Chef George Tsiamis believes in keeping it simple.
"Get the best ingredients, the freshest ingredients out there, buy local, and remember that simplicity is the way to go."
Tsiamis is the chef/owner of Adam's Restaurant, right on the Boardwalk off 18th Street, in North Wildwood. Adam's is one of those great boardwalk restaurants with giant picture windows that look out over the sea of people and the ocean beyond. It's a feast for the eyes outside, and a culinary feast inside for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Tsiamis was born in Greece, in the port city of Thessaloniki, and would watch his mom spend her day in the kitchen, which may be where the culinary fire was first lit inside him.
"My house was full of flavors and delightful smells," he remembers.
After attending college for finance he joined the Greek Army and later met his future wife who brought him to the U.S. in 2003. It was his uncle, Gus Papaspanos, who was already running Adam's when he arrived, that gave him the opportunity to join the restaurant, and the two became partners. The partnership lasted for 18 years until his uncle retired three years ago, leaving Tsiamis to run the show solo and perfect his culinary style.
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"I followed different chefs, visiting different restaurants, to find new influences," he recalls. "I was reading about different chefs, what they do in the kitchen, how they get inspired. And I became who I became."
One thing he would focus on was Italian cooking, which makes up the majority of the menu at Adam's. It's not unusual for a Greek to become proficient in Italian cooking. It's widely known that the use of herbs and spices, like oregano, basil and thyme are common in both traditions. It's a shared culinary heritage, like the Mediterranean diet, which is prevalent in both Greece and southern Italy, emphasizing the use of fresh vegetables, olive oil and seafood. But he still holds on to his Greek roots.
"As Greeks, we cook from the heart because we love good food," he says. "We try to keep it simple with basic, fresh ingredients and create what we create. Even though Greek cuisine is very popular throughout the world, and especially in the states, back in the day, like 20 to 25 years ago, if you told somebody you own a restaurant with Greek cuisine, especially on the boardwalk, it wasn't the right concept for the clientele."
He's proud he only uses fresh, local ingredients and everything coming out of his kitchen is made in-house.
"Everything is homemade," he says. "Even the soups that we make. Our New England clam chowder is very popular, along with the Italian wedding soup."
"The most popular items are the simpler items," he says. "Chicken parm is a popular item. We take fresh chicken breast, then bread it, house-made tomato sauce and mozzarella And our seafood, we focus on fresh seafood, and that's very, very popular."
He says their broiled crab cakes are also a big crowd pleaser, along with their broiled seafood combination, and their sauté dishes. He suggests the veal saltimbocca. Milk-fed veal is sautéed in olive oil and garlic, with fresh spinach, roasted peppers and mushrooms in a white wine sauce. Prosciutto is placed on the bottom, and it's topped with mozzarella cheese, baked in the oven and served over pasta.
One dish that spans both Italian and Greek cultures is his Chicken Adam's, which he fondly calls, Chicken Athenian. Chicken breast is sautéed in olive oil and garlic with kalamata olives, feta cheese with a tomato basil sauce over imported Italian pasta.
The menu at Adam's hits all the Jersey Shore favorites from local flounder stuffed with crabmeat, to scallops, their Italian surf and turf and the filet mignon. His pasta dishes include lobster ravioli, penne ala vodka and homemade lasagna.
Tsiamis cooks with a focus on creating comfort food and his portions can easily feed two with not much room for dessert. He moves around the kitchen with an ease, a proficiency and a confidence of a chef who knows what he's creating will be a great meal.
His breakfasts include a wide selection omelettes, waffles, French toast and hot cakes, all with so many options it's difficult to make a choice. Try the Adam's Italian Omelette with sausage, mushrooms, onions, peppers and homemade marinara or fra diablo sauce (at $13 it's a breakfast bargain). His lunches include, of course, Greek gyros, paninis, burgers, sandwiches, salads and wraps.
Personal favorite: "I stick with the basics, fresh breaded fried calamari and a nice large Greek salad."
George Tsiamis
Shrimp Adam's is prepared with tomato, basil, feta cheese and olives, served over pasta.
Adam's Restaurant and Bar
1700 Boardwalk, North Wildwood
609-523-1002
Hours: 7:30 a.m. to noon Monday to Wednesday, 7:30 a.m. to noon and 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to noon and 4 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 4 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 and 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday
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