I Am Very Thankful

By Maria Loi | Thursday, November, 2011 - 10:04:15 PM

This year will be my first Thanksgiving in the United States. I’m thrilled to have my restaurant, Loi in New York open for Thanksgiving Dinner. We are offering a great 3-course prex-fixe menu featuring entrees such as Traditional Turkey Dinner that includes my Greek stuffing, Crabmeat Stuffed Sole, Lavraki and more. We are also including some tasty desserts like my favorite Pumpkin Pie and Baked Apple Pie. So much has happened in the past year that I am thankful for, such as meeting other Chefs like Martha Stewart, Marcus Sammuelson, Giada de Laurentiis and Andrew Zimmern, participating in events such as Chefs and Champagne, Taste of the Nation and New York City Wine & Food Festival, to opening my first restaurant in the States. This is only the beginning for me. I look forward to sharing many more experiences with you all. Now it’s your turn to share with me, what are you thankful for?Read More

Loi is buzzing with media!

By Maria Loi | Thursday, November, 2011 - 10:30:43 PM

I want to share with you what’s going on with my new restaurant, Loi. Last week we held a blogger tasting event in the private Santorini Room. I had the pleasure of meeting many food bloggers in the New York area from Food Arts, BloackboardEats.com, Fodor’s, TheNibble.com, and more. I also had the pleasure of sitting with Florence Fabricant from the New York Times, for a private one on one tasting. New York press editors and bloggers have been coming to the restaurant, frequently, and it’s been wonderful meeting each and every one of them. I feel blessed to have them commenting on how much they love my authentic Greek food. New Yorkers sure know how to welcome me! Read More

"I want to be a part of it, New York, New York."

By Maria Loi | Wednesday, October, 2011 - 03:41:45 PM

In the words of Frank Sinatra “I want to be a part of it, New York, New York.” I have officially opened my newest Greek restaurant and first in New York City, Loi! Loi features rich flavors of authentic Greek cuisine. The New York Times calls my moussaka and pastitsio distinctive, light enough to float off the plate. The restaurant shares many of my Loi family recipes, which have been passed down from my great-grandmother. Loi is about real food, cooked with Greek olive oil and using authentic and fresh ingredients. It’s about healthy and delicious dining that brings family and friends together. Hope to see you there soon!Read More

New York City Wine & Food Festival

By Maria Loi | Tuesday, October, 2011 - 05:39:27 PM

I recently attended and participated in the New York City Wine & Food Festival where I had the opportunity to showcase some of my favorite Greek dishes. As festivals go, this one was truly inspiring with the depth of culinary talent that showed their passion for cooking at each of the events during the festival. Not only did I enjoy participating with my partners at Elyros Extra Virgin Olive Oil at the Grand Tasting, but I had a wonderful time introducing Keftedes Loi (meatballs) to the 1,000 guests at the Meatball Madness competition. The festival itself is wonderfully creative and I was thrilled to walk around and experience fun events such as the 'Best Thing I Ever Ate Between Bread' where I sampled sandwiches from Chef Angelo Sosa. I caught up with friends and extraordinary chefs such as Giada de Laurentiis, Andrew Zimmern, who was participating in ‘Carts in the Parc’, and Lee Schrager, founder of the festival. These events are perfect because, as a chef, you are able to show your food preparations to thousands of culinary enthusiasts, who are anxious to be surprised and delighted by food -- and it is a pleasure to attend. I hope to see many of them at my new restaurant, Loi, located in the Upper West Side, or once again at next year’s event!

By Maria Loi | Tuesday, September, 2011 - 08:37:05 PM

As I get ready to head back to New York, I’m preparing for my competition at the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival’s Meatball Madness. Elyros Extra Virgin Olive Oil is sponsoring, supporting and joining me at Meatball Madness. I’m excited to compete against my peers such as Donatella Arpaia, Shea Gallante, Michael Psilakis and many more, for the best meatball in New York City. This year’s Meatball Madness is being held in Soho on Thursday, September 29th. This festival gives me the opportunity to showcase to New Yorkers my innovative approach to Mediterranean cuisine and what I bring to the table. I’m also making a couple of exclusive items from my menu at Loi. I cannot wait for you all to try my new menu items. I look forward to seeing you this week at the New York City Wine & Food Festival! Here’s a link for more information on Meatball Madness: http://www.nycwineandfoodfestival.com/2011/e/san_pellegrino_s_meatball_madness_hosted_by_giada_de_laurentiis-1Read More