Souvlaki Deviation
Growing up on the streets of Athens, a memory always brings back a smile. The travelling smell of a local grill house cooking souvlakia, penetrating our very being through the open windows along with the summer breeze.
Countless fights with mothers and grandmothers to let us eat one for dinner or on the way back from school rather than what they had prepared. To this day, I don’t think we wanted to eat them because of the taste, but because of the ritual.
This and many more stories of a youth spent on the street of Athens, brought us together out of nowhere, like the secret oath of a revolution that no one knew was about to begin.
Greek Street Food Defined
Our Manifesto is rather simple, we aim to approach food with a combination of humor, significance and nostalgia. Inevitably thinking back to the street-food we were raised on.
Souvlaqueria was born through the ambers of Sunday BBQ’s sweet with the aroma of fire pits drizzled with lemon and oregano. Souvlaki is a word that invokes Greece as much at the Acropolis, the Parthenon, Democracy, Olympus and Feta.
We offer a taste of tradition straight from the streets of Greece to the Streets of America. We envision a store that will serve as the stage for the celebration of Greek street food and the culinary revolution that made it a global contestant. A Greek food revolution that’s been centuries in the making. That goes beyond the safety of the outdated, the poorly executed and the misunderstood.
Our mission is simply to re-enact traditional, street eating rituals in a fresh, forthright way, as they were meant to be, with respect to nature yet with healthy & mouthwatering simplicity.
Our Menu
Regular Menu
Catering Menu
eat what you like.
a ritual, exciting in its simplicity
Contact Info
Contact
Address:
2701 Morris Ave, Union,
NJ 07083
Working hours:
Mon – Sun: 11 AM to 9 PM
Phone:
908-810-1156
Email:
Info@souvlaqueria.com
Contact Form
make the unique familiar.
Souvlaqopedia
Souvlaki (Greek: σουβλάκι [suˈvlaci]), plural souvlakia, is a popular Greek fast food consisting of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. It is usually eaten straight off the skewer while still hot. It can be served with pita bread, fried potatoes, lemon, and sauces, but the souvlaki itself is eaten on its own, with the side dishes eaten subsequently. The meat usually used in Greece and Cyprus is pork, although chicken, beef, and lamb may also be used. In other countries (and for tourists), souvlaki may be made with meats such as lamb, beef, chicken, and sometimes fish.
The word souvlaki is a diminutive of the Medieval Greek σούβλα souvla ‘skewer’, itself borrowed from Latin subula.[1][2] ‘Souvlaki’ is the common term in Hellenic Macedonia and other regions of northern Greece, while in southern Greece around Athens it is commonly known as ‘kalamaki’, ‘reed’.
souvlaki
σουβλάκι
(n.) hand-cut pieces of grilled meat on a stick
An ancient Greek street ritual
meraki
μεράκι
(n.) to put something of yourself into your work Soul, Creativity, Love.
tzatziki
τζατζίκι
(n.) yogurt, herbs, garlic and cucumber mixed with passion and olive oil
yeeros
γύρος
(n.) marinated layers of hand stacked meat grilled on a vertical spit
m’ap’ola
μ’απ’όλα
(c.) to include every topping available in a pita A Greek street ritual
mastoras
μάστορας
(n.) craftsman, souvlaki master, tzatziki expert
Your best friend
philoxenia
φιλοξενία
(n.) hospitality, being a friend to a stranger or to your strange friend that doesn’t eat yeero
lahtara
λαχτάρα
(n.) a feeling of longing, yearning or hunger
Associated with waiting for the food to arrive
fetoula
φετούλα
(n.) a little bit of feta cheese
Traditionally asked from mom, usually ¼ of a lb.
filotimo
φιλότιμο
(n.) a complex set of virtues impossible to translate or describe.
Read tzatziki again
panikos
πανικός
(n.) feeling panic
Just like when you forgot to order extra pita
kalamaki
καλαμάκι
(n.) pieces of pork or chicken on a skewer For more info, order at the counter, as words sometimes fail to describe it
plethora
πληθώρα
(n.) going beyond what is needed, in abundance Just like we do with olive oil
agora
αγορά
(n.) a public open market or assembly Birthplace of souvlaki
pita
πίτα
(n.) flat unleavened bread
Perfect and quite delicious when stuffed with everything that’s on the menu
eleutheromania
ελευθερομανία
(n.) an intense irresistible desire for freedom
Like eating lamb chops with your hands
ethos
ήθος
(n.) the moral nature of a person
Like a souvlaki wrap without red onion…
loukoumi
λουκούμι
(n.) a sweet confection
Favorite way to describe our Greek country-style sausage
frapedouba
φραπεδούμπα
(n.) a splendidly made Greek iced coffee Shaken, not stirred
mpougatsa
μπουγάτσα
(n.) vanilla custard filled puffed pastry
Unless you speak to someone from Salonica, then everything is a mpougatsa
paidiko
παιδικό
(n.) made for a child – plain
Without spices, sauces or green chopped stuff
spanakopita
σπανακόπιτα
(n.) spinach pie
We make ours with hand-rolled dough, Which is what we aim to gain if you buy it
s’oraios
σ’ωραίος
(c.) you pretty, you cool, you lovely, you beautiful Way to describe the person that grills your food
