Saltiness by the Sea Vol. 2 (aka Almyra Exposed!) {+Ελλ.}

                             So, the last time I blogged about "Almyra" (see Saltiness by the Sea) I had left you all with a rather good impression I'd say. Ok, the place wasn't perfect and neither was the food, but all in all it was a good effort for this little place and worth a visit.



                             Now, however (cue the dramatic music), I have changed my mind. About a month ago (see Status Report, for why I was late writing about this), I revisited Almyra, having the urge for seafood. Given the limited offer of seafood, I ordered the salmon. I was in for a very bad surprise. The strong side sauce initially masked it, but suddenly I realised the fish had gone off. It smelt awful and tasted even worse, something my partner in eating attested to aswell. I was disgusted at having been served such a thing and actually being charged 9euros for it! I called the waiter and made a serious complaint, asking for it to be taken away and the bill brought immediately since my stomach had started to ache ominously. To my amazement the waiter actually laughed in my face! Can you believe it? To make matters even more disgruntling, no manager, no chef, no reduced bill came out and on top of it all we weren't served dessert either (not that I would have eaten it), as if we were the ones insulting them! Uncroyable!
Given the fact I spent the remainder of the night hugging the sink close and wretching my guts out they should be very happy indeed I'm not talking about foodpoisoning. I was very disappointed not only by the incident in itself, but more importantly by the way it was handled. Everyone will agree that mistakes happen everywhere, after all we're only human, but had they been more civilised and courteous about it, as one would expect from any good restaurant, I would have thought twice about writing about the incident, or even used their policy as a positive attribute of the restaurant, that, in fact, even if something goes wrong, they could make it up to the customer. As it is though, I am not amused and it is a shame, given I thought it a very promising place.

In conclusion, I am obviously NOT saying don't go, since I am not a malicious person. I'm simply reporting the facts, as is my duty as foodblogger. The rest is up to you...






Και στα Ελληνικά!

                            Την τελευταία φορά που έγραψα άρθρο για το "Αλμύρα" (βλ. Saltiness by the Sea), σας είχα αφήσει όλους με μία αρκετά καλή εντύπωση, όπως άλλωστε είχα μείνει και γω μετά την πρώτη αυτή επίσκεψή μου. Εντάξει, το μέρος και το φαγητό δεν ήταν και τέλεια, αλλά ήταν μια πολύ καλή προσπάθεια για τη μικρή πόλη της Ιεράπετρας και άξιζε σίγουρα μιαν επίσκεψη.


