When I asked her, Nina claimed she couldn't remember all the ingredients in her tzatziki. “Too many ingredients,” she said, but she did disclose that it was yoghurt based and not made with sour cream like the cheaters do. It's served with pita bread wedges and cucumber slices, and it's garnished with olive oil and a chopped herb that I think was mint. It's on the salty side, but when you eat it with the cucumber, it's actually perfect. My sister was with me, and she doesn't usually like tzatziki sauce, but she declared that this one was the most delicious she's ever had, and she actually meant that it was delicious.
Location: Nina's, 555 S Sunrise Way, Palm Springs, California. Date: February 3, 2024.
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This is a Greek pastry made from phyllo dough wrapped around semolina custard. There are many variations in Greece, but the one we had was a little crunchy on the outside, somewhat creamy in the middle, and it was flavored with citrus rind and dusted with powdered sugar. There was some syrup on the bottom, but it wasn't too sweet at all, maybe because in Greece it's considered to be a breakfast pastry rather than a dessert. Our waiter said it was his favorite, and I wouldn't hesitate to order it again.
Location: Koutouki, 73675 Highway 111, Palm Desert, California. Date: November 22, 2023. On her birthdays, my sister has the tradition of finding a Greek restaurant that serves flaming saganaki, which is a dish made from one of numerous Greek cheeses. In Greece, they melt a slab of cheese in a small saucepan and serve it with fresh lemon juice and pita bread. In the United States, they started flaming it tableside with some sort of alcohol before squeezing on the lemon juice. The place we went to yesterday did a fine flaming job, and there was plenty of spent alcohol and lemon juice to sop up with the pita bread. Saganaki is one of our favorite Greek appetizers.
Location: Koutouki, 73675 Highway 111, Palm Desert, California. Date: November 22, 2023. I love it when I find new items on a menu that I haven't noticed before, and this Greek take on an Italian pasta dish is one of them. This is spaghetti in browned butter with myzithra cheese instead of parmesan. Garlic and onion are optional, but I thought that the generous amount of thin slices of sauteed red onion really brought this dish together. The white grated Greek cheese that covered the dish brought all the umami that parmesan does, plus it's more briny. The pasta was garnished with a couple of very tasty basil leaves, and there were two small pieces of herbed garlic bread on the side. I usually don't eat bread with pasta, but these little morsels were too tasty to leave. The onion was a little al dente for some crunch, and I could taste the garlic but I couldn't see it. This was a carb fest for sure, but that's often what I like.
Location: Nina's, 555 South Sunrise Way, Palm Springs, California. Date: October 28, 2023. On the menu, these Greek meatballs were called spicy, but after talking with the waiter I realized that while there were many spices in them, none of them were hot. The meatballs were rolled in pita bread with tomato, lettuce, and a side of tzatziki sauce, and the sandwich was served with a side of Greek salad. This was all so delicious and refreshing. I thought I would have to take some home, but I ate it all, and it digested well.
Location: Santorini, 68375 E Palm Canyon Drive (111), Cathedral City, California. Date: October 18, 2023. When I was at Santorini a few days ago, my friend ordered lamb kebab. She gave me a piece of lamb to taste, and I knew I had to blog it. I got two skewers of tender lamb cooked medium rare (just the way I like it), and the dish came with tzatziki sauce, hummus, Greek salad, grilled tomato and onions, and pita bread. I told the waitress that I was a food blogger, and I got a complimentary dish of fire feta, which is a spicy feta cheese dip. By coincidence, I had made a batch of fire feta myself the day before!
Location: Santorini, 68375 E Palm Canyon Drive, Cathedral City, California. Date: April 8, 2022. These Greek green beans are baked with tomato, extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, and spices, and the dish is finished with lemon juice and garnished with fresh parsley. The first time I had this dish it also had olives in it. I ordered it with pita bread, and the bread came with some tangy tzatziki sauce on the side. The beans were melt in your mouth tender, and they had soaked up so much flavor from the sauce. This was the best green bean dish I've ever had! I ate it outdoors with a glass of white wine from the Greek island of Santorini, but unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me. When I went back to document the dish, there was no more outdoor dining, just takeout. There were no olives in my takeout dish, but the flavor was as delectable as the first time. I didn't get tzatziki sauce either, and I had to photograph the takeout dish in my car. It looks a little sloppy, but don't let that fool you.
Location: Santorini, 68375 E Palm Canyon Drive, Cathedral City, California. Date: December 11, 2020. 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. |
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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