ASTORIA — There are plenty of Greek cafés and restaurants in Astoria, say the Greek immigrant owners of a new bakery café in the neighborhood, and that’s exactly why they say they want their place to go beyond ethnic branding and cater to all nationalities in the area.
For this reason they gave the bakery, located at 32-06 30th Ave. — just across the street from the popular Athens Café — such a generic name: New York Bakery Café.
Its interior is also plain, without a hint of its owners' Greek origins.
"We want it to be a place for everybody," said Dennis Linardatos, 48, one of the two owners, who also owns a coffee shop in Manhattan near Columbia University.
His business partner, Chris Hakias, 57, the main baker, makes almost everything by himself. His secret, he says, is to make all products from scratch. "Flower, egg, sugar and milk. That’s all you need," he says. Even ice cream is homemade.
Hakias has over 40 years of experience in baking and practically grew up at the bakery his father ran in Thessaloniki, Greece. "I don’t even need to look at the recipes," he said. "I can bake with my eyes closed."
The two met at Hakias’ other bakery in Bayside, Queens, and decided to join forces.
Greek desserts, from galaktoboureko to baklava and kataifi, mix here with colorful pastries from various parts of the world, including Italian biscotti and cannoli and American pies and tarts.
The bakery takes a special pride in triangles — trigonos in Greek — made of phyllo dough with custard and syrup.
"You won’t find it anywhere else," claims manager, Nick Tselekas.
One triangle costs $4.50. Many pastries, like tarts, are sold by weight ($14 a pound).
