Greek food is amazing. Everyone knows feta and olives but
there’s much more to the cuisine. We’ve had roasted anchovies, crispy
croquettes, lemony fish soup, and cucumber salads. Dining in Greece is also
great because of the waiters. Everywhere we’ve been, except for one amazing
bakery run by a grumpy baker, we’ve been treated as honored guests to be
fattened and entertained.
Crispy croquettes |
It’s good to travel with Raquel because she eats half of my
plate while I eat hers. The best meal we’ve had thus far was veal slow cooked with
fresh green beans in tomato sauce and a massive hunk of mousaka. Raquel said
the veal was so tender it fell apart when you looked at it, the green beans
popped when sprinkled with feta, but we agreed the best was the mousaka. Potatoes
and eggplant were roast to perfection then layered with spicy minced meat, house
made tomato sauce, and topped with a layer of creamy béchamel sauce and
(surprise) a sprinkling of feta. It was then put in the oven just until the top
turned all brown and crispy. I know the ingredients and how it was prepared
because when our waiter saw that we’d licked our plates clean he thanked us
profusely, and when I told him it was even better than my dad’s mousaka, he
proceeded to tell us, in perhaps too much detail, all of his secrets for the
next fifteen minutes.
Fried fresh anchovies (better than the sardines) |
Looks delicious! But we just ate.
He didn’t care. He knew we’d be back, we’d seen the fish
after all.
We returned the same night and were greeted by the same man.
He helped us pick out a scorpion fish (I like to eat strange things, and
scorpion fish look strange) and two delicious red fish whose name I have
forgotten. The scorpion fish has a texture something like crab and a rich
almost meaty taste. Raquel could not stop eating its cheeks. The other fish was
light, flaky and crispy with salt and I cannot remember because I thanked one
of the waiters in Greek, and he practically fell over in delight. Soon as we
finished our fish we were presented Mastiha. I tried to ask the waiter exactly
what it was to which he simply asked, “You know Mastih? It is made of Mastih!”
It is so delicious that Raquel actually drinks it, perhaps too quickly for when
the waiter saw our empty glasses he snapped his fingers and they were refilled.
Raquel slid her second shot of this wonderful drink to me (she’s still a
lightweight, no matter how good the booze) and I proceeded to become pleasantly
inebriated. On our way out we thanked our hosts, efharisto, to which they added, efharisto
poly, or thank you very much. A meal and a language lesson. Marvelous.
Amazing rabbit and onions. Notice the falling-off-the-bone quality |
But our best host was a man in Hermopolis. He was thin and
goateed and did everything with a flourish, whether it was pouring wine or
clearing plates. He recommended the rabbit, and we thankfully listened to his
suggestion. It came with caramelized pearl onions and pile of fried potatoes.
We rounded out the meal with a bowl of fat fresh beans topped in feta and white
wine. The rabbit was savory and decadent and was accented by the sweetness from
the caramelized onions which popped in your mouth, braising the rabbit in their
juices with each bite. Between morsels of rabbit we scooped up the beans and
feta with our fried potatoes and watched our waiter. The only time he wasn’t
singing was when he was acting like a monster to make little children laugh,
doing pratfalls when he banged his head against the signboard, or clearing a table,
an activity he liked to do without a tray, much to the chagrin of the other
waitress, who would follow him to be sure he didn’t drop anything. He repaid
her assistance by placing a potted plant on her tray anytime she got too close.
Maybe it was just the wine, but we found it all hilarious.
And what’s better than a fine meal served with a personal
touch? A week of them.
If you enjoyed this post, there's more! Click for a quick Greek lesson to earn free snacks or for food in Austria!
If you enjoyed this post, there's more! Click for a quick Greek lesson to earn free snacks or for food in Austria!
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