Dinners with family friends

Dinners with family friends- dad's paranoid i'm including names so i'll refer to them as X, Y, and Z- i feel like those recently discovered spies

X- met X after work one day (forgot when exactly). We talked- mommy is such a gossip! Somehow X already knew WAY too much about taarini/my personal life. And then I called mom from there and she gave X more ‘things’ to ask me- haha. Thanks mom- love you. We went to this excellent tavern. Most of the tavernas have been good but usually it’s just plain meats, French fries, and greek salads. X did the ordering- just several appetizers. We had a delicious summer salad (actual lettuce! fruit, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a nice yogurt dressing). We had an eggplant/yogurt dip, fried zucchini and fried tomato patties (hard to describe but again yummy!). And kebabs. All in all quite delightful foodage.

Y- met Y at his office. He then invited me home. People were watching the world cup semis game (Spain’s). He has a 16 and 17 year old daughter at home and 6 year old son. I hung out with the daughters, the 16 year old’s friend, and a cousin. It was nice- we went swimming (their house is gorgeous and huge, it’s on the coast with a pool in the backyard, three floors, and an elevator). They ordered burgers which were also giant. So we just talked till about midnight and then I went home. I took the tram there- which is really easy except super long (1.5 hours).


Z: their house is nice, they live in Kifissia. They have a patio in the front and garden in the back. The back garden walls are covered with a vine- mommy would be jealous. I arrived a little late (the metro line didn't go all the way bc of construction). Then the taxi driver spoke ZERO english and ended up taking me to a different Chimaras (their street name) which was really sketch. These trips to visit dad's friends are expensive bc a) have to get a gift b) the nice family areas of town are much farther out- getting there is a pain/pricey.

Anywho- so I got there. Their cousins from Australia were in town to celebrate the mom's 50th birthday (mother, father, 2 sons, daughter, daughter's bf). They had just come back from celebrating her birthday on an island (here's the crazy part). They partied for five nights straight, a big group of 28 of them including the parents, staying out till 6 am some nights. Even the parents danced on bars...I couldn't handle doing either party of that now much less at fifty. Definitely a uniquely greek/australian/french/generally european thing. Z has 4 kids. One son graduated cornell I think he's still in the US. Another will be a junior in Georgetown (math/music major) and is spending the summer dj-ing in Ios (popular greek island- CRAZAY). Then he has two tiny kids- one 8 year old and one 2 year old. The wife is 46..so she had the 2 year old at 44! Crazaaaay.

So first sat, talked, had appetizers (cheese puff rolls and spring rolls). Then Z grilling dinner. Z speaks very fondly of dad. Said his office was next to dad's and he remembered once seeing a handwritten sign on my dad's door- do not disturb brains are storming. I can just see dad writing that and thinking he's very clever. Cheesy dad....cheesy.

The most important part- FOOD. This parent's friend's dinner definitely wins on the food front. All home cooked. So Z pork and chicken souvlaki. They also made greek hamburgers (the patty basically but it's much softer and more flavorful). Greek salad. Pita. Home-made bread. Stuffed tomatoes and stuffed bell peppers. Note- these are all separated by periods because really they're all stand alone in their awesomeness. The grandmother made the stuffed tomatoes and peppers. Then for desert (this was the epic-est part if that's even possible) the grandmother made an ice cream cake. But this is not your usual ice cream cake. The inner core (think like the earth's core) was a beautiful chocolate ice cream- very rich, almost tasted nutella like. The upper layer (it was a rounded cake, a dome of pure deliciousness) was vanilla. On top there were almonds, hazelnuts, and toffee pieces. There was also a 'sauce' of the toffee, nuts, and melted ice cream that they put on top of each of the slices. I can't even begin to describe my happiness. The meal was followed by schnapps. They drink SO MUCH. A beer or glass of wine with appetizers. A glass of wine with the main course. And then one or two shots. How are they not drunk at this point? They kept looking at me like I'm crazy for not wanting the stuff (yes mom and dad, I only had part of a glass of wine with the meal). Honestly though, I'd rather finish a meal like that with a shot of true southern, brewed sweet tea than jagermeister or lemoncello. Even the granny and 8 year old had some (the 8 year old had half a shot)! crazaaay. Overall nice evening though- the food alone made it worth it. It was nice to also meet the cousins (the kids ranged from 20-27). It's cool- I've been here long enough that I could answer where I am, recommend museums (archaeological v acropolis), other sites, places for youngsters to party. I'm becoming greek! not really, but sort of