                            Τώρα όμως (*δραματική μουσική*), έχω αλλάξει γνώμη και διάθεση. Πριν από κανένα μήνα (βλ. Status Report για το λόγο που άργησα να ποστάρω νέα), συνέβη το εξής περιστατικό. Επανεπισκεπτόμενη το Αλμύρα, είχα όρεξη για ψάρι, ή γενικότερα θαλασσινά (ναι, ξέρω, για θαλασσινά στην Ιεράπετρα στο Αλμύρα βρήκα να πάω; Αλλά το προσπερνάμε). Δεδομένης της μικρής ποικιλίας του μαγαζιού σε τέτοιο είδος, παρήγγειλα το σολωμό. Με περίμενε, ωστόσο, μία άσχημη έκπληξη. Σαν ήρθε ο σολωμός, αρχικά η δυνατή μυρωδιά των μπαχαρικών της σάλτσας υπερκάλυψε το γεγονός ότι ο σολωμός ήταν χαλασμένος. Εντέλει, όμως, προφανώς το κατάλαβα. Η δυσωδία ήταν φοβερή και η γεύση χειρότερη, όπως επιβεβαίωσε κι ο συνδαιτημών μου. Ενοχλημένη που θα μου ζητούσαν κιόλας να πληρώσω 9 ευρώ γι'αυτό το πιάτο, κάλεσα το σερβιτόρο κι αφού παραπονέθηκα ζήτησα να μαζέψει τα πιάτα και να φέρει το λογαριασμό, μιας και είχε αρχίσει ήδη το στομάχι μου να διαμαρτύρεται παράξενα και δυσοίωνα. Προς τεράστιά μου έκπληξη και θυμό, μου γέλασε κατάμουτρα και είπε ότι θα περάσει το μήνυμά μου και μέσα. Στη συνέχεια, ούτε μάνατζερ, ούτε σεφ, αλλά ούτε και μειωμένος λογαριασμός δεν ήρθε στο τραπέζι και το κερασάκι στην τούρτα ήταν η έλλειψη τούρτας, τουτέστιν ούτε και γλυκό δε μας έφεραν! Λες και αυτοί ήταν οι προσβεβλημένοι της υπόθεσης! Πραγματικά απίστευτο.
Δεδομένου ότι πέρασα το υπόλοιπο της βραδιάς αγκαλιασμένη με το νιπτήρα, βγάζοντας τον "πόνο" μου σ'αυτόν, θα'πρεπε να χαίρονται, πιστεύω, που δεν έκανα λόγο για καμία τροφική δηλητηρίαση. Όπως και νά'χει απογοητεύτηκα οικτρά όχι μόνο από το ίδιο το περιστατικό, αλλά πρωτίστως από τον τρόπο που το χειρίστηκαν. Λάθη, όπως ξέρουμε όλοι, συμβαίνουν παντού, λάθη είμαστε, ανθρώπους κάνουμε άλλωστε, ωστόσο αν είχαν φερθεί λίγο πιο ευγενικά και πολιτισμένα, όπως θα περίμενε κανείς από οποιοδήποτε καλό εστιατόριο, τότε ίσως και να μην ανέφερα το περιστατικό αυτό, ή αν τό'κανα θα'ταν σ'ένα θετικό πλαίσιο, ότι μπορεί το μαγαζί να επανορθώσει άξια ακόμη και σε περίπτωση λάθους και μπράβο τους. Όπως έχει, όμως, η κατάσταση λυπάμαι, γιατί πίστευα θα μπορούσε να'ναι ένα πολύ αξιόλογο μαγαζί.


Τέλος πάντων, εντέλει δε σας συμβουλεύω να μην πάτε. Απλώς καταγράφω τα γεγονότα, όπως οφείλω να κάνω σαν foodblogger και σας ενημερώνω. Τα συμπεράσματα δικά σας...

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Posted in: Almyra,Chinese,Ierapetra,Italian,Restaurant

Saltiness by the Sea!

So the other night I went on a date (yeay!) to a new place that's only just opened in Ierapetra. Rumour had it they served Chinese and Italian. Yes. In Ierapetra. Chinese and Italian. Given we've never had a proper Italian place and the last Chinese restaurant we had closed down years ago, this was something I dared not miss.

It's located right next to "Petra Mare", a fancy(-ish) hotel overlooking the sea. I must say, the look of the restaurant rather catered to my taste. A sturdy stone-wall entrance way led to two different available levels. The top, a group of round tables and chairs with an open air kitchen (always a favourite with me, see La Pasteria) so tongues of fire kept lighting up the surrounding area, the bottom about 5 or 6 tables right above the rocks. As we sat down (3rd table, lower level) I thought to myself, "Mmm, this place is so nice, so pretty, so um.. humid". -The waiter actually had to wipe the water off the table before we could touch it and the red paper napkins were shrivelling up slowly and pitifully in a rather comic way (admittedly, matching paper place mats were not such a grand idea for somewhere so close to the sea)- That having been said, the view was indeed breathtaking. A sandy and rocky beach stretched out just below us, illuminated by white glowing lamps, while waves broke loudly on the shore, sending that lovely salty scent up to greet us throughout the meal and bringing back fuzzy childhood memories. It's no wonder the place is called Αλμύρα (AlmEEra, ie "Saltiness", a name somewhat puzzling initially). To the far right, seemingly out at sea, twinkly lights winked merrily in the distance, one of the rather flattering views of the town (or if you're my mother "the only flattering view of the town"!).

