Moouu, new restaurant dedicated to beef

This strange name for a restaurant comes from the sound the beef makes, which is not a really smart and helpful name if you ask me. Imagine trying to tell you friends “hey I found a new restaurant we should go, its called moouu”. Probably they will think you are trying to make fun of them.

The owner’s of this new restaurant run already a nearby fish food restaurant called “sardelaki” for which I have heard many good words and it is considered a really successful project.

Moouu is trying to offer a cheaper solution then it’s competitors in different cuts of beef. The menu is really small and straight to the point. It consists of few appetizers, 3-4 salads, chicken fillet(thank god because my wife would have issues finding something to eat) and 10 different cuts of beef! Their meat is supposed to be Grass fed from breeds like wagyu, black angus and Hereford. The first big mistake I found on the menu is that they don’t identify which type of breed is each cut.  When you advertise the importance of the raw material you should be able to provide all the info through the menu or at least through the waiter, who had no idea what types of breed they use.

The wine list is small but it is very good! Most of their choices come from small unknown producers, some of them I didn’t even know, and thanks to them I found a new amazing merlot from Migas Estate!

The chef's welcome was a potato soup shot with truffle oil which was ok.

 We started our dinner with steak tartar and fried potatoes.  The tartar came with the classic poached egg and the waiter old us we should break it so as the croquet will mix with the meat. Unfortunately the egg was over boiled so we missed that.  The quality of the meat though was very good and well spiced.

Main dishes was chicken fillet with side salad, which was very good but then what can go wrong with a chicken fillet when you use good materials.My unknown cut that was suggested to me by the waitress but she didn’t remember the name because it was new  the menu. Anyhow this dish was my main reason for visiting the restaurant and it was really good tastewise, from my small experience i believe it was flat iron.  The meat had this butter texture, perfectly medium grilled accompanied by the classic three types of salt and grilled vegetables.

The key question here is if the restaurant can stand next to Vezene or Base grill and at the same time be 30% cheaper. Well… no. It can be though a nice choice for an alternative when you want to have a well grilled steak from nice materials as long as they will improve their service.  I will not mention all the problems the service had because the restaurant is brand new and I am sure they will take care of them.

The reason I never mention desserts is that I rarely have space for them and I am not even a big fan of them at all. 

  

Cuisine: 7/10
Wine List: 7/10
Service: 3/10
Atmosphere: 5/10

L'abbuffata, Tasty Discovery at Trikala Korinthias!

L’abbuffata opened in 2011 and it’s located at Trikala Korinthias which is the closest winter destination in Athens. The last years many people invested in the area with new hotels openings and luxurious Chalets. Gastronomy wise though the location still suffers a lot, most of the dining options are old style Greek tavernas with very bad approach in what a restaurant should offer to its clients. Sorry but I’ve had enough of Chicken fillet, pork steak, tzatziki and house wine, do you have anything new to propose? When I found out through my favorite Food and Leisure guide (http://www.fnl-guide.com/) there was a new opening of an Italian restaurant I knew this was my next thing to do when I visit the area.

The restaurant is dominated by mrs Despoina who is the heart and the soul of it. She welcomes you and makes you feel like home immediately. Menu is small and changing everyday based on what’s fresh. The hall of the restaurant is really warm and cozy with a big fireplace. Once you enter there is a small table with free Italian Cheeses like Parmigiano regiano and Pecorino accompanied by a fruit glace. You can cut the amount you want and put it in a small plate. Can you really think a better way to start or maybe finish a dinner?

We started with a smooth Sicilian Caponata with Katiki Cheese and a really fresh vegetable salad with a perfectly balanced Balsamic dressing.

I was happy to see they were serving the real Carbonara and since it is so difficult to find it in Greece I decided to go with it as my main dish. Pasta was perfectly boiled and the result was exactly what you get in Italy. We also tried a Rigatoni with chicken and sun dried tomato which was also really well cooked.

The wine list is the only problem as it lucks choices especially in the white wines.

We will be back for sure and try more dishes!

