Chef takes patrons around the world

Ray Abazi is used to being a crowd-pleaser. From his days preparing food for such world-famous entertainers as the Jackson 5 and Dolly Parton to serving up Afghan cuisine for an international student and her visiting parents, the well-traveled Albania native says he can cook just about any cuisine and do it justice.

For three years, Abazi has been serving primarily Greek, Mediterranean and Albanian cuisine in his San Marcos restaurant, EuroCafe & Market. But when he gets special requests or catering orders, he said his customers are often surprised at how authentically the food is made.

"Chefs take the original recipes, whatever ethnic group it is, and you have to make it the right way," Abazi said. "That's the school that I'm from."

With about 40 years of experience in the food, hospitality and service industries, Abazi has garnered patrons—many of them college students—who enjoy his traditional Mediterranean offerings such as falafel, gyros and yogurt. Falafel, ground chickpeas consolidated in a fried, flattened patty, accounts for about 60 percent of his restaurant's sales, he said.

"The Mediterranean diet is getting [more] popular every day," he said.

The real centerpiece of his business, however, is catering, he said, but not many people know it.

The market aspect of Abazi's business is perhaps another that gets overlooked. The shop's shelves are stocked with products imported from Europe, most of which are organic. EuroCafe also features Abazi's homemade sauces, dressings and seasonings, which he has patented.

In the 1970s, Abazi worked for a company that taught culinary students and catered entrees every day. In the 1980s, he owned a steak and seafood restaurant that "was booked three weeks in advance," he said. He has learned from meat industry executives, attended a seminar led by McDonald's founder Ray Kroc and taken lessons from each of his stops in the food business.

Abazi has applied that experience to his catering business, which he hopes to grow.

The restaurant's catering menu is not limited to Mediterranean fare. When he received a request for a sampling of different cuisines, Abazi asked his customer to choose any four nations and he would prepare that food. So for a function at a New Braunfels church, he made a buffet of Chinese, Greek, French and Italian food.

"They were going nuts," he said. "They were coming back for the chicken sesame. They wanted more."

EuroCafe caters a couple of parties a month, and usually for the same customers. A frequent customer of Abazi's orders Mediterranean appetizers baba ganoush, hummus and tabouli.

When the customer commented that the food was better than Whole Foods, Abazi said, "Well, this is real. I make it when you call."

"That's the message we hope to get (across)," he said.

EuroCafe & Market, 350 N. Guadalupe St., Ste. 130, San Marcos,

512-392-6044, www.eurocafeandmarket.com

Hours: Mon.–Thu. 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Fri. 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Sat.–Sun. noon–8 p.m