If some ambitious soul were ever to write a culinary history of the Triangle, he or she would surely have to devote an entire chapter to Giorgios Bakatsias.
One of the area's most prolific restaurateurs, Bakatsias has opened more than a dozen restaurants over the past two decades. Some have been more successful than others, but their owner's influence on the local dining scene is indisputable. He has pioneered a number of concepts that have since become commonplace.
Café Giorgio, Bakatsias' first venture, offered a menu largely inspired by memories of his native Greece. The Cary restaurant closed after a few years, and Bakatsias moved on to focus his attention on Durham and Chapel Hill, where he broadened his palette to include an increasingly varied range of styles, from French bistro (Vin Rouge) to steakhouse (Bin 54) to Asian-inspired street food (Jujube, since sold to partner Charlie Deal). The December opening of Giorgio marks Bakatsias' return to Cary, and to his Mediterranean roots.
To transform his latest concept into reality, Bakatsias lured executive chef Ricky Moore away from GlassHalFull in Carrboro. Moore responded with a seasonally evolving menu that spans the Mediterranean region from Greece to Provence to Morocco. Under the heading of "Rustic Mediterranean Classics," you'll find a rotating selection of nightly specials such as bouillabaisse, pastitsio and Portuguese pork and clam stew. But it's on the main menu, where traditional regional dishes are the springboard for contemporary interpretations, that the chef's creative talents truly shine.
Seafood stars
Moore's refreshingly different take on fried calamari draws on flavors from one end of the Mediterranean (the Syrian aleppo peppers in their delicately crispy chickpea flour breading) to the other (the Northern Africa harissa that adds a judicious spice note to the accompanying aioli dip). In another small plate offering, mussels are plump and briny-sweet in a broth, subtly perfumed with orange and mint, that begs to be sopped up with a piece of the crusty house-baked bread that arrives warm at your table.
Fittingly, given the menu's Mediterranean focus, a separate entree section is devoted to a selection of fresh seafood, simply grilled and accompanied by skordalia, green beans and Meyer lemon sauce. More elaborate options include Moroccan-inspired chermoula-spiced salmon, and North Carolina striped bass plaki, which serves up a crisp-skinned filet over fennel and fingerling potatoes in an aromatic tomato stew.
At the other end of the flavor spectrum is a bone-in veal chop, grilled to a juicy medium-rare and served over wilted spinach and a truffled ragout of shiitake, cremini and oyster mushrooms.
Vegetarians can get their fix of earthy flavors, too, in the form of house-made wild mushroom ravioli whose filling is enriched with a rosemary-perfumed cabrales cheese fonduta.
It's hard to go wrong, really, but for my money the star of the entree show is the crispy pork "osso buco." A fist-size hunk of slow-cooked pork shank encased in a deep bronze crust redolent of smoked paprika, it's served over a savory stew of white beans and chorizo. Take the bone home if you're shy about gnawing in public.
Visual flair trademark
Kitchen miscues are infrequent and typically minor to the point of being debatable - harissa aioli that might have benefited from a little more spice, for instance.
The eclectic wine list is well matched to the menu, with by-the-glass options helpfully arranged by price. Service is remarkably smooth for a new restaurant, though pacing is sometimes a bit off the mark. And the atmosphere - well, if you've eaten in any of Bakatsias' restaurants, you know his trademark flair for visual drama. From the eye-catching variety of pendant chandeliers to the surrealistic paintings on walls painted in shades of terra cotta and verdigris, Giorgio doesn't disappoint.
I'd call it a happy ending to the chapter on Giorgios Bakatsias, but I have a feeling his contribution to the local dining scene is far from finished.
