Aegean Cove, Astoria

Aegean Cove restaurateur Stelios Varvounis carried his passion for the cuisine of his ancestral Greece first to Paris for advanced culinary training and then to his low-lit dining room, which "operates on the refined edge of Astoria’s Greek-dining spectrum" with "exceptional flavor and some flair," according to New York Magazine. Amid polished wood, tablecloths bleached white by authentic Mediterranean sun rays, and a stone wall inset with nooks holding traditional crockery, servers glide by bearing glimpses of an enormous menu of fresh, whole fish, creamy appetizer spreads, and grilled chops, steak, and chicken of impeccable provenance, all accessorized with local produce.