restaurant faves at home

Having lived in New York for 13 years, I have a lot of favorites. A favorite part of Central  Park (the miniature boat pond), a favorite work of art to visit at the Met (Jackson Pollock’s “One”), a favorite latte (at Cafe Pedlar in my new neighborhood), a favorite walk (Central Park South, running from 5th Ave to Columbus Circle). I could go on and on. Still, I struggle to answer the favorite restaurant question. I need it to be narrowed down: by neighborhood, cuisine, atmosphere, time of day, and I have an answer–several!–for each category. But if pressed to pick an absolute favorite, the restaurant I have loved longest and best is a little Greek place in Morningside Heights called Symposium. It’s nothing fancy and it certainly isn’t on any hot can’t miss culinary lists, but I love it. So much so that I have a copy of the menu hanging on my kitchen wall:

I started going in the fall of my freshman year, when I was hating all of the food at school so much that I was dropping weight. Everything at Symposium was delicious and tasted truly home cooked, and the space was so cozy that eating there was nourishing in more ways than one. Over the years my friends and I went more and more, for birthdays and special dates and eventually even our graduation party. I stayed uptown the longest, so I’ve had the luxury of going back the most. When I visit now, it feels a little like going home–the headwaiter asks after my old roommates by name, and always wants to know how my family is. If you’re really special to me, I take you to Symposium.