Philoxenia (CLOSED)

Mother-and-daughter team Dionysia Germani and Nancy Gavopoulou reopened their shuttered, once-popular taverna in a larger space, complete with a roaring hearth. Though rustic appetizers like bubbling feta saganaki and earthy grilled pork sausage were delicious, entrées stumbled. Lamb stew featured tough, fatty meat; a whole grilled dorado was inexplicably oily. Our dessert, thick yogurt with honey and cracked walnuts, wasn’t exactly groundbreaking, but it helped reestablish this comeback eatery as a neighborhood contender.