Bites Nearby: Katerina's Greek Cuisine

Some of the best tasting Greek cuisine in the area can be found in Old Town Manassas.

Katerina's Greek Cuisine hasn't been open for two weeks and it is already making a name for itself by serving up authentic Greek dishes.

The small building sits on the corner of Grant and Center streets in Old Town and its interior is decked out with sleek, terra-cotta tile flooring and beautiful Greek style decor.

Owners George Aulonitis and Katerina Tsouloalia (for whom the restaurant is named after) believe the key to good food is to make everything fresh from recipes they have recieved from past generations.

"Both of our parents owned numerous restaurants both here in the States and back home in Greece. We learned from them to make everything fresh in house," Aulonitis said. "Our Tzatziki is made fresh in house. Most Greek places around here will use sour cream in their recipe instead of real Greek Yogurt to save money. We don't. We use yogurt and the best feta cheese money can buy imported from Greece."

The "Dodoni" feta cheese Aulonitis is referring to costs about $250 a block.

The gyros are simply top notch. Warm, crisp pita bread stuffed with your choice of meat, lettuce, tomato, feta and tzatziki sauce. But try the pork gyro, a true authentic taste from Greece that other places just dont offer.

"Gyros have been 'Americanized' in the U.S., back home you won't find your beef style gyro that you find everywhere here. The pork gyros are a true taste from Greece," Aulonitis said.

Aulonitis makes his own gyro meat by combining layers of sliced pork belly and shoulder and cooks it on a "spit". The rotating stick slowly spins the pressed meat as it's cooked by surrounding burners, allowing the tasty layers of fat to melt into the shoulder meat.

The finished product is tender, juicy and slightly crispy pieces of pork that almost melt in your mouth.

But the menu has way more than just gyros. There are classic Greek salads with huge chunks of Dodoni feta, leg of lamb, and Greek staples Mousaka and Spanakopita are just a portion of what you'll find here.

Menu prices range from $3.95 for a bowl of soup up to $19.95 for some tasty lamb chops. The inside seats up to 45 people and there is an outside patio that can seat 20 more.

The final special touch Katerina's has to offer is their onsite olive oil dispenser. Inside a 5 gallon tin bin at the center of the restaurant is award winning Laconiko olive oil from Greece. Located outside of Sparta, Laconiko's private olive grove sits directly on the sandy beaches of the Southern Peloponnese sea, allowing for perfect filtration of impurities. Ask the staff for purchasing prices.