A Cradle of Civilized Dining for Tustin

On the East Coast, especially in New York, if you find yourself in what appears to be an old-fashioned American diner, there’s a pretty good chance it’s Greek-run and owned. Such places are likely to have a long menu, including hamburgers, meatloaf and pot roast, but if you scratch just beneath the surface, you’ll find classic Greek specialties, like moussaka and pastitsio.

I have no idea which particular wave of immigration launched so many Greeks into the restaurant business, but their success in the U.S. makes a certain amount of sense. Greeks like to grill and so do Americans. Greeks favor plates composed of a trilogy of meat or fish, vegetables and a starch, and so do Americans. With Greek food, the spices are different and there’s a lot more garlic, but you can see how Greek cooking easily adapted to American tastes, especially those of a couple of generations ago. Both Greek and American food are built on a foundation of simplicity and heartiness.

Maybe it’s because Greek restaurateurs did so well in the East that California never benefited from the same surfeit of culinary Hellenism. There just aren’t all that many Greek restaurants in these parts, so it’s all the more of a joy to find one that serves up authenticity in fine fashion. That’s exactly what you’ll get if you go to Christakis in Tustin. The place has been around awhile. It used to be Tony and Maria’s, until the Christakis family took over six years ago. The menu is derived from family recipes, and it shows, in all the best ways. Although the restaurant may wear the colors of the blue-and-white Greek flag on its sleeve, and live Greek music and belly dancing is featured Friday and Saturday nights, this is no theme restaurant for the armchair tourist. The emphasis is solidly on the food.

The list of appetizers includes just about every Greek favorite you can name, and they’re all good. There’s a world of bad dolmades out there, but the stuffed grape leaves here are a peak experience. The leaves taste much fresher than the usual soggy specimens you find elsewhere; I suspect the restaurant brines its own. The savory filling of ground sirloin and rice is nicely packed, giving these stuffed grape leaves a satisfying bite. Even better, they’re served warm and slathered in a light yogurt sauce laced with dill. The hummus at Christakis is packed with enough garlic to get you exiled to Tierra del Fuego, but it’s worth it. Similarly amped up is melitzanosalata (or eggplant spread, for short). Some may find taramosalata, a puree of red carp roe, onion, lemon and olive oil, to be at the extreme end of the flavor spectrum, but dipping a triangle of pita bread into it, I find joy in its unapologetic brininess.

Calamari is a dish that has of late been widely co-opted as a popcorn-like finger food, all crunch and no taste. But if you want the real thing, this is the place. The quality of the squid is first-rate and these deep-fried rings of lightly breaded calamari are succulent and tender.

And who can resist saganaki, slabs of tangy kefalotiri cheese, dredged in flour, fried, flambeed with brandy and drizzled with lemon juice? Here it’s done to perfection. The cheese has a wonderful steak-like consistency, crisp on the outside and soft within.

As far as I’m concerned, there’s a two-pronged acid test for any Greek restaurant: moussaka and lamb. At Christakis, both are superb. With alternating layers of eggplant and ground lamb seasoned with nutmeg, oregano and a hint of cloves, and crowned with a creamy bechamel, moussaka is the Greek answer to lasagna. This version, which tastes like its flavors have had time to mingle overnight or longer (as it should), is a home run. Savory and moist, it is pure comfort food.

And I can’t say enough about the charbroiled rack of lamb. Weighing in at 18 ounces, it’s almost enough for two, and the quality of the lamb is excellent. Served medium rare as ordered, it’s tender, weepy with juice, and redolent of its oregano, white-wine, and olive-oil marinade, justifying its $27.95 price tag.

Less successful is the arni psito, thin slices of well-done leg of lamb in a stout gravy. The meat is certainly soft, but the flavor of the lamb is lost; you could just as well be eating pot roast.

Seafood lovers will fare well at Christakis. Garides souvlaki are jumbo shrimp marinated in the Greek trinity of lemon, olive oil and oregano, then skewered and charbroiled. On my visit, though they were slightly overdone, they were nevertheless plump and flavorful. Although I prefer swordfish grilled, the pan-fried version here is a winner. The fish is lightly dredged in flour and sauteed in olive oil, giving it a nice crust that seals in the juices. Its flavor is further enhanced by a drizzling of lemon juice and white wine. I don’t know it there’s anything particularly Greek about a New York steak, but if you’re in the mood for beef, you could hardly do better. It’s prime, expertly grilled, and carries a hint of oregano.

For dessert, do not pass “go” before you’ve had the galaktobouriko. I thought baklava was the alpha and omega of Greek sweets (and the baklava here is fine), but this is new to me. It’s custard baked in a thin sheath of filo dough, which adds a nice textural contrast, and it’s doused in a light honey sauce. But what makes this spectacular, and spectacularly aromatic, is that it’s beautifully infused with cloves, a flavor that is pushed to the limit, but pulls up just short of overwhelming the custard.

Christakis, 13011 Newport Ave. in Lafayette Plaza. (714) 731-1179. Open for lunch Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Open daily for dinner, 5-9:30 p.m., and until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Beer and wine. Dinner: Appetizers $5.95-$10.95. Entrees $7.95-$27.95.