~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Back from a Greek Island with Flavors of Summer Just back from Symi the island in Greece where my father was born. This was one of my rare real vacations. In fact when I travel it's usually for a Hawaii promotion and I always try to mix business with pleasure where ever I am; Bora Bora, Japan, Chile, New York etc...but this was just vacation. Just a Greek Island with no schedules, no plans, no stress. My friends always ask me, what is so special about Symi? Are there vestiges to visit, sandy beaches to tan, events to attend, Michelin rated restaurants to explore, is the shopping exceptional?...None of the above, just the island, the neo-classical houses, crystal clear waters, the most beautiful bleu sky with no trace of clouds, wonderful people, great ingredients. Symi is Symi one of the most beautiful place in the world. And it's My Symi! In fact I was very busy on vacation with home cooking which I love as much as restaurant cooking...This time we rented a restored historic villa (which is the best way to vacation in Greece) and I was cooking for my wife and my Greek friends. The ingredients: tomatoes (you don't know tomatoes until you have this kind of tomatoes). Extra virgin olive oil, capers & caper leaves, Kalamata olives, cucumbers, strawberries, bell peppers, goat & ewe cheeses, goat milk yogurt, honey, fish and seafood direct from the fishermen to mention just a few.  | | The harbor in Symi, Greece |
 | | Nimborio, Symi, Greece |
We had goat milk yogurt with Symi honey and fresh-picked strawberries for every single breakfast; Greek salad every day for lunch & dinner. Octopus-chickpea salad, octopus seviche, grilled octopus, octopus stew, dry octopus you name it...We had local fish such as rock fish, sea bream, local oysters and rock mussels, sea urchins, snapper, grouper, slipper lobster, red mullet, murène (eel)...grilled, poached, baked, sautéed...I went fishing with a local fisherman and caught about 5 pounds of rock fish which made a perfect fish soup... Did I mention? Plump free range chicken, baby goat roasted and stew, baby lamb. I learned how to make a good tzatziki (my tzatziki before was way too French), tarama, eggplant caviar, hummus...those were every day on our table.We drank ouzo, raki...white wine from Santorini, red wine from Macedonia. We had such a good time! But you know what! Even if this was one of our best vacations we were happy to come back home...One of the many wonderful advantages to live in Honolulu! View Summer Menus here |
