Images:Absinthe on the Second Story; Nasos Behind His Bar; The Best Restaurant View in Kamares!Absinthe
I had mentioned in an earlier blog that SL and I had gone to an Italian restaurant and found it a nice break from a steady diet of Greek dishes. Don't get me wrong, anyone could learn to live on fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, feta cheese, and olive oil accompanying fish that obliging jump straight from the sea onto the grill. How they brush themselves with olive oil along the way is beyond me. There is, however, a predictability to the vast majority of the restaurants we have eaten in – the same dishes, prepared the same way.
Last night, we were delighted to be totally surprised by discovering a new restaurant that had opened only a year ago in Sifnos called “Absinthe”. Absinthe, you may know, is the infamous liquor first distilled from wormwood that was the inspiration and/or downfall of many a famous artist and writer. Oscar Wilde had this to say about Absinthe. “After the first glass you see things as you wish they were. After the second, you see things as they are not. Finally you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world.”
We were very surprised to find ourselves the only patrons in the restaurant, but that might be explained by the fact that the season is young, the restaurant is new, and it is not one of the dozen or so tavernas that line the shore throughout the town. It is tucked away across the street on the second story of a building that houses a number of shops below. This vantage point gives it hands-down the best view of any eatery we have seen in the port town on Kamares.
The pleasant surprises don't stop there. Almost every restaurant you visit in Greece will set the table with a cheap, paper napkin-like tablecloth with a rough map of the particular island you are on. Our server, a polite, friendly young man named Nasos, spoke excellent English, brought us fresh, warm bread, and set the table with beautiful placemats, plates and tableware. His knowledge and description of the menu convinced us to ask him to order for us, which he laughingly did.
The meal was excellent.
We started with a salad of shredded lettuce, red cabbage, carrots, walnuts, all seasoned to perfection with a delicious honey-mustard dressing. It was a welcome change from tsatziki!
Our main course was was pork marinated in a white wine sauce on a bed of rice and, to our surprise, a delicious chicken mango curry with a spicy, buttery sauce that would have satisfied the Punjab himself.
All of this, with a litre of red wine, for under $50.00, with all taxes and a generous tip. (Yes JB BOTH canoes and Canadians can tip!)
All in all, a wonderful change, but rest assured we have not given up on our Greek salads, mousaka, and souvlaki!
I had mentioned in an earlier blog that SL and I had gone to an Italian restaurant and found it a nice break from a steady diet of Greek dishes. Don't get me wrong, anyone could learn to live on fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, feta cheese, and olive oil accompanying fish that obliging jump straight from the sea onto the grill. How they brush themselves with olive oil along the way is beyond me. There is, however, a predictability to the vast majority of the restaurants we have eaten in – the same dishes, prepared the same way.
Last night, we were delighted to be totally surprised by discovering a new restaurant that had opened only a year ago in Sifnos called “Absinthe”. Absinthe, you may know, is the infamous liquor first distilled from wormwood that was the inspiration and/or downfall of many a famous artist and writer. Oscar Wilde had this to say about Absinthe. “After the first glass you see things as you wish they were. After the second, you see things as they are not. Finally you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world.”
We were very surprised to find ourselves the only patrons in the restaurant, but that might be explained by the fact that the season is young, the restaurant is new, and it is not one of the dozen or so tavernas that line the shore throughout the town. It is tucked away across the street on the second story of a building that houses a number of shops below. This vantage point gives it hands-down the best view of any eatery we have seen in the port town on Kamares.
The pleasant surprises don't stop there. Almost every restaurant you visit in Greece will set the table with a cheap, paper napkin-like tablecloth with a rough map of the particular island you are on. Our server, a polite, friendly young man named Nasos, spoke excellent English, brought us fresh, warm bread, and set the table with beautiful placemats, plates and tableware. His knowledge and description of the menu convinced us to ask him to order for us, which he laughingly did.
The meal was excellent.
We started with a salad of shredded lettuce, red cabbage, carrots, walnuts, all seasoned to perfection with a delicious honey-mustard dressing. It was a welcome change from tsatziki!
Our main course was was pork marinated in a white wine sauce on a bed of rice and, to our surprise, a delicious chicken mango curry with a spicy, buttery sauce that would have satisfied the Punjab himself.
All of this, with a litre of red wine, for under $50.00, with all taxes and a generous tip. (Yes JB BOTH canoes and Canadians can tip!)
All in all, a wonderful change, but rest assured we have not given up on our Greek salads, mousaka, and souvlaki!
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