Greek-American chef finds opportunity in Greece financial meltdown

http://www.pri.org/stories/world/greek-american-chef-finds-opportunity-in-greece-financial-meltdown-10449.html

This caught my eye: 

"In 2009, Vezene started his own restaurant, an Italian place on the Greek island of Meganisi."

It is many years since I went to Meganisi, but I remember going into a taverna in the uphill village with a friend.  All there was to eat was one gigante.  Not a portion, just one gigante.  For those who don't know, gigantes are like large baked beans, served in a toamto sauce.  Things must have changed a lot on Meganisi.  That "meal" is tored in the same memory compartment as:

Serifos.  I was there in I think March.  There were few ferries.  The food at the one open taverna dwindled day by day.  Tomato, cucumber, meat - all were off.  As I waited for the fery, all that was on the menu was pasta.  No sauce, just pasta.

Siphnos.  A bar by the sea.  The bar appeared to be open, but there was nothing to drink available to by.  the person on duty offered to ladle some water out of a bowl for me to drink.

Many years later I know Greece much better and haven't been on short commons for years!

Serifos 1986

In spring 1986 I wanted to go to Milos. The ferry did not leave Piraeus until quite late, I forget now the exact time. By the time we were approaching Serifos it was getting late. the ferry was behind schedule. I had done my homework and knew that at Serifos accommodation was in the harbour but not in the chora; at Siphnos, the next port of call, accommodation was in both the port and the villages uphill, and at Milos most of the accommodation was in the harbour. It was perhaps nine o'clock, and I was still quite a novice at island hopping. Did I want to arrive in a strange island late at night? Or should I get off at Serifos. Caution won, and I got off at Serifos.

Today ferries seem to call at Serifos most days and from what I have read it is very popular with visitors. There were then few onward ferries, and little evidence of a large tourist invasion at peak season. I was accommodated comfortably, and cheaply, at the Hotel Serifos Beach, but the room may have been so cheap as decorating was under way and I had to tread my way past paint pots and other paraphernalia of decorating to reach my room.

Serifos port, Livadhi, was pleasant enough in a quiet and unassuming sort of way. Chora was then an mostly unspoilt Cycladic village. I say "mostly" unspoilt as I saw a tourist bar or disco, but this was shut when I was there. I remember having lunch one day in the chora, roast chicken; the meal was memorable as chickens (live) were clucking pecking around on the floor the way cats usually do. Cannibals!

Chora was a confusing place (again to deter pirates). here as elsewhere in Greece I would come across some road or oath works (as the paths are so narrow it only needs one small hole to make the street impassable), I would make a detour trying not to disturb the person doing the work, then find that I had done a circuit and was either where I was before, or approaching the works from a different direction. No, I was not last, just exploring, just arastirma if I dare say it.

One day I walked across the hills to, I think, Koutalas (I had no map, apart from my map of Greece, as none were on sale). The taverna with no beer. A huge crate of empties outside. I went in, gasping with thirst. the place was open, so surely there was something to buy? All there was was water. Not bottled water. Not tap water even. The owner scooped a glass into a bucket of water and gave it to me. He did not charge!
　
I recently found some notes I wrote on Serifos back in 1986:

"4.30 p.m. Serifos. Sitting in a cafe on harbour. Boat to Sifnos leaves at 6.30 p.m. Rather - supposed to. Be surprised if it arrives before 7.30. Getting used to Greek laziness. So far a dullish day with spots of rain. Sun now breaking through. A day to walk not too far (reserving my energies for the Sifnos mule paths). Sitting. And reading. Towers of Trebizond. Must go back to that sometime for the meaning of the religious bits. But I was too keen to find out how the plot unwound that I missed them.

I'm now unwound. After 2-3 days of hectic tramping and seeing of sights I'm now ready to relax. This is the mood I never get into at home. I'm ready to write. Trouble though - my mind still too preoccupied to write.

The gentle breeze. The lapping sea. Impregnation by the sun. Where will I sleep tonight? Don't know! Don't care! Gather Kamares, Sifnos can be pricey. But so cheap so far - 'C' hotel full rate 1600, less than £8-00. I'll soon start dreaming of veg.
OK - spuds. And those overcooked beans. Tomatoes off, then lettuce. Ever eaten a whole cucumber?"

There were few places to eat in the port, I think just one taverna and a bar by the jetty. I ate each night at the taverna, and each night something else was "off", one night Greek salad without the tomato, then no lettuce, soon just the cucumber remained. I was reminded that when I was at Ephesus in Turkey a pleasant Turkish family who were picnicking gave me a cucumber. I was at a loss as to what to do with it. The Turkish family were watching me expectantly, so I nonchalantly started to nibble it (I had no knife with me, I was less organised in those days) and ate the lot. I can imagine the tale being told by those nice Turkish people, "you'll never guess what. We gave a cucumber to this English girl, and she ate the lot, skin and all, as she stood there." Well, what would you have done? A nice little point of etiquette.

Waiting to leave Serifos I was sitting in the bar by the jetty. the only food that was being served was spaghetti with a parmesan type cheese, nothing else appeared to be on offer, not even (tinned) tomato sauce.

On passing through Serifos in 1991 I noticed that there had been a lot of building around the harbour, and recently I have read that Serifos is developing into a chic little resort island.

[1986]

Andros - The Taverna With NO Food

I had walked a long way across Andros. I had passed a number of tavernas – all closed. I was thirsty. I was hungry.

Eventually I reached Ipsilou which not only had a taverna that was open, but also a spacious rear terrace, with a glorious view down over Chora. The Ipsilou bus stop was just up the road; right next to the taverna was a path that seemed to head chorawards. Delicious smells were coming from inside the taverna. I was going to like Ipsilou! If the taverna was in serving mode, I would indulge.

The taverna door was open and I went through to the terrace at the back. The taverna was open. My taste buds quivered. I asked for an Amstel, wanting to quench my thirst before ordering any food. The owner was apologetic, saying that he had only just put the Amstel in the fridge and it was still warm. Would I like a different make of beer? I plumped for the warm Amstel (the beer was not that warm) and enjoyed the view from the terrace as I sipped it.  An Amstel is extra good after you have "earned" it by doing as long walk.

The smell of food wafting out from the taverna was irresistible but I had to stay hungry. Food was served only after 7 p.m. at the Ipsilou taverna - and there were no evening buses from Chora to Ipsilou! The smell was most delicious. I supposed I was lucky they were open to serve beer. When dark, there would be no view (only lights) to enjoy, and perhaps it would be too cold to sit outside. The irony of sitting, hungry, with the delicious food smells wafting over me. Not even an omelette was offered yet the owner seemed friendly enough. I thought of the bar on Serifos, with nothing on sale although outside was a huge pile of beer crates. The person in charge of the Serifos non-bar dipped a glass into a bucket of water and offered it to me. He would not accept payment. The hazards of travelling out of season.

Hungry still but no longer thirsty I set back for Chora, having taken the precaution of checking with the owner that the path beneath the taverna was the right path. It was.

[Late 1990s]