An Athenian Diary

40

A Night of Exotic Dining -- Greek Agriculture Meets

Archeon Gevseis

March 6, 2004

For the last meeting of my Greek Agriculture seminar at the American School, I promised to take the students for an exotic dining experience There's a restaurant in Athens, open since 1999, that claims to have reinvented ancient Greek food -- Arheon Gevseis, "Tastes of the Ancients." I made reservations for Saturday, March 6 (the day before the Greek elections). We all met by the gate of the School Saturday evening, and headed off by Metro for parts unknown.

It was a freezing night by Athenian standards as we trundled down Marasli Street for the Evangelismos Metro stop, Steve and I complaining bitterly about the cold. It was warmer down waiting for the subway. A transfer at Syntagma, three stops down Gramme 2, and we emerged onto Plateia Karaiskaki in the black Athenian night, much quieter than usual (because of the elections) -- to be greeted by a stunning full moon, framed above the street between two rows of typical Athenian polykatoikies and what pass for modern office buildings in Athens.

The restaurant's located just off Karaiskaki square, by the Metaxourgeia Metro stop. Down a side street hedged with jeans discount shops -- one with an arresting ad (see below) -- we found the establishment itself, faced in stone with wooden frames around the windows, I suppose to suggest an ancient Athenian house.

I hadn't made any special arrangements, beyond the reservation, for 7 pm -- way early by Athenian standards (planned so that our big group wouldn't have too much competition for the attention of the kitchen, and so that I could get home in time for bed!). The place was empty when we strolled in, but a big table had been readied for us. We were a few extra, so they improvised by pulling up another table, at right angles to the other, leaving some of us a bit isolated in a sort of annex -- no matter.

The restaurant's just one big room, with bare ceiling beams and heavy curtains on the windows. Alas, standard tables fill the floor -- no couches arranged around center tables The staff wears chiton-like red robes, but flute girls are notably absent. Never mind. We ask the waitress to decide for us what to have, with plenty of dishes suitable for the vegetarians among us.

Here's what they brought:

Salads

• Lachanea -- a salad of cabbage, garden rocket, beetroot, mushrooms, onions, sesame, parsley, silphium, olive oil, and vinegar, after Athenaios IX 372f.
• Kyklopea -- a salad of garden rocket with grated goat cheese, oil and vinegar, after Athenaios IX 402d
.
• Prassea -- a salad of cabbage, garden rocket, celery, asparagus, eggs, pine kernels, nuts, vegetable bulbs, raisins, and pomegranates, after Athenaios II 64a
.
• Orea -- a salad of lettuce, cucumbers, pears, apples, plums, raisins, and spearmint, after Athenaios IX 372
.

Appetitzers

• Black creased olives with cheese, after Aristophanes (no explicit source)
.
• Chickpeas with beets and silphium, after Xenophanes' Kolophonios
• Cheese with sauce from unspecified berries, after Athenaios IX 370d
.
• Sausage slices with mustard and a sauce of leeks and cress, after Athenaios IX 403a
.

Main Dishes -- Meat

• Lamb cooked in a pot with cheese and cabbage, after Ephippos' Geryon (Kock II 252-253)
.
• Pork slices stuffed with plums in dark juice with artichokes and mashed peas, after Athenaios XIV 655f
.
• Kreokakkavos -- pork pancetta with a sweet and sour sauce from honey, thyme, vinegar, and mashed chickpeas, after Athenaios IX 384d
.
• Pork and veal souvlaki with pumpkin and bread, after Athenaios III 96b
.
• Goat leg with legumes and leeks, cheese, garlic, and honey, after Athenaios IX 368e (citing a lost play of Aristophanes)
.

Main Dishes -- Seafood

• Boiled "inkpot" (that is, squid) stuffed with spices, vegetables, and cheese, after Oppianus II 314d, b 7
.
• Shimp with leeks, cheese, garlic, and honey, after Athenaios III 106b

Desserts

We just got a big plate of all kinds of things, most soaked in honey and studded with nuts; I especially liked the apples and yoghurt.

In terms of the dining equipment, plenty of compromises with modern exepctations. (I already mentioned the concession of tables and chairs.) Utensils did not include forks, but we were supplied with standard metal knives and spoons. Cups were terracotta, nice; regular napkins, placemats, and what-not. No coffee (a true hardship), no tomatoes (they were still in the New World, waiting for Columbus), no potatoes, no pasta, but ashtrays (hey, let's not go overboard here).

I can't say anything myself about the wines, since I don't drink, but I did notice that the red especially got reordered on a regular basis. Like the water, it came in reddish ceramic containers, rather like some ancient vase; the terracotta kept the water nice and cool for a long time.

The bill was pretty stiff; luckily, I have a fund for student entertainment (which is completely consumed by this one debauch).

--- March 10, 2004

To return to the Index of the Athenian Diary, click here.