ROCKY POINT-The Gods on Mount Olympus never ate as good as area residents can at the Gyro Palace Cafe.

   This family-run-restaurant cooks up fine Greek cuisine with recipes handed down from generation to generation. Maria Christofidis and her cousin George Portelos took over the Gyro Palace when Ms. Christofidis' parents retired last May after 11 years in the business.

   The cafe menu offers all the mouth-watering dishes that Greek food is revered for, starting with mezedes, or appetizers. Highlights include spanakopita - spinach and feta baked in filo dough - and dolmades, grape leaves stuffed with rice, herbs and spices, topped with tzatziki souce and garnished with cucumbers and olives.

   Lunch specialties can be ordered at any time and include falafel, souvlaki, gyro and Lucanico, a Greek sausage. Diners can also enjoy a Greek hamburger made with chopped sirloin beef, onions and herbs and served with lettuce and tomato on a pita. The Greek pizza is a delicate blend of feta and spinach over pita and topped with mozzarella.

   Gyro Palace also offers Greek salads in all sizes, including " Mount Olympus " which is hailed as "the largest Greek salad west of the Atlantic " and offers four to six portions. The country salad, horiatiki serves up fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, olives, feta wedges, red onions and capers.

   Dinner entrees include classics like moussaka - baked eggplant and potato in meat sauce and topped with bechamel - and pastitso, the Greek lasagna. Also on the menu are pork, filet mignon and chicken souvlaki dinners served with rice, Greek salad and pita.

   For vegetarians, the cafe offers imam-baildi, which is baked eggplant stuffed with onions, peppers and tomatoes.

   Those who want a sampling of all the delights can order "Grecian combos." Two diners can take a tour of Greek cuisine under the gaze of the Olympians who peer down from a spectacular wall mural,

hand painted by the original owner, Ms. Christofidis' mother. Look closely and you'll find the matriarch herself, as well as her husband and daughter.

    Dessert too, is not to be missed: Homemade Greek pastries include baklava, karithopita (spiced walnut cake) and galatoboureko (custard pie).

    The Gyro Palace Cafe is also your source for Grecian groceries. Shoppers will find such items as Greek macaroni, olives, cheeses and olive oil.

    The Cafe is open Monday Through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 4 to 7 p.m.