{"id":21105,"date":"2025-09-11T09:14:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T13:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/?p=21105"},"modified":"2025-09-11T09:14:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T13:14:15","slug":"alpha-bravo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/?p=21105","title":{"rendered":"Alpha: Bravo!"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)<\/em>
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I\u2019ve written previously<\/a> about Alpha Bakery & Mediterranean Marketplace, the paragon of Greek cuisine on 5th Avenue in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn; I praised their comforting Bakaliaros and Skordalia (Fried Codfish and Garlic Mashed Potatoes) and their sweet Bougatsa (custard filled phyllo dough dusted with cinnamon and sugar). <\/p>\n

On this visit, the Olympic-sized tray of Pastitsio (\u03c0\u03b1\u03c3\u03c4\u03af\u03c4\u03c3\u03b9\u03bf)<\/em> beckoned. It\u2019s a three tiered affair: pasta at the base (typically the long tubular number 2 variety), a layer of meat sauce, (optionally another thin layer of noodles) and a dense, creamy b\u00e9chamel topping.<\/p>\n

Searching for a word to describe it adequately, I stumbled upon this: Meraki \u2013 \u201ca Modern Greek word (\u03bc\u03b5\u03c1\u03ac\u03ba\u03b9)<\/em> that describes doing something with your soul, creativity, or love, putting a piece of yourself into your work. It refers to a deep, passionate devotion and undivided attention to any task, leaving a part of yourself in what you create.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obviously, the Greeks have a word for it!<\/p>\n

Join me on my Flavors of Little Levant in Bay Ridge<\/a> ethnojunket and taste some for yourself!
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\n 
\nStay safe, be well, and eat whatever it takes! \u2764
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\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unique Greek boutique! Read on…. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3336,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,18],"tags":[88],"class_list":["post-21105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-good-eats","category-shopping","tag-greek"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3336"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21105"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21119,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21105\/revisions\/21119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}