Nick Dekker

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and as such, it often comes under scrutiny as the poster child for healthy eating. Your morning meal may be synonymous with fried eggs, bacon, sausage gravy or French toast, but less greasy foods can be just as enjoyable. And if you think that eating healthy means you have to eat boring, you’re completely missing the point. By using the right ingredients, you can satisfy yourself with a meal as flavorful as anything fried on the flattop. In the world of breakfast, healthy options typically include oatmeal, omelets packed with veggies, and turkey or tofu-based versions of bacon and sausage. Yet restaurants have increasingly been expanding palates by featuring Greek yogurt on their menus, both as a standalone dish and as an ingredient in other plates. The trend is building steam. In August, NPR reported that sales of Greek yogurt in the U.S. have risen by 2500 percent in the past five years, skyrocketing from $60 million to $1.5 billion annually.

So how do you get yourself to the Greek? Greek yogurt starts like most standard varieties, but goes through additional steps that involve straining excess whey through cheesecloth or muslin. Greek versions often use sheep’s milk, whereas most varieties available in the U.S. are made from cow’s milk. By squeezing more of the whey (a liquid byproduct of yogurt- and cheese-making processes) out of the cultured milk, you’re left with a denser final product, similar in texture to sour cream, with slightly tangier flavor.

“I love Greek yogurt because I grew up with it,” said Tasi Rigsby, who was raised in Greece. “It also just tastes better.” At her Short North restaurant, Tasi Café, she features the delicacy on the breakfast menu. Tasi’s version incorporates a traditional combination of honey and yogurt, popular in Greece for decades.

Most of us are familiar with store-bought brands like Dannon yogurt, which keep more of the liquid while adding sugars and other artificial flavors. (Surprise! Yogurt doesn’t naturally come in ‘key lime’ and ‘Boston crème’). But true Greek yogurt does away with all of that.

“This is the way yogurt was intended to be made,” said Chef David MacLennen of Latitude 41. “As a culture, we’ve gotten used to what’s been called yogurt. Something with a strange acidity that’s sweetened up.” Instead, restaurateurs like Rigsby and MacLennen choose an “unadulterated version of yogurt.”

Many restaurants use Greek yogurt because of its flexibility. “We like using Greek yogurt because it gives us a nice blank canvas,” MacLennen explained. He likens using Greek yogurt to a cook choosing butter. Most cooks use unsalted butter so they can control the salt content. Likewise, choosing yogurt that isn’t already sweetened or flavored allows a chef more options in building a dish.

Latitude 41 uses Greek yogurt as a base for a dish featuring house-made granola, garnished with banana and seasonal fresh berries. Their granola combines rolled oats, Rice Krispies, sliced almonds, dried cranberries, local maple syrup and peanut butter.

Greek yogurt serves as a base for lunch and dinner fare, too. MacLennan uses Greek yogurt as a base for his own tzatziki sauce, which he drizzles over his gyro flatbread. Under the sauce, he piles up caramelized onions, romaine, kalamata olives and grape tomatoes. The Greek yogurt provides the chef a healthier, more flexible option. “You can’t do that with Dannon.”

Latitude 41
50 N Third St.
(614) 233-7541
www.latitude41restaurant.com

Tasi Cafe
680 N Pearl St.
(614) 222-9788
www.tasicafe.com

Nick Dekker is a food blogger and author of Breakfast With Nick: Columbus. He writes his food blog at breakfastwithnick.com. He holds a legitimate job teaching theatre at Ohio State, as well as being a husband and father, and helping run Wild Goose Creative.