
REMEMBER on “Cheers” that whenever Norm entered the bar everybody said his name?
That’s the sort of reception Yours Truly enjoyed at Pyramida. “V!,” either owner Matthew Koven or manager Roger Ramkissoon would cry whenever I lightened the door at East 78th street and First avenue.
Note that I enjoyed this treatment – past tense. As of approximately a couple of weeks ago, Pyramida pulled up stakes to move farther south and farther west. The venue of New York’s best lemonade, according to “NewYork Magazine,” and first-rate falafel, according to “The New York Times,” is now ensconced in greener and larger pastures on the southeast corner of East 73rd street and Second avenue.
Woe is me because the new place is not set up for such intimate greetings. Gone forever are the days when Pyramida did mainly takeout and I and other regulars could just stop by and hangout regardless of whether we were shopping.
But it’s good for the continued success of Pyramida Grill, which has a strong allegiance to nutritious, delicious homemade food. Expectant father, MK, can put more lining in his pocket toward a dreamhouse on Long Island. And RR, father of four, gets something of his own as an equal partner where once he was just managing.

Old and new customers gain, too. Three, nondescript tables crowded in a cramped space have been replaced by aqua dinner chairs and tables with marble tops. Pyramida now seats 25. The décor tends toward orange/aqua, a homage to the Mediterranean.

The menu is not huge but it is not so small that one might not need guidance navigating it. MK recommends a starter along the lines of the Eggplant and Feta Cheese Salad ($5.95), followed by a Chicken Shwarma meat plate ($17.95) and Outrageous Warm Chocolate Truffles ($8.95) for dessert. To accompany the meal, a glass of the “Bravdo” Cabernet Sauvignon (2003/$12) from Israel’s Karmei Yosef Winery. By the way, the new winelist was put together by a sommelier and includes characteristics of each variety and pairing suggestions. Here, too, is beer. Alas, there is no more bootleg vodka.
The Chicken Swarma is also a new dish on the menu and one of MK’s favorites for the simple fact that, “it’s a good marinade. It’s a combo of white and dark meat chicken, roasted on a spit; it’s very flavorful and healthy” and he’s not revealing the ingredients in the marinade.

I, too, have my favorites. For lunch, I like either the falafel sandwich or lamb gyro (now $8.95). Both come in a pita with a drink and soup or fruit. For dinner, I usually go for the Ultimate Meat Combo, now $19.95 (Chicken, Lamb and Kofta ) meat plate. It’s all good …

This is the kind of sensible man suited to serving the Ultimate Vegetarian Combo, $18.95 (variety of vegetarian dishes served with lentil, rice pilaf w/carrots & almonds or saffron rice).
Learn more about Pyramida Grill at 212-472-5855/1402 2nd Ave.; www.pyramidagrillnyc.com will be live shortly.
No comments :
Post a Comment