Owner: Kostantin Dalamagas Photo by Tina Garceau
Thanks to his Greek bloodline and pleasant personality, Kostantin Dalamagas has never doubted food’s role in helping one to curtail cares and concerns. Holding that eating should be about “Enjoying the moment, laughing, living, and having fun,” the 37-year-old has begun to link locals with his affinity for securing satiety and symmetry through ownership duties at Village Taverna, 769 E. Passyunk Ave.
“I absolutely love this community,” the proprietor said of his nearly two-month-old brainchild’s presence in Queen Village. “It’s a very homey area, so I believe we’re in a perfect position to offer residents food that’s simple, healthy, and authentic.”
The Society Hill dweller has maternal grandmother Theadora Kakarides to laud for helping those adjectives to prove apt, as her recipes guide the operations at the 54-seat location. As an homage to heavenly homemade meals, Village Taverns finds Dalamagas stressing the importance of dining with loved ones and considering dishes as durable diversions given the complexity of contemporary life.
“Everything should be about relaxation in the grand scheme,” the North Jersey product said. “Sure, there will be the occasional bit of unrest, but the table should be a sacred location.”
Village Taverns has thus far proven divine through an unbelievably well-priced menu, owing to its overseer’s refusal to deem the BYOB too high-end. Through his familiarity with the area, particularly through an eight-year stint as general manager of the Queen Village-situated Pietro’s, Dalamagas has drawn crowds eager to let levity win for an evening as they dine at a spot that he has aimed to infuse with the comfort of “grandmom’s living room.”
“Look at how stressed for time that people can be,” he suggested. “While it’s great to end a day by preparing something for you and your relatives, sometimes it can be better to get out and let someone else take care of you. In that respect, we become home to them.”
Noting that he found himself “thrown into” the culinary world, the businessman has enjoyed considerable success in his career yet has never lost sight of his obsession with seeing that fortune as a product of truly connecting with patrons. For those who have come to admire the item’s taste or those who might have experiencing dietary diversity as a 2017 resolution, he decided to share the recipe for his establishment’s pastichio.
“It will definitely fill you up,” Dalamagas said of the lasagna creation. “It’s a popular dish that’s very simple. You could feed a whole family with it, and it’s something that nobody ever forgets.”
Base ingredient:
12 ounces of macaroni, penne, or ziti
Ingredients for the meat sauce:
25 ounces of lean minced beef
2 medium-sized red onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
5 ounces of red wine
1 bay leaf
1/8 of a teaspoon of cinnamon
1 whole clove
1/4 cup of olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Ingredients for the bechamel sauce:
4 ounces of flour
4 ounces of butter
3–1/2 cups of whole milk
2 egg yolks
3–1/2 ounces of Parmesan or Kefalotyri cheese
A pinch of nutmeg
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Layer half of the boiled pasta in a baking pan. Saute the beef seasoned with the clove and cinnamon. Add the tomatoes, garlic, sauteed onions, tomato paste, sugar, wine, olive oil, and bay leaf to the beef mixture. Simmer for an hour over medium-low heat, remove the leaf and the clove, and layer the sauce over the pasta in the pan. Add the remaining pasta on top of that.
For the bechamel sauce, place the butter and flour in a saucepan. Add the milk while whisking to prevent clumping. Add the nutmeg. Take off the burner after the sauce has thickened, let cool, and add the yolks, salt, pepper, and cheese. Pour the sauce over the pasta layer. Bake until golden brown, and top with grated cheese. SPR
Village Taverna
Owner: Kostantin Dalamagas
Opened: Nov. 17, 2016 • 769 E. Passyunk Ave. 267–861–0949 • villagephilly.com
Owner: Kostantin Dalamagas