Cuisine: 7/10
Wine List: 4/10
Service: 6/10
Atmosphere: 9/10

www.labbuffata.gr

Garden of eden (for wine lovers)

Yesterday I visited with some friends the restaurant “Gefseis me onomasia proeleyshs”. Last time I was there 2 years ago and dined in the inside building of this 19^th century mansion. We had a really fancy dinner but it was way overpriced despite the 50% discount we had through a wine magazine. Lately I was reading more and more bad reviews about their prices and this probably made them rethink so I decided to give it one more chance when I saw they changed their policy. This time we decided to try the newly added tapas menu in their lovely garden and the first shock was the wine list. Most of the white wines were charged for 13-15 euro while buying them from a wine merchant it would cost around 8-9 euro!!! On top of that we had a 20% discount due to the athinorama club card!!! On the 200 wine choices of the list you can still find bottles like a chateau Petrus 1986, residues of golden age I guess, for almost 2000 euro but I guess this will stay there for while.We accompanied the 2 bottles of wine with 7 different tapas, all were big portions and really fresh ingredients. The total amount for 4 persons was 57 euro (3 bottles of mineral water, bread and dip included in the price)! Before Crisis this would be the amount required for the 2 bottles of wine alone. That’s what I call a bargain, a must for all wine lovers!

Cuisine: 7/10
Wine List: 10/10
Service: 8/10
Atmosphere: 9/10

www.gefseis.gr

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

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

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

The best is yet to come!

This post is different then the others as i want to draw a line from here and look for new challenges. Reaching the tough age of 35 and looking back to what I have done in my life i can certainly say that I am proud of what I have achieved so far. First of all the 7 amazing releases we created with friends and help me write my own part in the history of heavy/epic metal music. In these albums we had as guests 3 of my childhood heroes such as Kenny Powell, Mark Shelton and Paul Kratky.

so here is  my discography so far...

Battleroar

2002	Dragonship (Single)
2003	Battleroar
2005	Age of Chaos
2008	To Death and Beyond...

Dexter ward

2010	Antarctic Dream (EP)
2011	Neon Lights
2013	Strars and stripes (single)

Then comes the part of the bands i shared the stage with, which was something that wasn’t even part of my wildest dreams. Need to mention a few…

Manowar, manilla road, Brocas Helm, omen, warlord, virgin steele, Helstar, Titan force, Jag panzer, doomsword, crimson glory, amon amarth, edguy and the list goes on...

2 mini european tours, one with each band, standing on our feet and not as a support band. I played numerous gigs and festivals in countries like Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland and France. Every gig I played has a special place in my heart no matter if it was for 50 or 2000 people, if I had to choose though few gigs as the highlight of my “career” these would be supporting manowar and warlord in Athens plus 2 german festivals, anniversary keep it true X and Headbangers open air in 2004.

The whole touring situation matched perfectly my other passion, Travel around the world.

Travelling for me is what charges my batteries and gives me strength to fight everyday in this shithole I live. Countries i have visited so far are USA, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Belgium, Germany, Demark, Slovenia and Turkey and more then 500 cities. If I had to make a top ten of the cities, villages I seen so far it would

Brand, Austria

Santorini, Greece

Paris, France

Venice, Italy

Salzburg, Austria

Bruges, Belgium

Hallstaat, Austria

Rothenburg, Germany

Lugano, Switzerland

Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Another highlight of my life, as a promoter this time, is up the hammers festival which I organize since 2006. Up the hammers is an underground heavy metal festival which takes place in Athens, Greece (twice a year since 2011). To name a few of the bands that have performed there, manilla road, omen, virgin steele, Titan force, doomsword, crimson glory, skyclad, savage grace, pagan altar, powervice, metal inquisitor, holy martyr, ostrogoth, shok paris, dark quarterer, slauter xstroyes, paradox, witchfynde, praying mantis, marauder, enforcer, in solitude, skull fist, adramelch, crystal viper, crush, sarissa, ereb altor plus many more.

The festival has the perfect balance between newcomers and legendary bands and many bands became way bigger after their appearance in the ranks of the festival since the festival has been established as one of the best festivals in Europe for its kind.

The part of wine and food came later as a passion in my life and is getting bigger day by day but I will not analyze this as this is what this blog is about.