nikkib

The next night (after the lunch at margaro) we were quite tired and so stumbled only as far as the secret hidden taverna under O Brettos the bar mentioned in previous posts in Plaka. Another success! Incredibly cheap too - literally 1/2 the price of any of our other meals and surprisingly full of locals despite being in quite a "touristy" area. We shared a salad, some halloumi, some deliciously tasty fried aubergine & moussaka (literally the best i have eaten, juicy, moist and packed full of flavour - i loved the potato layer at the bottom too - like a reversed shepherds pie)with local wine and finished with some more complimentary muscat ( i could get used to this...)

oh - i seemed to have missed a dinner out here. We went to Gazi, a new upcoming and trendy industrial area. Mamacas is a contemporary taverna - all in white and eggshell blue (uniforms walls etc)with delicious modern greek cuisine a delicious selection of home made breads with tapenade and a cheese dip to start off with and then roasted peppers and beetroot "salad to start" the beetroot had walnuts in there for added texture and was great and the roasted peppers were truly delicous too followed by a rolled stuffed pork dish with cheese and spinach and peppers as well as roasted - almost pulled pork which was the stand out dish, so moist yet crispy on the outside and so flavourful - it wasnt my dish but i think i ate most of it!!!! dessert was a pannacotta (photo didnt really come out) and complimentary local muscat. I really recommend checking mamacas out - we had a great night!

Frank Bruni wrote a piece i'd founs that made MARGARO in Piraeus sound like an unmissable place to have lunch so off we dutifully trotted on Sunday after we had spent the morning visiting the nearby Island of Aegina. Piraeus is a not particularly pretty industrial port where many of the Olympic sites were about 15minutes from the Centre of Athens. There was not a tourist in site, just a buzzy (crazy busy) local restauarnt where you got the impression the same people came every week - certainly many of the tables knew each other and swapped seats to . Luckily we only had to wait 5 minutes for a table to free up - this is the open kitchn - the only chef is pictured and there must have been 100 people or so sat there eating! Amazing when you think about it. The waiter explained there was no menu just shrimp, red mullet and greek salad so we had one of each and some local wine to wash it down with. WOW this was good - so crisp and un greasy and beautifully cooked, The mullet and salad came first and the shrimp followed after about 10 minutes. These were a revelation, juicy, plump and tender and again cooked to perfection Dessert was fruit and halva sprinkled in cinnamon - all we needed to finish with really. Really an unmissable meal that set us back 45 euros inclusive of the wine - unbelievable value really when you think about it... i would go back to athens to eat here alone...

I'd read about a coffee shop called clemente vii which was supposed to be excellent so breakfast the next day was an iced espresso here. DAMN - i like my coffee strong but this literally gave me heart palpitations. Its in a glitzy part of town near the designer shops so a good place to people spot too Lunch was O platanos - again near Plaka/Acroplis in a very pituresque sqaure. Again we struck gold - simple honest well prepared taverna food. We had a dish described as fried aubergine but it was a delicous sort of slow cooked aubergine and tomato dish, the by now ubiquitous greek salad, some saganaki (fried cheese) and tzatziki. The Tzatiki was great - really thick, creamy and garlicky - something that is so easy to make but so easily messed up. The saganaki was something i'd heard of but had no idea what it actually was - i personally prefer grilled halloumi to this fried cheese but it was interesting to try ( salty like halloumi and almost the same texture) The greek salad was a little too heavy on the onion but all in all a good, well priced meal with a huge menu (lots of meat/fish dishes but we werent too hungy hence the releatively light meal.)

AS the food can be quite oily the lemon really helps break it down a bit so i would say they bring the dish together for sure..

Dinner that night was to be in Daphnes - also in Plaka and a haunt of celebrities such as Hilary Clinton (back when she was still Rodham Clinton) and various Kings/Queens etc We stopped in O Brettos on Kydathinaion - a small local distillery/bar in Plaka that distills its own Ouzo, brandy & fruit liqueuers as well as selling something like 50 Greek wines by the glass. Coming from Lebanon and drinking plenty of Arak, i stupidly passed on the Ouzo and opted for local wine - the charming bartender actually talked us into ordering something cheaper than we planned which was a nice touch. The wines start at 4 E a glass or so and head up to about 10. Definitely worth a drink (or 3 here) and i will leave you to enjoy those until i catch up with some sleep - all that eating was hard work let me tell you ;-)

