Τετάρτη 24 Ιουλίου 2013

Cretan wines ambassador!

I must admit that the blog didnt have as much wine as i thought i wanted to have at first so today we start a new chapter proposing somke interesting "underground" wines. Ocean from Idaia winery was my first attempt of the cretan variety Thrapasthiri which dominates this blend with chardonnay. I am so excited with the potential the grape seem to have. The wine looks Greenish gold colored and the nose smells like Lemon, Peach, and Pear. It tastes like Apple, and Peach with a satisfying length while body is Medium. The wine lacks acidity but the Round texture makes it a great companion for many kinds of food. Thumps up the Idaia winery and Thrapsathiri which i believe in the end it will end up as the strongest cretan white grape. One thing they need to reconsider is the price. You cant demand 9-10 euro in Greece 2013 for a wine that still needs to proof a lot before it can justify the price.
86/100

Τρίτη 23 Ιουλίου 2013

Triffic-Hamburg, Globe eater strikes back!




Few weeks ago I had the luck to visit some beloved friends in Hamburg and given the chance we visited one of the my friends favorite restaurants who’s opinion I respect so much. Guess what? They were damn correct!
Triffic is “hidden” in one suburb of Hamburg far from any tourist attractions and that’s exactly what I do when I want to find a good restaurant in a foreign country. It is really rare the occasion that you will get value for money where the tourists go.
Triffic has a very small menu separated in starters/main dishes/Deserts and you can choose one of each for 30 euro per person which is a very fair price if you consider the quality and freshness of the ingredients they use. Wine list is small but I guess they update it once in a while. The restaurant is awarded with the Michelin bib gourmand title which designation denotes good cuisine at a reasonable price in a variety of comfort categories. Defined as “Inspectors’ Favourites for Good Value,” Bib Gourmand restaurants offer two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less (tax and gratuity not included), and are often of most value to a city’s residents, who regularly dine in neighbourhood restaurants.
The restaurant has no fancy interior and it can only serve fit 6-7 tables which makes a feel like home atmosphere. The waitress-owner seemed really welcoming and very polite with the few German that I can understand.
My first dish was a calamari with aioli sauce which was simply the best calamari I ever had in my life. I never expected that I had to go to Hamburg to taste the best calamari when I live in a country surrounded by sea. Since there was nothing special in the making of it I guess it has to do with the quality-freshness I stated before.




Second dish was an amazing beef stake with homemade béarnaise sauce that you could smell the freshness every single ingredient they had put on it. How difficult is it to make a good béarnaise sauce? I don’t know, but it’s pretty sure most of the Greek people who run a restaurant don’t know either. As an Desert I had a selection of Cheese who were all phenomenal and accompanied the last sip of the great Bordeaux that we chose for our dinner.  It was a Grand cru St Emilion, priced fairly almost double the price of the vineyard. The wine had soft tannins despite the youth of its age and matched great the steak and cheese.Soon i hope i find some time and do an update with details of the trip and the quality of life the Hamburg residents enjoy.

Cuisine: 7/10
Wine List: 5/10
Service: 8/10
Atmosphere: 7/10

Πέμπτη 4 Ιουλίου 2013

Servus, Alpine corner in Petroupoli!



Once my friend Stelios told me he found a new Austrian beer restaurant i had no doubt this will be my next “thing to do”. It is widely known that I am a big fan of the country, the culture, and of course the cuisine of the mighty alp land. Servus is hidden in a small alley in Petroupoli which makes it even more attractive as its only 5 minutes with car from my house. 
I guess your next question is what are the differences between Austrian and German beer restaurants. Well not much to tell you the truth since both kitchens use many times the same ingredients and recipes.
One of the differences is the main draught beer. Servus serves in draught the Austrian beer Gösser which is very difficult to be found in Greece. Gösser beer is the main brand of the Göss in the Styrian city of Leoben, one of the largest and most-well known Austrian beer breweries.
There are also parts of the sausage and Desert list that have strong Austrian influences. If you ask me I would more call this a pub that you can listen to rock music (in the perfect level) drink a beer and grab a bite. I decided to start with the German weiss beer Tucher which is also diffucult to be found in draught.





The decoration in the restaurant is really nice and in the winter time it can serve only 5 tables which make you feel like being in a friend’s house. I miss though the “stuba” style furniture’s which you can find in almost every Austrian restaurant.
The menu is really small and focused on Sausage and schnitzel. We started with a potato salad that needs big improvement in my opinion. The sausage platter was really nice accompanied by 3 different types of rare Austrian mustards.
The schnitzel plateau was also nice but nothing you never tried before. I suggested to Pete that he should try to bring more uncommon dishes of the Austrian cuisine like my beloved Grostl.  Last but not least we tried the amazing desert called Kaisersmarrn which is a light, caramelized pancake made from a sweet batter using flour, eggs, sugar, salt, and milk, baked in butter. Traditionally, Kaiserschmarrn is accompanied with Zwetschkenröster, a fruit compote made out of Plums.
The owner of Servus is a really nice guy named Pete who felt in love with a Greek lady and moved to Greece. In the end we had a small chat and I believe he has the potential to make this a really nice spot for the lovers of beer and Austria.
find more info at www.servus.gr