Athens? (Greece)

I am going for 9 days for work, and will likely be trapped in the Intercontinental Hotel most of the time. Should I get out, any recommendations would be most welcome.

edited subject to add country

Georgia?

If so, you'll need to try Weaver D's, the meat and three place (we call it soul food here in Chicago) who's slogan "Automatic For The People" became a title of an REM album in the 80s. The three cheese mac and cheese is incredible.

There's also an outpost of the Varsity in Athens where you can sample inferior pork based hotdogs smothered in their housemade chili sauce. It's a meal that you can enjoy the taste of for a couple of days after you eat it. the onion rings are highly recommended at the Varsity.

In the deep south, there's a pretty good chain of pizza and beer joints called "Mellow Mushroom". You'll find one of them in nearly every college town in the southeast. Thin crust only. I'm a fan of the whole wheat crust.

Most southern college towns also have a raft of wing joints serving wings with different sauces and cold draft beer. The best of the best as far as chain places go is a Charleston based place called Wild Wing Cafe which you'll find in downtown Athens.

Athens is a beautiful college town. You're not far from Atlanta, either which can offer some interesting options in and of itself.

God, after I wrote all that, I hope you didn't mean Athens, OH.

Greece

I've stayed in Athens 3 or 4 times, always with local friends from the University. You'll end up in the Plaka, the old town under the Acropolis. Essentially, you'll find the same menu, with the same sorts of things, done pretty much the same way, everywhere. So far as I could tell, there isn't any haut cuisine in Greece--indigenous, I mean. There's French and Italian of course, but no categorically high-end Greek. (Actually, my info might be out of date: the last time I was there was just before the Olympics, and things might have changed.)

In any case, you basically can't hit a home run, but you can't much go wrong, either. Get the grilled octopus, the souvlaki, all the regular stuff. Find a nice place with outside tables, start ordering meze--little plates--and eat and drink and talk all night. That's what Greece is all about. "Mythos" is a pretty good local beer.

Everyone smokes, so eat outside, unless you yourself are a partaker!

Geo

I should have known. There's no intercontinental in Athens, GA.

the intercontinental in athens is nice. enjoy. there is actually a not too bad resteraunt there.

a couple of suggestions -

first, there is a very nice upscale place not to far from the hilton called "eveline". if you ask the concierge at the interconti, they will get you reservations. this is the type of place where greek businessmen have nice dinners

if you are in athens for the weekend, go for lunch to the metro station Monistataki (I might have the spelling wrong, but it is basically "monistary"). when you get out of the station, you will see a dozen or so grilled meat places, full of greek families out for weekend lunch. very simple food, but about the best that greece has to offer. real greek gyros, kababs, etc. sit outside and enjoy.

I'll try and get back to you with the name of a specifc place on the plaka - there are dozens, if not hundreds, some are better than others. while I highly recomend getting to the plaka, first get to teh other places, because the plaka is more or less a tourist spot.

ask the concierge of the hotel to recomend a greek candy store and a honey store. the type of "turkish delite" types of candies that you will find are very diffent from what you get anywhere else, and the greeks take their honey very seriously

have fun

Psarras in the plaka - if you do end up going to the plaka, go to psarras, and then walk your way down. it has a nice atmosphere, and real greeks get there, although usually only when they are bringing visitors.

It's been ages but I still remember the meal we had in Vouliagmenis at a little placed called Etonya, Simply prepared and delicious.

In the Glyfada Plaka there is a shwarma shop on the...south east corner IIRC that was out of this world. They had two sauces; a tzatziki and a red sauce very much like the one at The Athenian Room, mixed together late at night, oh man.

In Ano Voula across from the movie theater there was a place called the Red Rooster that did chicken gyros on a rotating spit that is still my favorite chicken sandwich ever.

Who knows any or all could be long gone but if you find yourself in the area, ask around. The best dining tips I got were from the bartenders FYI.

Bumping this to see if anyone has more recent experiences - certainly looking for LTH-type, less discovered gems, but we're probably also going to dine at Varoulko and/or Spondi.

BR: Not sure where you're staying, but I would highly recommend Vlassis, near the Megaro Mousikis Metro station. Wouldn't classify it as a hidden gem, but they prepare traditional Greek dishes with strikingly fresh ingredients and seem to attract a lot of locals. In particular, I enjoyed their Fava, Giouvetsi and Fasolakia--dishes you can find anywhere, but prepared especially well here. Their macaroni dishes (Greek style) are also notable.

