Cox: Taverna Sofia

Mezze plate at Taverna Sofia in Healdsburg. (Jeff Kan Lee/ The Press Democrat)

A family member who spent five weeks traveling through Greece not long ago joined our group on a recent visit to the new Taverna Sofia in Healdsburg. After tasting the first few items, she flashed a million-dollar smile and said, “This is the real deal.”

And indeed, drinking a cup of intense, spiced Greek coffee in the sky-blue and white restaurant, you could easily pretend you’re sitting in a seaside tavern in Salonika, the area of northern Greece that Sofia Petridis-Lim, the chef and owner, hails from.

She’s brought a basketful of family recipes with her, and if you don’t know real Greek food, she will educate and delight you. This flavor-packed cuisine is heady with the Asian spices and condiments that found their way into Greek cuisine when spice traders’ ships stopped at Greek ports on their way into ancient and medieval Europe. It’s also a pure iteration of the super-healthy Mediterranean diet — lots of fruits and vegetables, olive oil and wine. Sofia is a careful cook; a sign on her refrigerator says, “No garlic or onions ever,” meaning she doesn’t want them in the fridge where their odors might affect other foods.

Spanakopita

Speaking of garlic, dinner started with a dish of Baba Ghanoush ($8 ****), served with triangles of pita bread. That’s right, four-star baba, the eggplant dip that is so often bitter. Here it’s the perfect savory balance of roasted eggplant with tahini, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, salt and olive oil. That fine balance is also found in the Spanakopita ($7.50 ***), a mixture of minced spinach, eggs, ricotta, onions, feta cheese, hints of nutmeg and olive oil placed between thin sheets of phyllo dough and baked.

The Mezze Plate ($14 ***), a group of appetizers, includes spanakopita along with cubes of feta cheese and kalamata olives drizzled with olive oil, dolmas (grape leaves stuffed with rice and fresh herbs and baked), tzatziki and pita for dipping and spreading.

Is there any dip cooler and more refreshing than tzatziki? It combines thick Greek yogurt, sour cream, minced cucumbers, olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper, and a little fresh chopped dill. Spread it on pita, dip your dolmas in it, and get some extra to have with your Souvlaki ($15 ***). This latter entrée consists of skewers of tender and juicy herb-marinated chicken that are grilled and laid on a bed of rice pilaf. With the souvlaki comes pita and a small Greek salad.