TJ, Olga and myself left the hotel with Olga driving to go to a taverne in our area (the Greek cross between a bar and a hearty restaraunt all over the country; every neighborhood has at least one) for our first Greek meal and the drive to the tavern was different from a typical drive in the USA: All around us as we surged forward cars were lunging, swerving, forcing themselves into spaces in traffic barely large enough for their headlamps and – somehow – the entire vehicle would fit, traffic would reconfigure and the entire process would begin again. Add to this the fact that motorbikes and scooters of all makes weave in and out of traffic where cars do not fir and one is given a lot to watch as a passenger let alone a driver. Olga mad an observation to caption the journey: “The Greeks, we don’t drive by law.” She seemed correct.
We met Olga’s girlfriend, Demi, as we parked and walked to the Taverne where Kosmas and the girls were awaiting us with Ouzo and smiles.
The taverne was, we were told, a typical Greek place where people didn’t just eat; they Socialized. For hours. As Kosmas explained this, the food began to come: Fried breaded cheese (Saginaki, which is not served in Greece flaming as it is in the U.S.), Fingers of cheese wrapped in ham, lightly breaded, fried and topped with slivers of grilled red sweet pepper, a pate made of mashed feta cheese, olive oil, spicy green peppers and (I think) a touch of lemon juice, bread, two salads (one traditional Greek with tomatoes, green peppers, onions, cucumbers, and a slab of feta topped with basil and drizzled with olive oil, and the other a bed of shredded cabbage topped with shredded greens, tomatoes, green onions and a large number of other vegetables topped with a sesame oil-based dressing) along with a few other dishes. As we ate and thoroughly enjoyed the food and Ouzo, Kosmas informed us that these were just the mezzedes – appetizers – and the main dishes were still coming.
This was already more food than we were accustomed to in one meal and we still somehow found room to enjoy all of the following: Beef meatballs in a savory gravy, a cheese-stuffed meat ball the size of an Amazon’s fist (Served with French-fried potatoes) and a platter heaped with grilled chicken, lamb and beef as well a couple other dishes that flew by with the time as we laughed and joked with our new-found friends.
TJ commented to me as we walked back to the car that the meal had been the best dining experience of his life…The magical combonation of good company and good food has me so excited for our coming evenings in Athens.
-Steven
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| Pate made of feta, peppers, Olive oil = Heaven on Toast. |
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| Cheese wrapped in ham & topped with roasted sweet red pepper, Cheese pies, etc. |
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| Traditional Greek Salad. Note: No beets. No lettuce or other leafy vegetable. (The tomatoes in Greece, btw, are incredible.) |
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| Salad with Sesame Oil Dressing |
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