Now here we struck gold. We had wandered past a little taverna the night before and it had a real buzz so we thought we'd check it out for lunch, the place is near Psarras in Plaka, not far from the Acropolis and is called Scholiarhio on TRIPODON 14 . You get a set menu ( you can go ALC but it didnt appear anyone did) which is basically 18 dishes on a tray bought to your table for you to choose from depending on how many of you there are. 28 E for 2 people gets you 5 dishes, bread, water, dessert and 500mls of wine. We arrived to a bustling terrace (outdoors again!!) and a warm welcome. We chose Greek Salad, a fava bean dip,some fried aubergine and 2 dishes that were cooked to order - calamari and gavos (small fish like baby sardines that you eat whole) Oh Boy..... The Gavos were the star, perfectly cooked and beautifully fresh - you really felt they had been caught that morning. The greek salad was also excellent, the tomatoes were juicy and ripe but retained some crunch and the feta was mild and not too salty. If anyone knows what dessert was - please let me know - it was like a chilled semolina cake? Or just semolina and sugar - im really not sure but it was all we needed - they compd us coffees (a nice effect of tipping above the norm?) ands off we went I'd really recommend this place if you are in Athens - aimple, honest food and a hard working charming owner/waiter (?) this is what i hoped for this holiday...

Breakfast the next morning was in a cafe in the centre of town whos name escapes me - Greek Coffee, slightly sweetened and some spanakopita - i have no idea if this is a traditional breakfast or not but damn it i like spinach, i like pie - why not.... (yes the picture is of a different spanokopita - sorry the breakfast version didnt come out - anyway it was exactly the same sans fancy lemon garnish) Suitably sated we headed to the Acropolis and the new Acvropolis museum ( did you know the Acropolis only took 9 years to build? well i didn't) some fairly uncomfortable foot shuffling moments in the museum as they spoke of the "Thief" Lord Elgin stealing the marbles from the Acropolis (Ummm - can i pass for Canadian? Everyone likes them right?!) and then astonishingly (or not so as hours had passed) it was time for lunch...

My Mum arrived later that evening so we just had time for a quick drink in the hotel bar ( very slick and modern with a great view of the Acroplois)which set us back around 10 E each for a glass of wine/Campari. We had a quick intro into Greek pronunciation "Eff A Ris TOE" is thank you (excuse the phoenetics)and headed out to Psarras near the Acroplis in Plaka which we had seen in the tourist guide and it sounded like a safe bet.The restaurant is in a beautiful spot on some white steps in the cobbled Plaka streets, in Summer i'm sure its mental but off season it was pretty sedate and we had the full attention of the staff. We sat outside which coming from London my Mum was delighted about (didn't match the 21 degree weather we had in lebanon last week but still was nice ;-) ) and ordered a bottle of Greek white for around 24 E a bottle ( there were only one or two cheaper) WE ordered courgette fritters to start and an aubergine dish whcih turned out to be very simliar - oh well, we like both vegetables, we like the preparation - still it would have been better if we had ordered some tzatziki or something like taht as opposed to what we did, despite them both being good. My Mum had lamb souvlaki which she said was good and i had veal braised with vegetables and served with roasted aubfergine. The Veal was very tender and the aubergine had been slightly smoked, i would have liked a bit of tomato sauce or something ( im sure the waiter said it was cooked in tomato ) but maybe thats just me.. A couple of coffees saw the bill pushed up to 75 E in total, not bad but i had a feeling we could get better for less and saw it as a challenge.

My flight from Beirut landed mid morning, just enough time for me to head to my hotel the INTERCONTINENTAL ATHANEUM, have a quick massage and then head out for lunch. The hotel is located a 5Euro cab ride (or complimentary shuttle bus timings allowing) from the main Syntagma square and has a couple of nice looking restaurants and bars but i didnt come here to eat in them. First stop was the area around Monastiriki near the Acropolis and main Roman Agora. It is a nice area full of amazing sites (Hadrians Library, the Tower of the Wind) as well as a flea market and an awful lot of restaurants, cafes and bars. I wandered around for a bit before settling on one called "Kuisine" simply because i liked the sage green colour of its outdoor furniture - then i saw the recommneded by Michelin stickers mmmmhmmmm - Its going to be a good lunch!!! The menu offered a "lunch menu" made up of one plate dishes such as chicken roasted with garlic and rosemary, Aubergine stuffed with minced veal, pasta with veal ragout etc or an A La Carte option which was a mix of local dishes and dishes from further afield (there was a pork dish with banana for example) As it was only lunch time i opted for two starters, a great shrimp soup with chilli and pumpkin crouton and another dish of Bottarga from "greeces best producer" on lemon bruschetta The soup was like a classic bisque with the shrimp as a garnish - beautifully cooked and seasoned, the crouton had been submerged under the soup with some cheese on it too and there was a hint of fresh chopped chilli on the top - the soup could have been a bit hotter but a minor quibble ( and i do like my soup hotter than it should probably be served) The bottarga was very soft and pretty mild, the lemon scented olive oil was a nice addition - another success With a glass of wine, water and coffee i think the damage was about 40 Euros, not cheap but delicious all the same - At this point i became fairly confident i would eat well last week

