Musings from a foodie…

I’m a sucker for good old-fashioned brisket. We have a great place at home in Kittery so, while traveling in Canada, we decided to give “northern” brisket a try. If you happen to be north of the border exploring the eastern seaboard, you should consider Peddlers Creek BBQ [* * * * * ] in Quispamsis, New Brunswick. There is a “BBQ Platter for 2” for the very hungry but, we found the House-Smoked Beef Brisket Dinner (for 1) more than adequate for the two of us. It came with a brisket smothered in house-made maple-blueberry sauce (from a choice of five different options). The cornbread, excellent French fries and delicate cole slaw accompaniments were great along with a special order of mac & cheese with a hint of buffalo sauce. We’d go back but we’re off to Newfoundland and more options north of the border. BTW – Suz agrees with me and feels it’s “one of the best BBQ places we’ve been to in a long time” – a hearty acknowledgement of the five stars. Now, about the travel in getting up north…

Musings from a foodie…

Most of my time over the past several weeks was spent with family or, hanging out at the Plantanos [ * * * * * ]. It is by far and away, my very favoritist of favorite restaurants on the Greek Island of Kithira off the most western of the Peloponnese, nearly one-half-way to Crete. It’s the location of our adopted family’s centuries-old homestead. The Plantanos sits under a Banyan-like tree with an arrangement of tables allowing for interaction and exchange aplenty among the many locals. It has been around for nearly 20 years and it is owned, operated, and managed by Calliope Karides. The staff are all very attentive – and busy these days! Her husband is one of the waiters and does an outstanding job of managing the many visitors in search of a wonderful family food experience sitting under the trees.

Activities generally start with coffee around 9:00 AM+ and extend throughout the day, if you like as you engage in discussions with the locals. This year – for the first time in our experience – the tourism groups were more predominant, especially in the evening. For us, after a long walk down to the old castle and back lasting about an hour, a late dinner is the norm. The offerings are wonderful. You can take your pick of any and be fully satisfied. However, the newest addition is the “Plantanos Salad”. Salads are obligatory for any evening dinner and I found the Plantanos version to be outstanding. Although I did not get the full recipe, here is the essence of what you need to do for a wonderful starter creation for your next upcoming family or invited friends’ dinner:

Combine a mix of different lettuce and beet greens with some diced beet squares. Add dried figs, fresh diced tomatoes, and cucumbers along with a good sprinkling of almond slices. Grill some halloumi cheese and cut it into slender slices. Make a balsamic vinaigrette (make – don’t buy) using ½ cup of classic balsamic vinegar combined with ½ cup of honey (Kithirean honey is the absolute best if you can find it + you can make more if you have more lettuce or need a good dose of flavoring for the mix). 

Alternatively, you can travel to Kithera Island off the coast of Greece and head to the Pantanos in Milopotomas. I don’t have the phone number nor the address. It’s simply in downtown Milopotomas which is a block and one-half long. You can’t miss the place. It’s where all the people are hanging out under the tree as the day goes by…

Musings from a foodie…

My Greek Sojourn – I realize that for some folks, a trip to Greece might seem like a dream – especially in a world of seemingly constant dissociations from the realities of the day. However, as a Grecophile, I can tell you that a trip to Greece will cure you – I guarantee. A Greek trip will help you to move toward a more contemplative and meditative state of mind beyond the press of personal problems, the politics of the day and the angst of missives driven from perspectives across the political spectrum like: “they’ve had it”, “enough is enough” and other similar missives dominate the airwaves. In my case, a Greek experience encourages me to disconnect – which is exactly what we did on our recent Greek sojourn. And, as part of disconnecting, we enjoyed some wonderful Greek culinary opportunities – actually way more than I can report on here in The Weekly Whisk.

Here is the best of the best that we found. First up was Psarou [ * * * * * ] – a wonderful little restaurant in the Greek tradition in the Glyfada area near the sea outside Athens. What I absolutely love about the Greek culinary experience is the conversation as the central part of the meal. Food is absolutely important but, it is meant to compliment the conversation. In our case, we started with some mezzes that included dolmades of rice wrapped in grape leaves, a must for any Greek meal; taramosalata (which I had never had previously) made from a puree of fish eggs, garlic, olive oil and egg white; octopus; horta (seaweed) soaked in a sweetened vinegar; gavra (anchovies soaked in a red wine vinegar); and, smoked cod which was absolutely out of this world wonderful. We then moved on to the main course with grilled tuna and zucchini fries with a wasabi mayo sauce on the side; grilled seabream cooked to perfection with a butter sauce for those so inclined (like me); and, sauteed vegetables where the standout was sauteed zucchini with a honey sauce. The crème de la crème was the orange cake with house-made cream ice cream infused with a caramel sauce. And, of course, a single espresso at the end to top of the lunch – which lasted nearly four hours. That’s lots of conversing, lots of debating and lots of laughs. When I met the chef and asked him where he trained (in English) he responded with a hearty smile and said, “In Greece, of course!” I highly recommend the spot we found: Psarou – Lazaraki 14 & Dousmani 10 – Glifada, Greece – 011-30-210-9680040 – Facebook = psarou_glifada

Musings from a foodie…

If you travel to Maine there are lots of small enclaves serving up wonderful food. However, I recently had the opportunity to visit an out-of-the-way place that is definitely in my top tier of Mainer restaurants. It’s The Bait Shed. It’s located on a dock extending out into the marshland. It was totally unpretentious, informal and an absolute fabulous find [* * * * 1/2]. The menu was quite diverse with such Maine delights as lobster, crab, haddock, scallops, and – of course, more lobster. For good measure, they also included some outlander seafoods like shrimp. But, it was mostly local fixins’. We had the Double Lobster Flatbread and a very outstanding, creamy Clam Chowder (which the waiter informed us had 34 years of experience in preparing it) as well as a healthy Beet Salad. Finally to add pleasure to pleasure, there was the Blueberry Pie (made with little pea-sized Maine blueberries) with ice cream (of course) thrown in at the end. The only downside was the corn on the cob for which I’m a sucker which was not quite up to Maine standards. But, it was a bit early for the good stuff so it really wasn’t the restaurant’s fault. The Shed also has two sister restaurants: Stern Seafood Restaurant (sit-down / mostly inside dining) and The Garage BBQ – literally a refurbished garage with outside seating. AND FINALLY, the crème de la crème was the fact that our two dogs were invited to sit with us outside. So, bring your pups – or, “kids” as we like to call them – unless it’s raining, of course… The Bait Shed – 9 Avenue 6 – Pine Point (Scarborough), Maine – (207) 883-4571 – www.baitshedrestaurant.com