Greek Village

[jdetal]

Does anyone know of a new Greek resaturant in Northvale?

[menton1]

This place has been there more than 4 years-- it is not new. The manager of Its Greek to Me, Englewood left to open his own place. The food is remarkably similar to Its Greek to Me. Ambience is a bit lacking, however. The owner, Jimmy, is a lovely person. Good for lunch or takeout. Gets very crowded on Friday and Saturdays. The usual greek fare is quite reliable, if unspectacular. Good Gyro sandwiches, grilled meats, greek salads, and if they have Imam Baldi it is great. (An eggplant dish). Some of the movie stars who live in Snedens Landing, NY frequent the place, photos on the wall.

The address is 211 Livingston Street, Northvale. They are closed Sundays.

[Rosie]

Are they BYO?

[Rachel Perlow]

Greek Village

211 Livingston St, Northvale, NJ 07647

Phone: (201) 750-8570

Has anyone ever been to this place? We're going there tonight so any input would be appreciated. Otherwise, we'll let you know how it was...

[Rachel Perlow]

Just got home and couldn't wait to tell you all that the food at this place is terrific, but please don't go! Apparently, they are always as busy as they were tonight. We had to wait a few minutes for a table, they don't take reservations. But the wait wasn't too bad. The place is on the small side, I would say seating for about 25-30 (comfortably, not jammed in). They also do take out and are BYO. We sampled several starters including the Avgolemono soup ($2.50 for a bowl) and Fresh Beets ($4.25), which are marinated and served with a scoop of Skordalia and plenty of pita. They had an Artichoke Pie on the specials board, but had run out, so we "settled" for their Spanakopita ($4.25), which was a tasty and generously filled with spinach and cheese; it was very large, we brought half of it home. The side salad that came with (actually before) Jason's Mousaka ($9.95) was large enough to share, but I gave him all the olives and the dolma.

I had the fish special, a whole grilled Striped Bass ($14.95), which was charred on the outside, but moistly rich on the inside, especially between the bones. The side for the fish was an average rice pilaf and half a zucchini, grilled perfectly. The Mousaka was not served with any tomato sauce (the waitress was very perceptive of our noticing it was not there and immediately came over and asked if we'd like some on the side), and I thought it was a little too starchy with a lot of bechamel, but Jason enjoyed it. It was a huge portion, he could only eat half of it. In fact, I couldn't finish my fish either, not if I wanted to save room for dessert. They serve a delicious rolled version of Baklava ($2.50).

Since we had some of our dishes left over, we started planning Saturday's lunch around our leftovers. One of the specials intrigued me, Artichoke Stew ($6.50) so we ordered some of that to go. I'll let you know how it is tomorrow. This is not in the least a fancy place, kind of reminded me of a larger version of It's Greek To Me (the one in Cliffside Park). Really good food, friendly, efficient service, and a great value to boot. Plan on waiting no matter when you go, or call ahead and get take out (they'll fax you a menu) if you live in the area. I can't believe we've lived about 15 minutes from this place for 2 years and just discovered it.

[menton1]

Greek Village

211 Livingston St, Northvale, NJ 07647

Phone: (201) 750-8570

Has anyone ever been to this place? We're going there tonight so any input would be appreciated. Otherwise, we'll let you know how it was...

Jimmy, the owner, opened this as a clone of Its Greek to Me, where he worked for many years. He is closed Sunday, which is a bummer, but a very nice hard working person who deserves success. Big crowds on Fri and Sat nights. Many show biz types come who live in nearby Snedens Landing. But, Its Greek to Me is a lot more attractive-- Jimmy should spruce the place up a bit, looks like a deli with tables.

I recommend the Imam Baldi, an eggplant dish.

Edited March 22, 2003 by Jason Perlow (log)

[jhlurie]

Jimmy, the owner, opened this as a clone of Its Greek to Me, where he worked for many years. . .

. . .But, Its Greek to Me is a lot more attractive-- Jimmy should spruce the place up a bit, looks like a deli with tables.

There are three "It's Greek to Me" locations. Can you be more specific about which one he was cloning? The three locations actually vary quite a bit in terms of both appearance and food.

[Jason Perlow]

He said englewood... which is the original

I actually think the food is better than Its Greek To Me in englewood, but I havent tried their Gyros or Souvlaki yet. But from what I saw at other tables, it looks pretty damn good. Portions are MASSIVE though, which goes for pretty much everything you order.

