those little details tat give you the shits with restaurants

[Guest FriendofGreece]

Ah, I thought "gato"meant "cat" in Greek.

[Guest eyoismos]

that too

 

but technically in greek its gatos (with an "s") ... but under certain idiosyncrasies of Mediterranean languages, it sometimes is gato too

 

also NOT "g" , but the greek "γ" ... which is closer to the sound of the english "y" - its all to do with where one puts the back of their tongue before you "blow air" past it

 

[Guest FriendofGreece]

But don't we pronounce the Greek "gato" like "gateau", and not "yato" like yes? 

[Guest eyoismos]

ok .... little lesson in verbal acrobatics

 

try say "yes" without the "i" sound built in it ...because in english you actually say "yies", all the while not saying the abrupt sounding "g" in your voice

 

mange that it , and you are on the money with the sound of the greek "γ" - or at least i think so

[Guest FriendofGreece]

OK, I always thought the "y" in Greek was pronounced as "g". Will have to think of other Greek words starting by "y" to re-pronounce properly. Thanks for the lesson in pronunciation.

[Guest eyoismos]

my pleasure ... hope you managed it - ask any of your greek buddies if you got it right

 

exactly .... one of the reasons why i get the total hell-in with those that embrace Erasmus and his northern European inspired pronunciation of greek ... ok ... ancient greek

 

and surely you have heard one of the most popular greek swear words that start with the greek gamma ?

 

 

[Guest FriendofGreece]

Thanks. Yes, I heard the word you refer to but not sure what it means. Another word is kollo... I read a little about Erasmus, did not read in detail, too complex and convoluted, but my take is how could he know how ancient Greek is spoken when he himself has never heard it and is not Greek.

[Guest eyoismos]

uhmmmm..... so tempted to saying something naughty about that greek swear word and kollo

 

but i wont

 

hahahahahahahahaha

[Guest eyoismos]

as for erasmus ... exactly my, and most greeks, point

[Guest FriendofGreece]

Well, you are Greek, so don't let anyone else say they know Greek and ancient Greek better than you. 

[Guest eyoismos]

thanks but to be honest ... not so much

 

 

"I know one thing: that I know nothing"

Socrates

 

actually i think that ajaxmonkey knows a whole lot more ..both ancient and modern

dont look at the constant war we have between ourselves over just about everything

lets just say its in our greek blood

 

[Guest FriendofGreece]

I like that you give credit where credit is due. You are nice, Eyoismos. 

[Guest eyoismos]

aaaand of course ... in typical greek fashion ... way of the topic in hand

 

hahahahaha

 

ok ... getting back about restaurants

 

one thing that gives me the total hell-in ... and this can be expanded to just about anything in retail

 

the X dot99 prices

 

and whats whorse ... when it comes to paying , some idiots dont have change

and even worse , when they dont, .... they give me apologies that they dont have

doesnt take much for me to get all huffy with them and invariably say ..."and this is my problem? make a plan or give me a discount"

 

yeah i can be a real arsehole about it, but principles are principles ... they try and fool me with supposedly seeing a cheaper price in their menus... i will force them to stick to what they say is the frigging price - its not like i look at the price when i place an order - i want what i feel for, and price doesnt come into it

 

well ... until it comes time to pay the bill ... and i have been known to boycott a restaurant and tell everybody if it is a complete rip-off

 

so much for ... what did you say? .... nice?

[Guest FriendofGreece]

I had never had that problem. The problem I have is Internet providers raising their prices even if you have a contract with them.

[Guest Celestis]

I don't go to Greek restaurants, i guess i see it why go eat something i can cook 

 

Lately mostly i go for Japanese food just on Sunday i had some Gyudon and Takoyaki   ..also i am a person i like to try different  foods .

even at home this days half of my cooking not Greek food 

i just find Greek food a little boring  lately 

 

ok now i better go and hide lol 

[Επισκέπτης]

I don't go to Greek restaurants, i guess i see it why go eat something i can cook 

 

Lately mostly i go for Japanese food just on Sunday i had some Gyudon and Takoyaki   ..also i am a person i like to try different  foods .

even at home this days half of my cooking not Greek food 

i just find Greek food a little boring  lately 

 

ok now i better go and hide lol

I don't go to Greek restaurants either. If I want Greek Food I cook it myself. When I go out I go Japanese.

[admin 31]

Same here 

[Guest eyoismos]

like i said ... i dont go to greek (owned) restaurants because none of the fuckers actually serve greek food. and by some strange perverted coincidence they do, it just sucks

 

 

greek food need to be prepared fresh, there and then  ...and not some random per-refrigerated shinanegans that most restaurants practice to speed up the process of preparation

 

i mean anybody tried giouvarelakia avgolemono or stifado or kleftiko or anything else greek style from restaurants abroad?

to die for ... as in, please god bring me death quickly, cause i think i have been bertayed with empty promises of ambrosia

 

somehow ...back home ... many manage to do a great job ...but a proviso here .... many ... not most or all

 

yet when the become part of the great greek diaspora ...somehow they forget basic principles

 

[Guest eyoismos]

so .... how many have had the waiter, at any random restaurant, after you place orders , they say ..... "good choice sir/ma'am"

 

fuck you !!!!