Ok so there hasnt been much action on this topic since busboys mammoth and very helpful posts a few years back so here is a dining in athens blog from my trip there last week. 5 lunches and dinners out ( and a couple of breakfasts) to start you off and then some piccies from the central market which is a real treat that should not be missed.

A place i worked in had Paris Breast on the menu as opposed to a Paris Brest......

i have to confess no but look at the flavours you like to use when cooking and experiment - you could try it with apple juice and a spiced ginger, cinamon and clove syrup maybe?

Non alcoholic cocktails i have added to cokctail menus in the past Fresh lemon muddled with brown sugar and mint, topped with apple juice and ginger beer a non alcoholic raspberry tom collins made with lemon juice, sugar syrup and fresh raspberries and topped with fizzy water rocks shandy - lemon and lime with angostura and fizzy water st clements - fresh oj and bitter lemon ginger beer and Oj also works reall well fresh mint lemonade - fresh mint blended with ice, lemon juice, sugar syrup and a little water fresh basil shredded and shaken with elderflower cordial, lemon juice, sugar srup and water thyme infused lemonaded (just infuse the sugar syrup with thyme and add to lemonade as normal) blueberry and lavender lemonade (again infuse the sugar syrup with the lavender and shake with fresh blueberries and leomonade) watermelon juice - just blend fresh watermelon and serve in martini glasses and you have a very pretty cocktail indeed

no updates? Eek might have to chance it... oh well will post on my findings when im back the week after next...

ohmy that mackeral with courgette & rhubarb and pimms looks amazing - and with a G&T too... mmmm how did you make the sauce? Was it just rhubarb cooked down with the pimms?

ahhh umm my fridge..... Reasons like this and my 14 hour average working day make me love these foodblogs even more!!! Cant wait to see what you get up to this week

Headed back to Damascus for the day last week so had a chance to explore a bit more - street vendors selling pomegranate juice this time-squeezed to order & delicious Sweets & candied fruits More bakeries............. More ice cream - this time eating in more great locals!!! and how could i forget the coffee?

chicken and mushroom pie ( and i get a soup out of the stock which can be used for another meal with salads/cold cuts and cheese) and you could do a nice spinach, cheese and mushroom version for the veggies, a good stirfry with some meat cooked separately for the meat eaters.

not sure of the spelling but aspinayi - a lebanese dish of raw liver will never ever ever pass my lips again. I detest cooked liver but was at a restaurant owned by relatives of my friends who i was dining with so thought i should at least try. oh my good lord it is bad....

we have grass fed imported beef from australia where i work - let me know if you want me to pm you the supplier details, i have seen very little grass here so i have to say i dont think it will be easy to find locally

Heading to athens for 4 nights in a couple of weeks - any recent recommendations would be great - specifically midrange would be great - also bars etc would be helpful too and food markets..... ooh so many questions, egulleters help me out PLEASE!!!!

mandaloun cafe - a favourite for a civilised glass of wine and usually a salad from the salad bar or one their delicious toasted sandwiches - here truffled emmental and broccoli mmmmmmm.... This is a great place to sit and watch the world go by and i always know other diners there which is fun, especially as this was one of the first places i ate at when i moved here 11 months ago knowing no-one.... Sushi. Like the burger, is big news here, sadly i am yet to find anywhere on a par with places i have dined at in NYC or London where the bill causes a sharp intake of breath but you feel so satisfied it becomes part of the experience, here it tends to average a 40-$50 meal with most of that being wine - they can't escape from the kani either. Anyway, cheap sushi is now a guilty pleasure so here are some recent meals in the spirit of full disclosure

ottolenghi is great (Islington) and the woseley is fab - does the new savoy do breakfast because that used to be great...

just a slice of green chilli or the whole thing? Seeds in or out?? Sounds great!