I would also second the recommendation of seeking input from locals. Athenians love to eat out, and if you ask just about any shopkeeper, hotel staff person, etc. for their favorite spot they'll gladly share. In general, folks there are extremely warm and hospitable, always looking to ensure you enjoy their city.

I can follow up with some other recos for both Athens and Mykonos later. Wish it were easier to post photos on lth (or maybe I'm just inept); I've got some great ones from our recent trip to Athens-Mykonos-Paros-Antiparos.

Hope you have a wonderful trip BR!!

alessio20 wrote:BR: Not sure where you're staying, but I would highly recommend Vlassis, near the Megaro Mousikis Metro station. Wouldn't classify it as a hidden gem, but they prepare traditional Greek dishes with strikingly fresh ingredients and seem to attract a lot of locals. In particular, I enjoyed their Fava, Giouvetsi and Fasolakia--dishes you can find anywhere, but prepared especially well here. Their macaroni dishes (Greek style) are also notable.

I would also second the recommendation of seeking input from locals. Athenians love to eat out, and if you ask just about any shopkeeper, hotel staff person, etc. for their favorite spot they'll gladly share. In general, folks there are extremely warm and hospitable, always looking to ensure you enjoy their city.

I can follow up with some other recos for both Athens and Mykonos later. Wish it were easier to post photos on lth (or maybe I'm just inept); I've got some great ones from our recent trip to Athens-Mykonos-Paros-Antiparos.

Hope you have a wonderful trip BR!!

Thanks alessio20 - looking forward to hearing your further recs for Athens as well as Mykonos. From what I've read, Mykonos scares me because I've heard the food is very pricey for often not so good.

I've eaten here on the 2 occasions that I've been in Athens. Go in the evening and sit on the terrace where you can watch the light show at the Acropolis. Good food and friendly staff.

Strofi Tavern
25 Rovertou Galli, Athens

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g189400-d1045580-Reviews-Strofi-Athens_Attica.html

OK, don't laugh, but get this: one of our favorite spots in Santorini is Senor Zorba's, a genuine Mexican resto with wonderful owners, good locally-grown food, and a spectacular view! The Other Dr. Gale and I were there, soon after they opened, and spent quite a bit of time hanging out with the owners: he's Greek and she's from Denver, a really delightful couple. (If I be not mistook, the table covers one sees in the interior shot are the original chile pepper cloths that TODG discovered in a sewing shoppe here in KC and sent to them.)

One of the neatest things is that the locals hang out here: there are more Santorinians in Sr. Zorba's than in the local restos—which are crawling with touristas. So, give it try, you won't be disappointed.

Geo
PS. Buy a bus pass and get around the island on the bus system, it's the way the locals do it, cheaply and efficiently. And visit some of the local wineries: the wine can be *quite* good.

I'll post about our brief dining experiences in Athens in my next post, but upon arriving in Athens (from Santorini), we immediately picked up a rental car and headed to Delphi. Our first stop was the beautiful Hosios Loukas monastery, which is on the way to Delphi. There, we were treated to spectacular views and fig and pomegranate trees (sad to say we didn't sample any of the fruit, but they were not ripe):


Pomegranate Tree



Fig Tree


We then continued our drive to Delphi, where we were first treated to spectacular views and groves of olive trees:


Delphi



Olive Tree


We arrived in Delphi late in the day, with plans to have dinner and then get a good night sleep before seeing the historic sights in Delphi (allow yourself about 4 hours for the sights). For dinner, we chose Epikouros Taverna, and this turned out to be a great choice. We started off with this spinach and phyllo pastry, similar to spanakopita, which was both beautiful and very flavorful with spinach, feta, dill and olive oil:




There was also a baked chicken and eggplant dish with feta that was good, not great - just a little boring in my opinion. But the star of the night was the baked goat with roasted potatoes and tomatoes. It was served in a pan sauce which included lemon, olive oil and oregano, and I threw out all manners as the food disappeared, gnawing on the bones as if I were all by myself:




Epikouros seemed a bit more modern than I was expecting in this ancient town, but the food lived up to what I imagined as a delicious, traditional and old fashioned Greek meal.