Moving on to the -also paper- menus. These weren't as sodden as the napkins (though the breadsticks, unbelievably, were!), even if they were rather small (then again that might just be the glutton in me, so heed me not). Nonetheless, there were a few (6) Chinese dishes and another few (4) Italian ones, as well as four or five house specials, a combining concept entirely novel for Ierapetra's standards, so bravo for daring. Being myself a voracious eater of Chinese food, I decided to have the Stir fry with Shrimp, Basil and Chilli with Noodles, and my date got the sweet and sour chicken with rice ("Damn!" I thought. Seeing as I'm not a huge fan of the sweet and sour taste, I would not constantly be able "try" my date's meal. I hid my disappointment in a glass of fine white wine.) For starters we ordered local mushrooms ("πλευρώτους") with bacon and balsamic vinegar (yeah, I know, how Chinese is that for you? Lol, they didn't actually have any ethnic salads or starters, so don't judge!)

Mushrooms and Bacon in Balsamic

The local part of the meal actually turned out to be the best part of the meal. You know how mushrooms can sometimes get a little overpowering, especially when you eat quite a few on their own? (At least Cretan ones do, I don't know about other types) Well, the bacon worked beautifully with them, those tender, juicy, sweet wine-and-balsamic-oozing mushrooms on the one hand, the meaty, straightforward bacon on the other, an excellent pairing. After that starter, you can bet we were hankering for more.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Next came the sweet and sour chicken. The piggy in me couldn't resist, so I eventually "tried" a mouthful (or few) and was quite impressed. As a dish in itself it wasn't anything overly spectacular, but it did actually manage to live up to your average asian cuisine expectations, quite the achievement over here. Next came my own dish. Not so impressed. The fact that the waiter announced "SPAGHETTI" with prawns, did not bode well. We spent the better part of an hour arguing whether it was in fact fat egg noodles or accidental spaghetti-turned-noodles-in-the-lack-of-noodles alla typical cretan style. Whatever the truth was, it was not cooked well. The prawns were nice (but then again how can you possibly go wrong there), while the vegetables were also tasty, as was the spicy sauce, even if the whole ensemble scarcely resembled anything remotely Chinese. A stray chickpea in my dish did make for an amusing find though!

Stir Fry noodles with Shrimps, Basil and Chilli

To restore peace and order, the meal was rounded off with a bowl of complimentary vanilla icecream with crumbled digestive biscuits and sour cherries. Yum!


Impressions? Well, all in all I think very good for Ierapetra standards, what with trying to juggle different ethnic cuisines and it being their first couple of weels in the business. The mushrooms were obviously the highlight of the evening, with the chicken living up to expectations and the noodles a bit of a disappointment with regards to Chinesey-culinary-styley, but still rather yumm-ey, so I'm pretty sure I'll give the place another shot. Maybe next time I'll go for a house special. I did actually hear someone comment (it was more of a mouthfull gurgle to be precise) on the souvlaki-looking-satay-chicken so maybe that's up next. ;) Anyhow, if you're tired of the same old rakadiko/taverna scene and want something a bit more posh, pretty and romaaantic (*flutters eyelashes*), go on and give it a go, I expect you'll be quite pleasantly surprised.

In a nutshell

Do you get your money's worth? Yes, it was all reasonably priced. Starters and salads 4-8euros, main meals 7-10 euros each.

Is it worth it? Definitely. Not many places with a view like that, I can tell you.

Will I go again? Yes. It was a good effort and merits a second visit. :)

P.S. After all that praise for the view, one would expect an adequate photo to show it off, buuuut.. the sea spray kept getting in the way of the lens. Humbug.

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Posted in: Almyra,bar,Chinese,Ierapetra,Italian,Restaurant

Ierapetra - Okso, traditional rakadiko in all it's glory.

