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I met up with Summer today in Belltown (for lunch). She was in the mood for Chicken Souvlaki - which is her favorite food; so we drove up to Capitol Hill to a restaurant she knew of and recommended highly.
The restaurant's name is the "Byzantion" and it was a great place. I loved the way it looked from across the street and knew we were in for a great meal.
Summer ordered Chicken Souvlaki and I had their daily Moussaka special, which is a layered casserole with eggplant, chopped meat and some kind of a custard sauce.
We shared a little bit of roast lamb and they gave us a generous sample of their Pastitsio, which was kind of like a lasagne, with macaroni, ground meat, cheeses and an interesting sauce to top it all off (those guys loved Summer and kept bringing samples to the table).
For desert we had these fantatsic Koulouria cookies with Greek coffee and they are GREAT. They were kind of like butter cookies, but with a delicous glaze of some kind.
The coffee was fascinating! Brewed in an old brass pot, it was thick and powdery, but not instant coffee. The grounds were still there in the bottom of the cup, kind of like a coffee sediment. I think I'm going to love learning more about this Greek coffee.
The Byzantion may not exactly be Athens, but for Seattle, it was a great Greek meal.
-------------------- Respectfully,
Ben
Malory in Signature Posts: 5772 | Registered: Oct 2004
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Alright Mr. Ben! I m always happy to learn that people around the world like Greek traditional cooking and recipes as well as misc. kinds of Greek products and way of living. It seems to me that you both have tasted the state-of-the-art and the cornerstones of Greek traditional cooking (Moussaka is my favourite dish, too!) About souvlaki: It depends on how they have cooked it and how it was offered to you it has many vaiations. The term "souvlaki" has many meanings and appearences. Etymologically the word comes from the noun "souvla" meaning "skewer", so "souvlaki" is a small skewer normally from made from wood. And you attach little piece of meat on top of the grill to roast it. Variations of "souvlaki" include "pitta souvlaki", i.e. wrapped pitta bread with pieces of meat, tzatziki, chips, tomato, onion, salt, pepper or any sauce you like. The meat can range from pork, lamb, and most lately to chicken&bacon --> portions of chicken wrapped in bacon strips: (new trend in Greece and very delicious!). Of course to have the most of souvlaki it needs to be roasted in pure charcoal grill (no gas, no electricity involved).
The "Moussaka" dish you ate, Mr Ben, needs a lot of cooking skills to be able to enjoy it at its most tastiness. Other than have the skills to eat ample amounts of it I hereby link a very intersting recipe for all those who are interested in experimenting with it:
The secret in this dish relies on how the aubergines are cooked as well as the "bechamel" cream on top of it!
"Pasticcio", on the other hand, is an Italian based dish probably because of our trade back and forth and our ancient give-take with Italians. The name as well as the recipe shows that it has Italian origins but nonetheless it makes it a very delicious meal too!
Other Greek tastes - not so famous outside mainland Greece but very popular in Easter season around Greece include: "kokoretsi", "kontosouvli" both of which are now formally banned by the European rules of health Department for being bad for one's health. Anyway, we still eat it though by the tons here LOL Both are "meat" based skewer grill dish. Very sweet and delicious food but with lots of calories and cholesterol
"Koulouria" are cookies (as you ve seen and tasted) baked with flour, butter cream, cinnamon and anise seeds. Normally eaten along with coffee or to treat the guests
Last but not least at all, the Greek coffee, also known as Turkish coffee (because of its procedure, but through the ages the name changed).
Healthier than any other coffee because the bad part and most of the caffeine stays at the bottom of the cup. (Note: Briki is a tall, small container with a long handle and a lip, made out of copper, aluminium or stainless steel.
PS: Whether Athens, Cairo, Hong-Kong, Port Louis or everywhere in the world when something is good and done with meraki (fun, then it makes no difference at all
meraki [may-rah-kee] (adjective) This is a word that modern Greeks often use to describe doing something with soul, creativity, or love -- when you put "something of yourself" into what you're doing, whatever it may be.
Meraki is often used to describe cooking or preparing a meal with love of what you do, kindness and entepreneurism, but it can also mean arranging a room, choosing decorations, or setting an elegant table.
PS: Next time you go to "Byzantion" greet the waiter by saying "Yia soo pheeleh" (Hello, my friend) Gimme.
First of all, that photograph of the briki is great because that is exactly what it looked like at the restaurant. The one they used was made of brass. It looked just like that, with the long handle (which Summer thought was cool).
We are going to go do this again, as soon as Summer can get some free time. She says there are some other Greek restaurants that are authentic and very good, so I'll leave it up to her to pick the place.
-------------------- Respectfully,
Ben
Malory in Signature Posts: 5772 | Registered: Oct 2004
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