At Top Chef Mike Isabella’s foray into Greek cuisine, we ended our evening with a little game called Duck Duck Dinner. The Best Thing on the Menu: Roasted Duck Phyllo Pie with Cress, Cherries and Pistachio Yogurt was so good, we called in a second order for dessert. The plate shuffling and utensil conundrum we caused our server by throwing an appetizer in with our dessert order was as awkward as a duck on water-skis, but when it came to devouring a double dose of the BTM, we didn’t care. Tender shredded duck fills freshly-baked phyllo dough and the tart cherries and tangy pistachio yogurt are the perfect accompaniments. Each order comes with two triangles, so order accordingly or you’ll contribute to making doubling-up at dessert a true trend.
Duck wasn’t the only protein we were passionate about at Kapnos, which translates to “smoke” in Greek. It should come as no surprise that all of the spit-roasted meat was divine. We tried the lamb, suckling pig and the baby goat. If you’re only a table of two and need to pick one, definitely go for goat, which by the way is increasing in popularity.
Contrary to its meat-centric menu and carnivorous vibe, Kapnos has the potential to be a real haven for vegetarians. There are 20 items on the menu that are purely vegetarian. For herbivores sick of cobbling together a meal out of side dishes, you can call Kapnos home.
Finally, a word on imbibing. Come to Kapnos with an open mind when it comes to the wine list. Simply saying, “I’ll have the Greek wine to go with my Greek food” won’t get you very far, as there are an overwhelming number of hard-to-pronounce varietals offered. Perhaps this is one of those situations where you really do need a sommelier, or at least an oenophile server. Just for fun, here are seven top Greek varietals.
Roasted Duck Phyllo Pie with Cress, Cherries and Pistachio Yogurt not your BTM? Post your favorites in the comments section.
If you like this, you may also like: Zaytinya, Agora, or Kellari Taverna.
Best Thing on the Menu 
While I agree with everything here, my other top contenders for the BTM would definitely include the oven baked halibut (saying this as a tried and true carnivore) and their flatbread which is almost like a lighter but still buttery naan. Definitely will be making another trip back!
My BTM is going to the melitzanosalata for a super creative take on a baba ghanoush. The base of this meze is still the smoky eggplant of the baba ghanoush but Kapnos adds roasted peppers, walnuts and feta for an amazing mix of textures and tastes. The warm flatbread is the perfect vehicle to mop up every last bite of this delicious dish. Next time I am trying the duck phyllo pie!
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I won’t say that the phylo is not the best, but I would recommend the suckling pig over the baby goat. I order goat every time I see it on the menu and I was certainly more excited for its delivery to our table, but the suckling pig was just flat out awesome. Also, Brooke is on the money; the melitzanosalata is just damned tasty and a welcome variation on baba ghanoush.
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The phyllo pies were definitely scrumptious, but in my opinion the BTM was the charred octopus. It was to DIE for. Perfect smokey flavor and a really smooth and light texture. Usually with octopus, I am worried that it becomes slightly chewy and tough if not cooked exactly right, but that was definitely not a problem here! We almost ordered another round, but then the mezze plates kept coming and there was no more room in our stomachs. next time.
Love your choice Allison. I’m a sucker for octopus … no pun intended.
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Great reading your blog ppost