My fellow foodies, given I'm on holiday in Crete I can't really post anything on Athens, at least until September or so when I get back. I couldn't face not posting anything though, so for the next month or so expect some articles (anyone who's interested that is!) holiday-style. My appetite is as great as ever and I am on the rampage traversing the exotic, hot, LOUD island of Crete. Consider it a small tribute to my semi-Cretan nature.

To start off, naturally I opted for a little typically Cretan "rakadiko" (a small restaurant-cafe style of place, veeeeery common around these parts, where raki is sold -and obviously drunk- in exceedingly large quantities, accompanied by yummy mezedes. In other parts of Greece these establishments would usually be called "mezedopolio", ie places selling mezedes, little bite-sized delicacies, but since raki is the predominant spirit (litteraly and metaphoricaly) in Crete, they're called rak-adiko.). Anyhow, the one I've chosen is called "Okso" ('Οξω), meaning "outdoors" in a very rustic yet jovial-sounding Cretan accent.


 

White House Wine

Choriatiki Salata

Rustic yet jovial is around about the same characterisation I would use to describe the atmosphere and food here. You have the stereotype dark waiters, running about, sweating and desperately trying to keep up with everything, people shouting for more raki and grub, as they laugh and jokingly mock each other whilst all the while keeping an eye -and fork- on the diminishing food in the centre of the table (after all, you can't POSSIBLY have your own plate at a rakadiko!! Shock horror for my visiting English cousin, who ended up hungry since all her -Greek- eating companions grabbed everything in sight). As for the food itself, whether it's the little mezedes brought free of charge with the order of spirits, that usually consist of "house-food", (that is to say dishes prepared by the cook in the variety he wishes each day and served on small plates to keep customers happy and relatively sober, yet whetting their appetites for more), or whether it's the actual orderable dishes for people more than a little peckish (yes, yes, enough with the pointing fingers, we all know that means me), it is fab fab fab.

Meat platter (this one just with pansetta on)

 

Meat pie

We usually order some lovely crispy fried cheeseballs, chips, amazing meat pie (with a mixture of mince and chicken I believe with some heavy spices going on, covered in soft crust with sesame seeds) and mushroom pie (the same soft crust only filled with yummy local mushrooms, melted cheese and bacon). A salad (Choriatiki, all the usual ingredients, ie tomatoes, onions, cucumber, feta cheese, green peppers, fresh olive oil, with the interesting in this case addition of capers). A mixture of selected grilled meats, ie panseta, souvlaki (chicken or pork), beefburgers (or as they're known here "Biftekia"), kebabs, accompanied by chips, salad and flour- or whole-grain flour-pittas on a huge wooden chopping board. If you do decide to visit, get as much panseta as you possibly can. All yummy, juicy, yet crunchy and charred, trust me, it is to die for!

The same meat platter

Also, their house wine (white or red) and raki is top notch. What's more, everything is in cute small portions (apart from the meat!) and soooo ridiculously affordable. When there's quite a few of us we usually end up paying something totally absurd, like 3-6 euros each, and believe you me, we are STUFFED!

Anyway, given it's one of my favourite stops for the summer, and right on the pedestrian district by the sea and always FULL of people, I though it was only acceptable I began with this place!

In a nutshell:

Do you get your money's worth? Most definitely! Starters are priced around 2-5euros (the meat pie is only 3,50euros!!) and the meat is 3euros per panseta (the most expensive cut of meat there). Anyway, depending on the size of the group of people expect to pay between 3-10 euros per person.

Is it worth it? Hello??! Good food, good prices, good atmosphere, what's not to like? :) Just make sure to get there 9.30 at the latest if you want to get any sort of seating, as it's constantly packed throughout the week (hmmm, I wonder why!)

Will I go again? Yeah, yeah, I think we've established I'm there quite often. I'll be there again soon, so I'll post some better pics then.

P.S. You'll recognise the place by it's playful multicoloured chairs. :)

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Posted in: Ierapetra,Okso,Rakadiko,Restaurant,Traditional Cretan