This was an amazing presentation of Greek and Turkish appetizers served at room temperature. It included crumbled feta cheese, firefeta (spicy feta cheese dip), taramasalata (creamy dip flavored with fish roe), baba ghanoush (smoky and tangy eggplant dip), hummus (chickpea puree), kalamata olives, yogurt sauce, dolmades (grape leaves stuffed with rice), falafel (chickpea fritters), and halved Greek meatballs made of beef and lamb. The plate was garnished with olive oil, fresh diced tomato, shredded lettuce, and chopped parsley. The dish came with pita bread wedges to pick up the tasty dips. In the falafel I seemed to detect cumin and coriander among the spices. The falafel pieces were a little dry so I dipped them into the yogurt sauce; however, the flavor was among the best I've had. Together with a glass of amazing white wine from the island of Santorini, this was lunch at its finest. This is also a puzzle: it's up to you to match my descriptions with what's on the plate. Have fun!
Location: Santorini, 68375 E Palm Canyon Drive, Cathedral City, California. Date: September 26, 2020.
2 Comments
Alfredo
9/27/2020 10:27:16 am
I guess it could be interesting to see how many other enemy countries share their cuisine... Israel and Lebanon? Turkey and Armenia? Armenia and Azerbaijan? Ethiopia and Eritrea?
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Roland
9/27/2020 10:48:05 pm
Ethiopia and Eritrea were one country, like India and Pakistan. When you get a divorce, you don't necessarily change your eating habits. Israel's a little different as both Jews and Arabs live there, both with distinctive cuisines; however, when you leave a pub in Israel, no matter who you are, do you go for gefilte fish or a falafel sandwich? I'm betting on the latter.
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AuthorChef Roland has been a legal resident of seven countries and has travelled in over thirty, documenting food along the way. He currently resides in the desert in Southern California. Categories
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