He also makes one hell of a good Greek (Turkish) Coffee.

[menton1]

Jimmy, the owner, opened this as a clone of Its Greek to Me, where he worked for many years. . .

. . .But, Its Greek to Me is a lot more attractive-- Jimmy should spruce the place up a bit, looks like a deli with tables.

There are three "It's Greek to Me" locations. Can you be more specific about which one he was cloning? The three locations actually vary quite a bit in terms of both appearance and food.

Actually, you are right, Its Greek to Me is actually FRANCHISING now, and there are about 8 locations, all with different owners, and vast differences in quality. I do like Englewood the best, it is cute and attractive and has the best service.

As far as Greek Village, we only do takeout now because while the food is good the ambience is spartan; they would be well served to reinvest some $ in redecorating a bit. For a sit down we go to IGTM in Englewood, very reminiscent of a Greek taverna.

[jhlurie]

Well if there are eight, thats news to me. The three I'm familiar with (Fort Lee, Englewood and Cliffside Park) have all been around for many years.

I would have checked their current domain listing, but oddly enough, they seem to have surrendered their domain name. They used to have itsgreektometaverna.com

EDIT - Actually they must have changed the domain name for some reason. It's http://www.itsgreektome-taverna.com/ now (although their menus have the version without the dash after "me" printed on them)

Website claims six locations (Fort Lee, Englewood, Cliffside Park, Westwood, Ridgewood, and Holmdel), although who knows how old the content on it is. It also reveals that Cliffside Park is the original, which is actually how I remembered it.

Edited March 23, 2003 by jhlurie (log)

[Jason Perlow]

This evening we went to go to Greek Village for dinner, and the restaurant was closed -- according to the hastily pinned up message on the door, Jimmy, the owner, has passed away.

The restaurant will be open in a few days. I plan to go back there ASAP to give my condolences.

[menton1]

That's shocking news! Jimmy was a very nice person, he helped us when we went to Greece with advice (He was from Sparta) and he must have been just in his 40s. Even though I have criticized the ambience here in past posts, I wanted Jimmy to succeed here, he deserved it, and it seemed he had made a success. How sad!!

[Rachel Perlow]

I called to check and they have reopened.

[menton1]

Went to It's Greek to Me in Englewood last night and asked there about Jimmy, the owner of Greek Village. He used to work at IGTM and these folks all know each other. They did confirm his demise, at only 41 years old, a sudden heart attack. Possibly some member of his family will take over the business. (He wasn't married). Such a nice person, and he had worked hard for a modicum of success in Northvale in only 4 years. A real tragedy. I still can't get over it, still very shocked.

[Jason Perlow]

Went to It's Greek to Me in Englewood last night and asked there about Jimmy, the owner of Greek Village.  He used to work at IGTM and these folks all know each other.  They did confirm his demise, at only 41 years old, a sudden heart attack.  Possibly some member of his family will take over the business.  (He wasn't married).  Such a nice person, and he had worked hard for a modicum of success in Northvale in only 4 years.  A real tragedy.  I still can't get over it, still very shocked.

We ate there this weekend, business is as busy as ever. A lady there and Milton (Jimmy's nephew) seem to be running things just as smoothly as usual. I wouldn't worry too much.

I told Milton that everyone on eGullet who knew Jimmy has only great things to say about him and the restaurant and he was universally liked by everyone. I think he was really happy to hear that.

[Rachel Perlow]

Possibly some member of his family will take over the business.  (He wasn't married).

Maybe the lady in charge is his sister?

[helenas]

Website claims six locations (Fort Lee, Englewood, Cliffside Park, Westwood, Ridgewood, and Holmdel),

A Holmdel location became very popular place for local lunches, and rightly so.

Excellent gyro, tender fried calamari. I havent tried any of their main courses, but mezes are pretty good, as well as their pitas. Big portions though.

Edited June 24, 2003 by helenas (log)

[menton1]

A Holmdel location became very popular place for local lunches, and rightly so.

Excellent gyro, tender fried calamari. I havent tried any of their main courses, but mezes are pretty good, as well as their pitas. Big portions though.

You are mixing up Greek Village with Its Greek to Me; Greek Village is a one-store independent operation, IGTM is a franchise, all locations have different owners, so they are all slightly different. We have a separate thread on IGTM.