One of our favorite Greek restaurants in the U.S.: @DelphiGreek (Los Angeles)
Posted January 17, 2012 by Do BianchiCategories: Boutari, Los Angeles, California
Tags: Roozbeh Farahanipour, Westwood, Delphi Greek, Los Angeles, UCLA

Today’s post is a shout-out to one of our favorite Greek restaurants in the U.S., Delphi Greek in Westwood (Los Angeles, California).
It’s not one of our favorites just because the food is delicious and very reasonably priced.

It’s not one of our favorites just because the wine list is a veritable temple to Boutari.
It’s not one of our favorites just because the owner searches all over the world to complete his “library” of Boutari wines.

No, it’s because the simpatico owner Roozbeh Farahanipour is an Iranian freedom fighter who uses his office at the restaurant as his headquarters in his virtual campaign to fight for the Iranian people’s freedom. Roozbeh is one of the nicest people in the business that we know and it’s remarkable to think that he’s been imprisoned in Iran, he’s been tortured, and that every day he continues to serve up great Greek cuisine with a smile for the many UCLA students who live in his neighborhood.
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Santorini winery one of the “ten architectural wonders of the wine world” @WineSpiralPro
Posted January 12, 2012 by Do BianchiCategories: accolades, Boutari, Santorini

From the Wine Spiral Project…
Fitting with the quaint white structures of Santorini’s cliffsides, this winery in Megalohori, Greece includes an administration area, an exhibition and sales building and “Tholos,” the domed structure pictured above. Tastings and audio-visual presentations happen inside, but the real treat is outside, with the contrast of the buildings against the greens and blues of the island. Designed by Yannos Yanniotis.
“Don’t be xenophobic of Xinomavro” @MikeMadrigale @BarBoulud
Posted January 10, 2012 by Do BianchiCategories: Boutari
Sunday night (January 8) at Bar Boulud (NYC), sommelier Mike Madrigale poured Boutari Naoussa from magnum. Pretty friggin’ cool!


@GreekGateway interview with Christina Boutari
Posted January 6, 2012 by Do BianchiCategories: Boutari

Jonathan Bliangas: Tell us about some of the challenges or benefits that come with having a winery located in a climate and landscape like Greece, and more specifically Santorini.
Christina Boutari: Greece has an excellent climate for many products, especially wine. Specifically, however, when it comes to Santorini, we are talking about a location with a very unique climate and a very unique soil made of volcanic rock. As a result, what we get is a very unique wine. Santorini is a warm, dry, and windy island. This can sometimes be a challenge when it comes to producing wine. As a matter of fact, the vineyards in Santorini were traditionally formed in the shape of round baskets. This was done to shelter the grapes from the heat and wind. It’s a very different way of growing grapes, and to my knowledge, Greece is the only country that practices this method.
We can’t wait to try @StellasRichmond
Posted January 3, 2012 by Do BianchiCategories: Boutari, Our recommendations, restaurants

From the department of “so much great food, so little time”…
We can’t wait to try Stellas in Richmond Virginia.
Simply Stella
By Tanya Cauthen
Richmond Magazine
Richmond culinary legend is far from retired.
To anyone who has met her, she is simply Stella. During her 40-plus years in Richmond, Stella Dikos has become a culinary icon, whether she was at The Village, Joe’s Inn, the eponymously named Stella’s, or her daughter and son-in-law’s restaurants — Sidewalk Cafè and 3 Monkeys, to name a few.
Born in German-occupied Greece in 1942, Stella was 4 when her mother died, and her father was a hard-working tailor. “He pushed me; he expected so much of me. I think that’s why I work so hard,” she says, before adding, “We weren’t rich.”
When presented with a marriage proposal by Stavros Dikos — a young man from a neighboring village who had gone to America to create his future — Stella saw new possibilities for her life. She came to the United States on May 10, 1962, joining Stavros at his restaurant, The Village. Stella learned the business by doing a little bit of everything and realized she had found her calling. “I discovered I loved people and they loved me,” she says, beaming. She and her husband worked hard and started a family — they had a daughter, Katrina, and a son, Demietri.
The Dikoses sold The Village in 1980 and helped expand Joe’s Inn, owned and run by Stella’s brother, Nick Kafantaris. Eventually it was time for something new, so in 1983 they opened Stella’s on Harrison Street. In 1995, the Dikoses closed Stella’s. “It was time,” Stella says. She focused on her family and young grandchild.
But within two years, Stella’s was reborn at a new Main Street location — as a partnership between Stella and her daughter. The restaurant had a nice run until 2005, when, in a seemingly sudden move, Stella’s closed again. “My husband was ailing,” Stella explains. “I needed to take care of him.”
Of course, Stella hasn’t stopped cooking. She can still be found most mornings prepping food at 3 Monkeys, which is owned by Katrina and Stella’s son-in-law Johnny Giavos. “I need to feed people,” Stella says, smiling. “It’s what makes me happy.”







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