Location:
Perissa Beach, Santorini
The ocean combined with time in the sun never fails to cause the biggest rumbling stomach, wouldn't you agree?
Souvlakis and beers all around, I say!
And while it certainly wasn't the best souvlaki in town, being right by the beach having a cold beer is more than one could ask for.
Location:
Famprika Shopping Center, Fira, Santorini, Greece
Many of the restaurants on the tourist-heavy Fira (in Santorini) were packed with diners trying to get a good "sea-view". We finally settled on "To Ouzeri" minus the view because it wasn't overly crowded. I've often said this is a bad sign but didn't heed my own advice here, as the menu looked interesting.
We wanted to try some of the unique items on the menu, Tomato Fritters, Stuffed Zuchini and the fried Calamari that was full of promise.
The service was really slow as it seemed that only a couple of people were running the whole show, and since we weren't in a rush, this wasn't an issue.
The worst part however, was the taste of the food. The stuffed zuchini looked appealing, however the zuchini itself was soft in the center and even had that spoiled taste. The tomato fritters were bland and greasy, as was the fried calamari (the biggest we'd ever seen). Everything was rather mediocre. They do have a blog with the recipe for the tomato fritters, so I'm going to try making them myself.
Our server even asked us how we enjoyed our meal, to which we had a lacklustre response. She was surprised. And with some rave reviews on TripAdvisor, I'm surprised too.
One of the best things to do no matter where you are, is a picnic outdoors whilst watching the sun go down.
Location:
Platys Gialos Beach, 84600, PO Box 116, Mykonos, Greece
www.petinosbeach.gr/mykonos_restaurant
You have to do dinner and a dance show in Greece. We went to one in Petinos at the Blue Myth restaurant. There was singing, high-kicks, fire tricks and table lifting (with teeth!). They even pulled me onto the dance floor several times, once while I was still in my chair!
The food was good too, but it was mostly about the entertainment. Oh, and a good greek dance isn't complete without some plate breaking! OPA!
What is it about wine that we love so, most especially on vacation? I don't recall having too much Greek wine before this trip and was excited to try a few. Afterall, Greece has been producing wine since ancient times, having first been prescribed for health and as disinfectants for wounds.
While this particular bottle, with its sedimentary sludge at the bottom, wasn't very tasty, it was absolutely savoured while watching the sunset in Mykonos.
Do you have a favourite Greek wine you can recommend?
After seeing the entire Ancient Agora, it was time for lunch! We wanted a cafe that wasn't touristy. Alas, they all were, so in the end, we came back to this one because the view could not be beat.
The name of it? Anyone read Greek? Let me know. The service was quick and efficient and the iced coffee was heavenly after the longest walk. The baklava? Tell me you don't want a bit of that, right now?
Location:
Makriyianni 3, Athens
It's time for breakfast + the Acropolis!
Who knew we'd have a view of the Acropolis from our breakfast nook situated on Makriyianni street?
Splendid. As was the sandwich and croissant. Greek coffee is going to take me some time getting used to though.
Great little cafe/deli, with a fantastic vantage point of the Acropolis. I'm happy to see the Nile Guide agrees!
Location:
Mitropoleos 12, Athens 10563, Greece
As soon as we arrived in Athens, we were starving and decided to check out the Plaka district. We asked a group of cops at the corner (we did wonder why there were cops hanging around in that area) for a recommendation of tasty and authentic fare that would be casual but not "fast food". They directed us around the corner and down a street. We were skeptical, and unsure if we'd know where it was, but then we found it easily as it was the only restaurant on a side street that had light spilling out onto the street, cheerful patrons and the delicious smell of seafood.
The BEST. I finally found the name and map to the restaurant, with a little bit of sleuthing on Google Maps! I don't know how to pronounce it, but if you're ever in the Syntagma Square area of Athens, GO THERE!
We had red wine, Mythos greek beer, a giant Greek Tzitzikas (just found out that it means salad) which is my favourite type of salad and a giant fried seafood basket.
Amazing service, and INCREDIBLE food!! Sigh..to eat those olives once again.
Location:
390 Danforth Avenue, Toronto
www.astoriashishkebobhouse.com
I trust you've already heard of my love affair with Greek food. I simply adore it.
And at Astoria, there's so much more to love. The portions are gigantic!
This particular day, we were out on the patio; which is always packed in the summer months (I'm SO looking forward to that, aren't you?) and the sun was shining and the beers were cold.
We had the "Astoria’s Appetizer Platter", which consisted of deep fried calamari, dolmades (grapevine leaves stuffed with rice, herbs and spices) spanakopita (spinach & feta cheese pastry) and two homemade dips (we chose hummus and tzatziki, I believe).
[I had an awful experience with calamari once which involved: barely cooked calamari + some form of sausage + smoky lounge (back when smoking was allowed indoors) + car-sickness = a lovely bout of vomiting ]
Now then, if you're not completely revolted, let's continue...
Calamari, when breaded and deep fried like this, is quite alright....I think.
I think part of ordering chicken souvlaki is knowing that those potatoes will also be there. Happy potatoes.
Oh souvlaki, how I love thee.
Funnily enough though, three out of the four of us had some...er... "discomfort in the digestive tract", after our meal at Astoria (I had the chicken, one had pork and the other lamb). It's never happened before, but it's true. Unless...
Dear calamari, I think it's best we part ways.
Location:
225 King St. W. Toronto
Cost: approx $50 for two
http://www.peneloperestaurant.com/home.html
I love Greek Food. Sure, it's just meat and potatoes...but that is precisely why I love it. There is something very comforting about Greek food. How can it go wrong?
At Penelope, it doesn't.
Around the King Street area, dinner options grow sparse the more times you dine out and very quickly the "Il Fornellos" and the "Urbans" of the downtown core give way to our very instinctual and basic needs. Such as meat and potatoes. Such was the case when we remembered Penelope, the only full-out Greek restaurant in the heart of the city. Much like Penelope herself, we exercised patience and loyalty and reserved our hunger pangs (whilst making our way down King street past all the upscale dining venues with their Winterlicious sandwich boards) for the simplest dinner of them all: the chicken souvlaki dinner.
Once there, we were allowed to be picky selective and were seated at a corner round table (even though there were just the two of us).
Our server and the manager (it seemed) were on hand to take our order and offer us drink choices. The manager recommended the Greek beer, Keo, which we thoroughly enjoyed and I highly recommend it (I'm more of a Guinness person myself, but Keo was very refreshing.)
And we already know that there would be one chicken souvlaki dinner (with a side of pita bread...just 'cause) and then to mix things up, an item from their dinner specials that day: swordfish.
Both mains arrived at our table incredibly quickly. My (usual) request for chilli flakes and/or hot sauce (which sually ends up being Tabasco, which I don't really consider hot sauce) was greeted with hearty props from our server who has been working there for 7 years. 
As expected, the chicken, rice and potatoes were glorious. The side of veggies bordered on frozen-then-over-cooked-and-greasy and I'd have preferred a side of Greek salad (this reminded me of the time The Healthy Greek didn't have Greek salad !)
The swordfish was surprising good and a huge portion, at that! This time, the Greek salad was in attendance and I couldn't complain. 
There were some serious left overs for taking home and an overall feeling of wholesomeness that only Greek food can provide.
It's nice to know that in a city full of restaurants with big attitudes, big plates and tiny, tottering portions, there are restorative places like Penelope. It's true then, for Penelope and for us, patience certainly was a virtue. 
