As promised I thought I would dedicate today’s blog to food despite what Socrates (the Greek philosopher, not the footballer) said about the subject: “Worthless people live only to eat and drink; people of worth eat and drink only to live” we rather like our food.
When we first came to Greece for a fortnight in 1992 we tried a different taverna every night and every one was awful. Partly this was our ignorance about eating out in Greece but also the taverna owners put the minimum effort into the quality.
I then spent 12 months over a period of two years working in Greece eating out almost every night so probably 300+ meals. We had Greek colleagues who accompanied us most nights and the food was generally good but rarely exceptional. On the plus side it was cheap.
Eating out in the UK has improved tremendously in the last 30 years (with the exception, in my opinion, of Scotland) but the transformation in Greece can only be described as a revolution.
Some of the food we have had has been exceptional, especially the two dinners in Thessalonica (different restaurants, one pictured above).
We tend to have two courses, tzatziki, zucchini (pictured) and two other items at random to start followed by whatever the waiter recommends (always the best policy in Greece, that way you get what is in season and what the cook wants to make, not something out of the freezer).
We then ask for the bill but as always is the case in Greece they ignore this request and bring us a present. In the Peloponese this tends to be Greek brandy (Metaxa) but in Lefkada and Zagora it was cake and in Thessalonica tsipouro which is home made rocket fuel which the picture shows Gill pretending to drink (she always gives it to me - oh dear, there goes my liver). Last night it was yoghurt and black cherries which made a change.
Finally the bill is delivered and in most cases is a pleasant surprise. We then walk back to the hotel via a patisserie (every high street has at least three) where we buy cakes which are carefully placed in an elaborate box which in itself must cost a £1 which we carry home to eat with coffee in our room.
That was the routine up until now but the hotel we are staying in is a little different. We select where to stay firstly on location, and then on price v ranking in Booking.com or Trip Advisor. I should have picked up on the second word in this hotels name, Krista Gastronomy Hotel, but just assumed it was branding. A couple of days ago when looking at things to do in Volos, the nearest city, number 1 on Trip Advisor was a cookery lesson on the farm associated with this hotel, it is 20 miles from the city! It has to be said there is not a lot to see or do in Volos but it was still a surprise.
The hotel specialises in Greek food but tzatziki and zucchini are not mentioned on the menu. Between us we will try most of the dishes listed over the four nights we are here and what is even better it is not expensive, certainly cheaper that eating in the Tuns or the Castle and much more interesting food. Not always good (to our taste, last nights mushrooms were very dry) but different. The dining room is pictured.
When I was working in Athens we usually drank wine from a company called Boutari who seemed to market their wines, both red and white, for the European market and taste and they were also very reasonably priced. Gill and I also developed a taste for red wines from the Peloponese, if we have served you Greek wine at home that is certainly where it came from.
The great improvement in food has been complimented by a massive improvement in the drink-ability of the house wine so in most cases we have bought a carafe or two of the local plonk. There was one restaurant in Zagora which seemed to only have expensive wines, we bought a £30 bottle and, whilst it was nice, was not four times better than the plonk we have had elsewhere. I did look up the wine and found it cost £30 in off licences in the UK so we were not ripped off.
There are three acceptable beers, Amstel, Mythos and another whose name I can’t spell or pronounce. All three are fine.
One huge inconsistency is the quality of frappé, the picture shows a particularly fine brew, the best have Nescafe, milk (probably condensed), ice cream, cold water and ice. They are frothy and the good ones very smooth. We have several every day.
By the way it is still sunny, we had another good day and will tell you all about it tomorrow.