Taverna Kaplani: More on the Food

Ok, it might seem like I'm obsessing, but if you were here, you'd understand. Food in Greece is like the Platonic ideal of food: the peaches are the peachiest peaches you've ever had, the honeydew finally fulfills the promise of the name. This is true even of the meat, which by-and-large comes from small family farms where herbivores graze instead of being fed corn and nothing is walking in its own poop or being routinely fed antibiotics. When you get ground beef at the butcher's, the butcher takes a steak, trims the fat, and grinds it in front of you. Pink slime? No chance, because you see it. The fact that you see it freaks out the students. We had a lively conversation when one student presented on the meat market, because they were worried about the meat hanging out with flies and grossed out by the parts we normally don't see.

This chicken still has its head on.

This is a bunny. His tail is still furry.

Liver? And brains.

More offal. Note the tripe discarded underneath. They do sell it, but not that one.

Pig feet. Some butchers tie them up and hang them off the butcher's block.

In the fish market, normal attire is high boots with pants tucked in. Most of the water is from the melting ice.

This is the kicker... RIGHT inside the meat market are several cafes. There is a smell... you need to be very used to it to be willing to have lunch there, though of course the meat is the freshest you'll ever taste.

Then we talked about how by choosing not to see the grossness of death and dismemberment, we allow for even grosser things to occur, like pink slime and sick cows and animals living in their own excrement. By insisting on seeing, Greek consumers don't have any of those issues, and they also understand the value of meat. You can get steaks and lamb or pork chops, but they are expensive and for special occasions. Most Greek meals include meat, but it is meat as a flavoring agent rather than meat as the point. Moussaka, pastitsio, stuffed peppers and eggplant dishes typically contain meat, but ground meat mixed with vegetables and rice. Souvlaki and gyros (Greek fast food) contain meat, but are not centered around meat. There is always pita, salad, tzaziki and even french fries wrapped up along with a few pieces of meat. So they don't need the quantities of meat per person that has caused our gross system of CAFOs. It seems counterintuitive, but seeing the "grosser" side of being a carnivore seems to mean that the meat is more valued and the animals better taken care of, which in turn means that it also tastes better. More like meat. I asked about meat in every conversation I had with someone Greek. So impressed with the butchers, I wanted to check to be sure that the live animals were raised with as much care as the meat was shown. I was stunned when nearly everyone I asked said that they didn't actually use the local butcher... they had some connection in the countryside and were buying their meat from someone they knew who had a farm...these skilled, knowledgeable, and caring butchers are the last resort.

Another thing about the food is portion size. Family-style eating is the norm. This means that you order a bunch of dishes which are put in the center of the table and then everyone takes a portion of whatever they like. This means that you aren't served a standard portion and then expected to finish it regardless of your personal appetite. You can order three things for four people if you aren't that hungry, and sharing is the norm. There are different types of eating establishments: an estiatorio is a restaurant, and the most formal. A taverna is less formal, but still main meal kind of food: pastitsio, moussaka, meat, french fries, salads, etc. A mezodopeio or ouzeria is like tappas: lots of little plates (my favorite way to eat). A psarotaverna is fish-based. A cafe will serve "snacks" which could be an American lunch: sandwiches, crepes, paninnis. Or you can go to a take-out place for souvlaki or gyros which are a small meal wrapped in a pita for 2 euros. Or a bakery for pies, which are with cheese, of course, but also sausage, spinach, ham, vegetables, even onion or mushroom. These are less than 2 euros, and small size. The bakeries also have little sandwiches for a snack, and I do mean little -- about 4 bites, like slider-sizes. So you don't have to buy something big if you just want something little.

I wish there was something here for scale. These are tiny sandwiches, about 4 bites, and less than 2 euros ($2.50)

Ellie enjoying a ham and cheese pie, while Sorelle has a bacon, tomato and cheese bread.

Finally, cooking is a joy. Everything you make turns out well because the ingredients are so good. Everything, even zucchini and cucumbers, has flavor. They've not bred out flavor in favor of size or color or shipability. Between the ubiquitous farmer's markets, the taste of what is in them, and the way things are grown, I have to say that the US could learn a few things from this little impoverished country. If only there was a way to export their food values and knowledge... they'd be rich.