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Strokos opened its second location across from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in June. Strokos features an outdoor café built into the building.
Strokos, the new deli that has opened on St. Nicholas Avenue near NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, says it has a different perspective.
It’s certainly sleek. The staff also has a different approach to customer service, with a cashier actually taking the time to strike up a conversation with a customer during a recent lunch rush.
Owner Jerry Pantelatos, smiles when he hears about this.
“If I go to a place, that’s how I want to be treated,” he said.
Indeed, all of the staff at Strokos, from the line cooks to the bus boys emptying the garbage, say hello, or go an extra step to be accommodating.
Pantelatos chalks that up to screening for good employees and giving them a nice work experience.
“If it’s a good work environment, it’s pleasant,” he said.
Then there’s the food.
During a lazy morning before the rush, pancakes solidify and fluff up on the griddle next to sizzling bacon. Behind the salad bar two workers assemble ridiculously long salami sandwiches to be chopped up and individually wrapped. Behind the cash register the friendly cashiers sprinkle cinnamon on top of steamed milk and snap the lid on the to go coffee – another remakes a cup she forgot to add vanilla to.
“We don’t look like your typical deli,” Pantelatos said.
Indeed, instead of menu boards, there are flat screen televisions displaying items and prices.
Everything is pristine white, with modern light fixtures. One whole wall is glass, looking out onto St. Nicholas Avenue. On the other side is an outdoor café built into the building.
The menu is a mix of pizzas, pastas, Paninis, salads and other sandwiches.
“We try to have a little bit of everything. We want you to have your value for what you spend here,” Pantelatos said.
That doesn’t mean huge portions, it means good food. The most popular sandwich, a Panini with grilled chicken, pesto and fresh mozzarella, was pre-made, but pressed behind the counter. It was warm and fresh, and didn’t fall apart as it was eaten. With a 20-ounce bottle of soda, the sandwich, which came with a pickle, cost $10.
Pantelatos said the menu is a little New York, a little Mediterranean, particularly the salad bar.
With the mercury pushing 95 degrees outside, the salad station was mobbed around lunch time, but in the cooler there were pre-made salads ready to go next to the make-your-own-pasta station for those who couldn’t wait.
This is the second location for Strokos; the other is on Amsterdam Avenue near W. 114th Street near Columbia University and St. Luke’s Hospital. That location has also gone through a complete rehab said Pantelatos, and the Northern Manhattan location, open since June, is doing well.
“Obviously the hospital is here. The location had a lot of potential,” he said.
Strokos is at 1090 Amsterdam Avenue. According to its Web site, breakfast ranges from $1 bagels to $6.50 omelettes. Lunch ranges from $3.45 for a burger to $22 for a large pizza.
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