Turkish and Greek Culinary Delights: Exploring New York and New Jersey
- Written by Cemil Ozyurt
- Published in TOA Authors
By Cemil Ozyurt - We are once again presenting you with a special issue filled with exciting interviews, news, and beautiful content. We embark on a new beginning, a new brand, and a new face. Get ready to eagerly flip through the pages of this issue awaiting you. We will continue our journey as TURKOFAMERICA with the brand New York Life & Beyond. In our first edition under the new name, we will focus on Turkish and Greek restaurants operating in New York and New Jersey. The Greeks started to become a prominent presence in the diner business during huge waves of immigration in the 1940s. Many of these immigrants were farmers who knew how to run small businesses, and they learned the tricks of the trade by working at Greek coffee shops. But as quintessentially American as diners are, a large percentage of them are owned by first- or second-generation Greek families.
According to The Hellenic American Project, the so-called Great Migration began in the 1880s as Europeans emigrated to the U.S. to participate in fledgling American industrialization. One of the first waves, or 421,000 Greek immigrants, left Greece between 1890 and 1921 to settle in America, primarily on the east coast, but in Midwest cities such as Chicago, Detroit, and Pittsburgh as well. These areas are chock-full of Greek diner owners who started as unskilled immigrants, found jobs in existing cafés and restaurants, and eventually worked their way up from bussers or dishwashers, according to Kitchn.
Later on, they paved the way for the recognition of Greek cuisine by opening restaurants with a different, more modern style than traditional diners. Greek entrepreneurs' restaurants in New York City lead the examples of the city's most popular Mediterranean cuisine.
In addition to traditional Greek restaurants such as Taverna Kyclades and Gregory's 26 Corner Taverna in Astoria, Avra, Milos, Kellari, Limani, Periyali, Molyvos, Elea, Kyma, Lola Taverna, and MP Taverna are among the leading modern representatives of Greek cuisine in New York City. In New Jersey, Varka, Oceanos, Stamna, Lefkes, and Molos stand as strong representatives of Greek cuisine in the state.
Greek restaurants are currently making efforts to replicate their success in New York and New Jersey in other states.
Over the past 40 years, Turkish entrepreneurs in the restaurant industry have been following a similar path as their Greek counterparts. As you will see in our pages, the number of establishments serving Turkish cuisine in New York and New Jersey has reached 300. With different concepts ranging from pizza parlors to hookah lounges, fine dining restaurants to pide salons, these businesses will continue to grow, fueled by the increasing interest in Mediterranean cuisine.
We have once again featured the leading representatives of Turkish cuisine in New York in this issue. Turkish Kitchen is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. It is a remarkable achievement to operate under the same ownership in the ever-changing restaurant world for 30 years.
You will enjoy reading about the unique dishes and stories of Turkish and Greek restaurants.
In this issue, we also cover the names involved in the organization of aid from America to the earthquake that claimed the lives of over 50,000 people in Türkiye. The Turkish-Americans displayed great solidarity by collecting over 20 million dollars in cash and more than 250 containers of relief supplies to support the earthquake victims.
Our greatest desire is for you to share in our excitement with our new name..
