back on the jetplane

No posts for a few days as I head back to the airport. Las Vegas food adventures to come…

For now, a random but beautiful picture of the sunset over Santorini’s caldera taken by yours truly. I think it’s time for more world travels. 🙂

start your day the greek way

It’s really lame that it’s August and I’m STILL doing posts about Europe. Better late than never I guess.

Efterpi Villas was our home away from home during our stay in Santorini. It’s run by a nice man named Theo who was nice enough to upgrade us to a nice giant suite after the four of us tried to squeeze into the studio. Stays at Efterpi come with complimentary breakfast which we enjoyed to the fullest.

not fried calamari

Lizzie stayed to watch soccer but JenLui, Jane, and I headed over to Fira to grab dinner. We decided on Parea Taverna that had some fresh octopus dangling from the balcony. Winner for sure.

Lui had missed our first dinner in Santorini where we had these huge rings of meaty calamari and wanted to get in on the squid action. We’re pretty sure she said fried calamari but what came to the table was certainly NOT fried calamari.

rainy fish stew

I’m a creature of habit. Luckily, I have friends who are more adventurous. On a overcast morning we ventured away from Fira to the other side of the island. Don’t let me fool you, I was less than happy about this. I blame it on hunger. We ended up at a restaurant situated on a deck that overlooked the Caledera. It started raining a bit while we were at the restaurant and so the raindrops were falling through the wooden slats of the makeshift roof. There didn’t appear to be an inside area of the tavern so we were stuck outside.

baklava mania

Layers of puff pastry slathered in honey and butter and smothered in finely chopped nuts. Delicious. Two specimens for your viewing pleasure.

#1: Served as dessert on our day trip to Delphi. Spiced with clove. This was my fave of the baklavas we tasted. Not too soggy with distinct layers. I have pictures of the rest of this Delphi meal but the rest was pretty bad.

not the best (greek) meal ever

There must be a dozen Nikolas Tavernas in Santorini. Everyone’s name is Nikolas and they all like opening tavernas (and jewelry shops). We followed the guidebook and made our way to Fira to check THE Nikolas Taverna out. If the previous post was a +5 for the guidebook, this one was a -3 for the guidebook. It’s pretty easy to get to this place, it’s on the little windy streets in Fira covered with souvenir shops and honeymooning tourists.

The place is packed (probably due to the guidebook since the surrounding restaurants looked less poppin’) and the entire menu is in Greek. They don’t have a menu you can hold – it’s just posted above the door to the kitchen. One thing that is a plus about this place is the ‘experience.’ It’s run by a pair of older, grumpy Greek men who will recite the menu to you (looking fairly bored) and the delivery makes you feel like you’re really lucky to be allowed to eat there. Funniness that ensued while we where here:

• They said we looked young. Really young. Like 12. They were unsure of whether or not they should serve us the vino.
• They weren’t sure we spoke English. They asked Lizzie just to make sure.

best (greek) meal ever

I still have a host of pictures left from my trip to Europe, so I really need to get crackin with posting.

The best meal I had in all of Greece (and probably in all of the Europe travels) was garlic marinated chicken served with a side of rice and roasted potatoes served in a small corner restaurant in Fierostafani. The chicken so incredibly moist, garlicky but not overally so, tart with fresh squeezed lemon juice, and ever so crunchy on the grill marks. So, so, so good. If you are ever in the area, the restaurant sits on the corner near the main bus stop in Fierostafani, on the walking path towards Fira, and across the street from the church. I wish I knew the name but the sign was written in Greek. Reasonably priced, staffed with nice people, and with a pretty view of the Caldera there’s no reason not to try it.