Greek pastry search: Best baklava in Pierce County
For one weekend every October, my favorite baklava is produced by an army of grandmas at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.
In the days leading to the Greek Festival — running Friday (Oct. 2) through Sunday at the Tacoma church — volunteers bake about 500 pans, about 33,000 individual pieces, of the Greek dessert made with paper-thin and crackly-crisp sheets of phyllo dough, brushed with butter and stuffed with spiced, chopped nuts, then saturated in a sweet syrup.
So what to do those 51 other weekends of the year when there isn’t a Greek Festival to buy a motherlode of baklava?
I go to Ammar’s Mediterranean Grill, the Tacoma Dome neighborhood eatery with what I consider the best baklava outside of that made by the church grandmas.
Ammar Mannaa, who owns Tacoma restaurants Ammar’s Mediterranean Grill and Mediterranean Palace with wife Sorada, described his baklava as a pastry that favors flavor over sugary sweetness.
“We always use real honey, we spice it with secret spices and we always use 100 percent butter on the phyllo,” Mannaa said.
And Ammar and Sorada employ a powerful flavor weapon: Orange blossom water. “We mix our honey syrup with the orange blossom water, which is made by heating and squeezing orange flowers,” Mannaa said. “The flowers are strongly scented, a very nice smelling flower. That is why the orange water has such a strong taste.” Mannaa adds just enough of the blossom water to create a light floral undertone.
My admiration for Mannaa’s baklava extends to the nut-heavy composition. The ratio of dough-to-filling heavily favors the spiced nut filling.
Here’s a tour of baklava from South Sound Greek and Mediterranean restaurants:
Ammar’s Mediterranean Grill and Mediterranean Palace: Find the orange blossom scented baklava, cut into small rectangles and topped with crumbled pistachios, at both of Mannaa’s restaurants. $3.69. (409 E. 26th St., Tacoma; 253-272-1047 or 430 E. 25th St., Tacoma; 253-272-0845).
Giorgio’s Greek Cafe: Heavy on cinnamon and nutmeg, this baklava carried a ratio that was heavy on nuts, but the reheated dessert spilled its filling onto the plate. Also served chocolate covered. $2.75. (328 S. Meridian, Puyallup; 253-200-2333).
It’s Greek To Me: The ratio of filling to phyllo favored phyllo. The baklava layers tasted crackly crisp, threaded with a thin layer of spiced chopped walnuts and saturated in a sweet syrup. This is the baklava for the phyllo lover. Also served chocolate covered. $2.99. (1702 Sixth Ave., Tacoma; 253-272-1375).
Gyro Zone: Baklava here was heftier, built with extra sheets of phyllo. Tucked inside were spiced walnuts, with just enough honey syrup to hold the pastry together. Another baklava for phyllo lovers. $2.74 (7510 40th St. W., University Place; 253-267-1616).
Daniah International Market: The flaky wedges of baklava were sticky with a delicious syrup, but the buttery pastry layers held a slightly bitter flavor. $1.99. (6603 Sixth Ave., Tacoma; 253-566-0393).
Greek Cafe: Cinnamon was the prevalent flavor of this Lakewood restaurant’s baklava. The texture was dry and too tough to eat by hand or with fork and knife. $3. (10924 Bridgeport Way SW, Lakewood; 253-581-2222).
Ikonos: The baklava was so chewy, I couldn’t cut it with fork and knife and picking it up and eating proved problematic. Delicate honey flavor, though. $3.50. (4920 Point Fosdick Drive NW, Gig Harbor; 253-858-7070).
This story was originally published September 29, 2015 at 10:00 PM with the headline "Greek pastry search: Best baklava in Pierce County."