Taki's Alpha Meals
Today I had the opportunity to eat at Taki's, a true downtown eatery located between City Hall and the Liberty Building. One of the greatest things about Taki's is that it is always busy every time I go. I mean, it is in the epicenter of downtown, so it's nice to see a room full of lawyers and bankers grabbing a quick bite in the morning or enjoying a power brunch in the afternoon. On this particular day I was fortunate to run into the owner of the restaurant, Taki himself (photo).
The first question I had for Taki was, what exactly is an Alpha Meal? "The Alpha is the A in the Greek alphabet... so we decided to use the word 'Alpha' to describe the type of meals that we serve", Taki explained. He's proud of his Greek heritage, which shows when he talks about how he ended up in Buffalo.
“I met my wife Danice when she was vacationing in Greece. We fell in love and she lived with me there for three years. We bounced around from island to island and eventually decided that we wanted something more permanent. That's when we moved to Buffalo (where Danice is from). We were in Buffalo for three years before we decided to open up an eatery. We were driving by this location one day and there was a sign in the window saying that the space was available. The rest is eight years of history!"
I asked Taki what excited him about owning a restaurant in the shadow of City Hall. He told me, "I am very happy about the new developments in the city. I can't wait for more people to move downtown. There are so many wonderful buildings and it is nice to hear that developers are finally making a move to renovate them. Who knows, if enough people move into this part of the city I may even open on weekends... we shall see."
A mutual friend of ours named Ben joined us for lunch today and as we ate he offered, "Taki knows everyone that walks into his restaurant. He even knew who I was the first time I ever walked in. He's that type of person. He cares about his customers and puts his heart into his business." Ben, who is a regular at Taki's recommends the open-face souvlaki, which is served throughout the day: Marinated chicken tenderloins served on top of fresh salad greens with tomatoes, onions, feta cheese and grilled pita. Taki agreed by saying that it was their best seller. If you're not up for Greek fare, then the menu is loaded with all sorts of options including subs, melts, burgers and a large breakfast selection.
One unusual item on the menu that you rarely find in the City of Buffalo is Coke. In this Pepsi town I was really happy to hear that one restaurant 'slipped through the cracks'... or 'bucked the trend' by serving this brand name that has won the south over, but is never found in Buffalo (Southerners ask for a Coke whenever they order any kind of soda... it's that popular down there).
The layout of Taki's is a two-level, open-room eating establishment (I don't know who the architect is… ;), that is cheery and welcoming. Metered parking is usually abundant over by The Statler near the Convention Center’s busted-up, broke-down Lite-Brite Monument. Actually, no one will fess up to owning it, but it signals a bunch of empty parking spaces.
Kudos to Mr. Church who prepared an excellent club sandwich for me today.
Visit downtown Buffalo... visit Taki's located at 45 Court Street between Franklin and Pearl. 716.845.6422
Great place to eat downtown. Plenty of tables and a solid food selection.