Belgian Greek
I ate my first Greek food in a taverna near one of the main Brussels stations (the Gare du Midi?) in the 1970s. Then I moved on to Cambridge Greek. There are far fewer Greek eateries in Cambridge today, but in the late 1970s Greek food was the staple cheap food of Cambridge eateries. Spaghetti rice and chips covered with tomato sauce were served with just about every dish in some of the Greek-style places in Cambridge. At least it was cheap and filling. Some of the Greek restaurants have closed, but the Varsity restaurant is still there.
In some places you can (and indeed are expected to) go into the kitchen to see what is on offer, in others there is a display case so you can see the food. Is the limp looking specimen in a display cabinet just for display, or will you be served it?
Some oven cooked food is excellent, other dishes can have been lingering for some time and be past their best. Play it by ear, rather by nose and eye. A portion from an almost empty tray in a taverna with a quick turnover may be excellent. A portion from an almost empty tray in a place with a low turnover may be somewhat elderly.
A follow on to Belgian Greek food. A couple of years ago I went to a meeting in Brussels, the first time I had been back to Brussels since I lived there. I brought back a blue water bottle. I grabbed for a bottle to fill with water as I was leaving for Greece this time, and picked up the Belgian bottle. I was keeping the Belgian bottle as a souvenir. So I am now carrying (and using) the Belgian water bottle, and will take the bottle back to England. Last minute packing - a friend once took a bag of dirty washing to Greece, instead of the bag of clean washing. And my two same-footed shoe experience in Kastelorizo.
An extract from my book "Kalo Taxidi"
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