Astor Center to experience the cooking of Michael Psilakis of Anthos and Kefi fame. Not only was I impressed, but I was so excited to see my dad experiencing new foods for the first time. Growing up with my parents they never really branched out into many different types of cuisine, and it is surprising to them that I eat practically everything. My father’s mantra is basically to burn or char everything on the grill, and lives for his bread and pasta (with red sauce only).

The first course we started with was the Octopus with salami, green apple, and anchovy dressing.  This was my father’s favorite dish he told Psilakis, pretty impressive since he had never eaten octopus before.

The second course, which has won awards, and is served at Kefi (505 Columbus Ave. nr 84th St.), were the Ricotta Dumplings with tomato, pine nuts and spicy lamb sausage. This by far blew me away I need to go fulfill my craving yet again.

The third course was the braised lamb shank (literally melting in your mouth) over orzo. It was spectacular with its intense and rich flavors.

The dessert was Greek yogurt with Quince spoon fruit. This was the thickest and creamiest yogurt I have ever had, he said they get it from a Greek market in Long Island City called Titan’s.

Here are a few other pictures from the event.