The drive to Delphi was great, and Delphi itself was so worthy of a visit. Although the drive from Athens to Delphi is fast and easy, it would be a shame to deny yourself an overnight visit, which allows you to wake up in the morning to views of olive groves, mountains and the Mediterranean Sea . . . not to mention dinner the prior evening at Epikouros.

Exactly. We sat out on our balcony, looking at the olive groves stretching to the bay at the horizon, listening to the bells on the goats in the orchards. Delphi relaxes you, in a lovely pastoral fashion.

Geo

There are plenty of reasons to visit Athens . . . here's perhaps the best reason:



We didn't spend a lot of time in Athens - we really just saw the main sites, and yet we certainly managed to eat a lot in a short time . . . but I can't say we ate that well. Unfortunately, we missed the Central Market - it's closed Sunday, and we were a little late arriving there Saturday. One of the best things we had food-wise was the buffet included in our rate at the Hilton, largely thanks to the terrific halvah bar, featuring several varieties daily:


Halvah bar at Hilton Athens

When in Athens, you'll certainly be told to try the gyros/kebabs in Monastiraki Square. There are so many to choose from and they'll do everything but grab you by the shirt to draw you in. We visited two highly acclaimed spots: Thanassis for kebabs, Bairaktaris for gyros. Here are pictures of the pork and beef gyro spits at Bairaktaris:





And here's a picture of my gyro sandwich at Bairaktaris, stuffed (as always) with fries and topped with tzatziki sauce:


Gyro sandwich at Bairaktaris


This gyro was fine, but nothing remarkable, and not as good as the one that thrilled me in Mykonos: it was a little dry and not as flavorful . . . a slight letdown given the accolades this place receives. But it fared better than the also highly regarded Thanassis:


Kebab sandwich at Thanassis


The kebab sandwich at Thanassis looked so good, but the meat itself was so dry. We also ordered tzatziki to accompany the kebabs, but as good as it was, it was not good enough to rescue the dried meat.

While walking around and seeing the sights in Athens, you'll have plenty of opportunities to sample koulouri, sesame coated bread rings:


Koulouri

I enjoyed the koulouri - I'm a sucker for sesame seeds - but I prefer a good sesame bagel. The texture of the koulouri is somewhere between a cookie and a bagel: part crunchy, part bread-like. Throughout Athens, you'll also have plenty of time to enjoy some terrific pistachios:



We had one fancy dinner in Athens, at the highly acclaimed and lone Michelin-starred restaurant in Greece, Varoulko. Varoulko was a major disappointment. The lovely rooftop setting was marred by poor service and pristine seafood spoiled by odd flavor combinations. The evening got off to a rough start when nearly 10 minutes after being seated, we had to ask for menus . . . the waiter said he assumed we would just order the tasting menu (which still does not explain the total lack of communication), but begrudgingly brought us menus. More then 10 minutes later, we had to flag someone else down to place our order. We ended up ordering the tasting menu, which consisted of five courses.

First up were fish cakes topped with a Thai-inspired bbq sauce:




We were first stunned to see these two small fish cakes on our plate - diners at the table next to us had just been served the same dish as part of the same tasting menu, and received three such cakes. After tasting the fish cakes, we were glad we only received two. The Thai bbq sauce was simply odd tasting and cloyingly sweet. We were then served some perfectly cooked mussels, but the flavors were muted, there was an under-seasoned broth, and without any bread to dip. Given the price of this meal and Varoulko's Michelin star, we were expecting so much more than mussels that had merely been steamed, and which you would expect to find at almost any neighborhood restaurant.

Two other pieces of fish followed, perfectly cooked (sea bream and cod IIRC), but with oddly matched accompaniments/sauces. One pan fried piece of fish was served with both a creamy baba ganoush and an ultra-sweet berry reduction . . . neither of which worked at all with the fish. The one dish that was outstanding was this crayfish with orzo which was just outstanding:



The one thing I can say positively about Varoulko is that all of the fish was beautifully cooked. But with the exception of the crayfish dish, none of the flavor combinations worked. And not once were we asked if we were enjoying the meal. Needless to say, I cannot recommend Varoulko. I wish we had simply found a nice, neighborhood joint serving up old-style Greek family recipes.