All Greek to Us

Without caving to time or trends, Baltimore’s Greektown lives on.

- Mike Unger

Our stomachs crave tradition. Perhaps none is as cherished by Americans as eating leftovers the day after Thanksgiving, but in a rowhouse restaurant in a small enclave of East Baltimore on November’s last Friday, it’s souvlaki and moussaka that Dr. Laura Sterni seeks, not stuffing or mashed potatoes.

Nicholas Georgalas is working the grill at Samos, ensuring that Sterni and his other loyal customers feed their Greek fixes. In a city whose culinary scene has evolved immeasurably since Georgalas opened what was then a tiny carryout spot in 1977, his eatery—like Ikaros and Zorba’s, the others that makeup Greektown’s Big Three—continues to thrive, despite dwindling numbers.

For the past 30 years, The Big Three was The Big Four. On Christmas Eve, the Acropolis Restaurant served its last roast leg of lamb. Owner George Avgerinos closed it after selling the business. His father, Dimitrios, opened it in 1987 and ran it until his death in September. As Baltimore went to print, there was no word on the new owners’ plan for the space.

How has the remaining trio survived? The restaurateurs who run these relics of a bygone era are men of many years and few, heavily accented words, but those words, like the ingredients in their time-tested dishes, each serve a distinct purpose.

“Greek cuisine is pretty simple,” Georgalas says as he uses tongs to flip a skewer of chicken, onto which he adds a dash of salt, pepper, and oregano. “Lemon, olive oil, garlic, onion. We don’t use too many elaborate things. When I first opened up, I had a vision of selling burgers and hot dogs to American people and souvlaki and gyro to Greek people. But we sell our ethnic food to everybody. Everyone wants spanakopita.”