 

like they ever gonna say "bad choice" and try to give recommendations of what should have been ordered

[Guest FriendofGreece]

Welcome back, Celestis!   The polar bears are still out, why go back to hibernate already? 

 

When I go to Greek-owned restaurants, I like to order brochette plates. I think, Eyoismos, that in the diaspora, it is hard to cook like in Greece because of the lack of ingredients, no?

[Guest eyoismos]

oh please

 

if i , in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in the real africa, can find greek olive oil, greek wine, greek Kalamata olives and god knows what else my tummie aches for, driven by the stupid patriotism within, what or the odds they cant find them in the states or canada

 

if any idiot gives you that excuse about ingredients ....feel free to quote me ...and while you are at it, throw in a couple of superlatives of the swearing persuasion on my behalf as well

 

[Guest Celestis]

Welcome back, Celestis!   The polar bears are still out, why go back to hibernate already? 

 

When I go to Greek-owned restaurants, I like to order brochette plates. I think, Eyoismos, that in the diaspora, it is hard to cook like in Greece because of the lack of ingredients, no?

thanks for the welcome back but i did not left 

[Guest FriendofGreece]

Oh good! Btw, what are those Japanese plates that you mentioned? I have only eaten teriyaki chicken and rice so far and am not familiar at all with Japanese food. I like cooked vegetables with noodles or rice, is there any Japanese plate like that? I know sushi of course, but do not eat because I don't like to eat raw fish.

[Guest eyoismos]

ditto from my behalf i put sushi in the same category as the likes of Steak tartare and all the rest of the "animal products" eaten raw

 

if i wanted to stay as a subspecies of homo erectus i would have never bothered to evolve

 

(ok ! ok! bring it on ! I can take it ! - hahahahaha)

 

but seriously their is a reason why man chose to cook ... natural selection and all that ...and health issues too

after all ...there is a reason why pork, for example,  is forbidden by some religions ...and it has absolutely sweet blow-all to do with religion

 

however, having  said that , .... there is cooking ...and there is cooking

 

[Guest FriendofGreece]

I read that it is important that the fish be very fresh for the sushi. I don't know how fresh the sushi in fast-food Japanese restaurants in the malls can be. Besides, when I look at Japanese food, I don't see a lot of sauces, so the food appears quite bland to me, not sure if it is actually bland though. I like Thai food, lots of coconut sauces, pad thai is great. Or Indian food, with curry sauces. Supermarkets now carry various kinds of Indian plates like chicken masala, butter chicken, etc., in the frozen food section.

[Guest Celestis]

Not all sushi is raw there are so many types  .. some maybe look raw but can be pickled, blanched and many more 

the food i had on the weekend was very simple it was Gyudon ...  it is also called beef bowl, nice meal  just rice and topped with beef some onion and pickled ginger some have an egg too sweet taste  .. very popular and cheap food 

also some Takoyaki a ball shaped snack that was filled with diced octopus 

[Guest eyoismos]

with the right amount of sauces, you can hide just about everything

 

prime example ... here, in the is part of the world, the basic food is maize meal, or ground maize. now "yellow" maize, which actually has a taste, is great - i experienced it in greece, basi ingredient in such dishes as "bobota" and "kourkouti" ... - loved it.

 

but in this part of the world, yellow maize meal is considered substandard, and prety much only good for animal feed.

 

so, the locals feel .... the whiter the better  (quality). problem is .... totally tasteless and bland ... and as far as i am concerned only good for polyfiller for windows fixtures

 

strangely enough ....  you are out and about bush bashing in the jungle .... and you end up with a punctured radiator of your 19 hell and gone land rover .... fill up the hole with maize meal, wait for it to "cook" from the overheated radiator, and you are good to go for a couple of miles to the nearest "disaster recovery camp" ... - many have had their asses saved this way

 

but when it comes to eating ... well..... there a frigging good reason why there are delicious recipes for sauces to use with the polyfiller for the stomachs of the poor, and often real cheap ... like even cheaper than the damn maize meal itself

 

with the right sauce, you can hide anything

[Guest FriendofGreece]

Very good point about the sauces, Eyoismos. It is true that they hide cheap meat cuts. However, in cuisines like Thai or Indian where they use a lot of noddles or rice which are completely bland, and which are eaten year long like Westerners eat bread, sauces help distinguishing flavours for different plates. Otherwise, it would be boring to eat everyday the same rice or noddles.

[Guest eyoismos]

well ... .yes and no ... i mean give me basmati rice to any old common variety rice any day

[Guest FriendofGreece]

Ever eaten jasmine rice? It is also called fragrant rice because of its nice smell. Once I have eaten jasmine rice, I could not eat any other type of rice. I mean I can eat but don't enjoy. It is like eating baguette versus eating sliced bread.