DAHLONEGA — The Corkscrew Cafe, just off the quaint Dahlonega square, is known for many tasty dishes, but one of the least expected is the baklava.

The restaurant’s motto is "Dining with a Twist," and that is exactly what chef Randy James said inspired his Greek treat.

"We do it a little different," said James, a self-taught chef from Dahlonega. "(The) nut mixture; it’s almonds, walnuts, a little pine nut, cinnamon, a pinch of salt — which makes a nice layer."

Another defining touch at The Corkscrew Cafe, next to the Holly Theatre, is the glaze that tops off the baklava.

"Basically, what I do is a cup of honey, half a cup of water, half a cup of brown sugar and about a tablespoon of lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne pepper," James added. "Just to give it a hint of a little burn. It’s a nice little finish and nice little contrast."

James then finishes off the dish with white chocolate gelato.

The many layers of phyllo dough that make up the bulk of this treat can be enough to make even an experienced cook uneasy. But James said the process is simple.

"What everybody is afraid of when they do baklava is the layering of phyllo dough," James said. "Lay one piece of phyllo down on a greased pan and brush it real lightly with butter. And you don’t have to be real exact about this, you can kind of just lay everything together."

James recommended repeating the process until there are five layers of phyllo dough — but don’t forget to put the nut mixture between the layers of dough.

"Repeat the steps, and depending on your taste and how big you want it to be ... I go about four layers with the nuts and five layers of the phyllo dough," he said. "Usually the top is not really attached and is really flaky and light. And then what you finish it with is the glaze."

Coleen Rotunno said the restaurant’s baklava is one of many features that occasionally show up on the menu.

"Anything we do on the weekends or anything that is not on the menu itself we refer to as a feature," said Rotunno, co-owner of the restaurant with husband Rob. "The baklava is done as a featured dessert and typically what we do when we do the baklava is a Greek entree feature as well, and a Greek appetizer.

"So we’ve done hummus with roasted garlic that Randy (James) does himself, and it is served as a platter with feta cheese and olive mixed salad, roasted red peppers."

The Rotunnos have owned The Corkscrew Cafe for four years and moved to Dahlonega six years ago from Connecticut.

"With the name like The Corkscrew Cafe, our strength is if you tell us what kind of flavor you are looking for in a wine we will find a wine to match that," said Rob Rotunno, who has been in the restaurant business for 25 years. "Now, if you are wanting to pair it with food, we are also very good about how to pair things with food. But that is also very subjective, so I would need to find out what you like for wine ... and then see what pairs with that duck, for example."

The restaurant features wine from Lumpkin County wineries Blackstock Vineyards, Three Sisters, Frogtown and Wolf Mountain Vineyards to pair with some of their signature dishes.

"Some of our signature dishes are the Eggplant Marscarpone, the Pecan Crusted Trout and our New Zealand Rack of Lamb with a orange curry glaze," Rotunno said. "The Half Roasted Duck with dark and sweet cherry sauce is again one of those items that people have said ‘Whatever you do, don’t take the duck off the menu; you are the only place that serves duck on a regular basis.’"