Anna and Lazaros opened the Gardens of Salonica in 1991 promising to provide the best of traditional and modern Greek cuisine using the finest ingredients: local, all-natural and organic when available. The Gardens is a neighborhood oasis in NE Minneapolis believing that the best advertisement is through word of mouth.

It's NOT too Soon to Plan for Valentine's Day!

Who knew that Valentine's Day would be our most popular day of the year? (together with the week after Thanksgiving and between Christmas and New Year's Eve) Finally, five years ago

"Nike" to the Vikings!

Go Vikings! You may not know....but the Vikings have had a looooong connection with Greece! Yes they have. They were trading lumber and tar (we needed it for our ships and Retsina!) for honey and walnuts.

Yigandes and Patzaria: Again and Again!

Again and again for nearly twenty years, really? TWENTY years??!! Two
favorites maintain their "top favorite" listing. But
sometimes not even we can stop our bragging. Today's batch of Yigandes:
Giant Imported Beans from Greece (no, NOT Fava, NOT Broad or Butter
Beans and certainly NOT Lima Beans!) and Patzaria
(steamed green-top beets--that means beets AND their green tops) just
took our breath away. The entire staff indulged and were in bliss! We
had it with the Haggipavlu wine. The Agios Onoufrios works this one too!

Mezethes/Krasi/Horos Donation for Milkweed Editions

by gosCook | Tue, 01/05/2010 - 23:49

On Tuesday, the Gardens hosted Jim & John's purchased donation package: Mezethes/Krasi/Horos benefiting Milkweed Publications. What is Mezethes? Krasi? Horos? Mezethes is the plural of Meze: an appetizer traditionally served

A Wedding Celebration @ The Gardens

by gosCook | Thu, 11/19/2009 - 12:47

Our fourth wedding was held at the Gardens on Saturday November 7. The celebrants,
Monique and Murthy, and their guests were regaled by belly dancing, live music and, of course, a sumptuous feast highlighted by a half oven roasted lamb from Hill and Vale and a dessert tower

Galaktobureko from the Get-go!

One of the first pastries we produced....even before Baklavas! It cam out of the oven and I just couldn't let it go by without a photo shoot! Semolina cream teased with flakes of organic orange peel in layers of fillo with lemon syrup poured over it. Wouldn't you know? Organic milk, sugar, eggs and organic Hope butter! Here shown with Samos wine (a lovely apricot scented liquor from the Muscat grape from the Island of Samos) and a Greek coffee. "Galactic"=cream "burek"=pastry:... i.e. cream pastry or as some of our customers have devised the mnemonic: "galactic burrito".

"I think It's the Best Meal I Ever Had at Gardens!"

And how long have Matt and Krista been dining at the Gardens for us to pay attention to such a compliment? Longer than the births of their two sons,

Saganaki: We Flambeed for the New Years!

While saganaki refers to the small skillet, one in which single-serve portions of appetizers are fried or broiled, the practice of flambeing the cooked food started at the Parthenon Restaurant in Greektown in 1968 when a customer suggested it to the owner. At the Gardens we continue the traditional presentation selecting cheeses: Haloumi, Kefalogrviera, Kefalotyri or Kaseri according to their availability and quality. To warm up the Holidays, the Gardens offered flambeed cheese table side at no extra charge. Here, Sophia demonstrates.

Greek Conversation Monday Nights @ Gardens

Every Monday night, Anna conducts Greek conversation classes the Gardens. Cost is $10 for the 45 minute session which begins at 6:30. For more info contact Anna at entree@gardensofsalonica.com