Fresh, Greek Favorites in Rockland
Many local diners will recognize Vivi Karastamatis from Hanover’s beloved Cedar Cafe (Stellios is her brother), where she worked for 12 years. While working there, Vivi met her wife, Christine Martino, who was a regular customer.
When Merchant’s Row closed, Vivi and Christine decided to open their own restaurant, and Vivi’s Kitchen was born. Vivi’s favorite food items from Cedar Cafe were the salads, the grilled meats, and the wraps. She created her own menu based on customers’ and her own favorites.
Vivi’s Kitchen opened this past December, and it already has a loyal following. Almost everything is made from scratch. The only exceptions are the salad dressings, which are sourced locally from a Canton, Massachusetts company, and the baklava and orange pie, which are imported from Greece.
Customer favorites include the Greek Avocado Chicken Wrap, filled with marinated, grilled chicken, avocado, roasted tomato, feta, onions, lettuce, and citrus Greek dressing, and the Gyro Wrap stuffed with grilled lamb strips, tzatziki, roasted tomato, onion, lettuce, and apple cider dressing.
The Mediterranean Rice Bowls also are popular. Customers select a protein (chicken, beef, Gyro strips, falafel, shrimp or buffalo chicken), which is served with rice, salad (Greek or garden), hummus or tzatziki, and kalamata olives.
Vivi and Christine recommend people try their falafel, which can be ordered as a side or as a protein in salads and rice bowls, and their house-made pita chips. The menu also includes a great variety of salads, which are fresh and plentiful, burgers, and lemon chicken soup.
Vivi’s Kitchen
200 VFW Drive
Rockland, MA 02066
(781) 871-2600
www.VVsKitchen.com
Lauren Diggin is a South Shore-based writer and aspiring locavore. She thoroughly enjoys visiting these four Mediterranean restaurants and hopes to visit the actual Mediterranean one day.