Greek Food, part I

When I was 15 years old, my Mother, who had been saving money from teaching pre-teen girls how to dance in toe shoes, said to me, "I want us to go for a fun trip this next summer, where would you like to go?" Since I had been reading exotic books about Greece and Greek history, that was my choice. We spent 6 weeks traveling around Greece (my time in Athens was mostly spent trying to help Mom escape from a semi-lecherous Bell-Captain named George). I fell in love with the food, the culture and all things Greek...with the exception of former vice-president Spiro Agnew. In 1987 when we moved up here from greater metropolitan Lamar, I was excited to find that there was a Greek Restaurant: Tony's. But, much to my chagrin (and that of his relatives who own a great restaurant on Evans and Hampden in Denver), Tony decided he would be more profitable having a bar/night club, and Fort Collins lost the Hellenic cuisine. Renzio's in the mall showed up, but, let's face, that was mall food. In the last year, Zeus has smiled on us and we now have two Greek places--the most recent of which is the Greek Taverna on South College and Troutman. I have been to the Taverna several times now, and I have to admit, my experiences have been up and down. I was literally there on opening day and was thrilled that they had Saganaki: flaming cheese that you mop up with warm pita bread. I had some Moussaka, which is a Greek staple, layers of eggplant and a ground meat/herbed tomato mixture topped with a custard, which was quite good. But then I asked for Greek coffee, and was met with blank looks (the staff aren't Greek). This was sad: Greek (or Turkish) coffee is sort of a post-meal spiritual experience. The next time I went, I had the vegetarian Moussaka, but the veggies were kind of crunchy (Moussaka needs to be fairly mushy), and some joker in the kitchen had decided that Greek potatoes (lemon and butter) would be better with Cayenne pepper. Mistake!! I am all for fusion cuisine, but this was sort of like putting a bra on the Venus de Milo. I asked for Greek coffee again and got it, but with a dollop of whipped cream on the top, which again is something no self-respecting Greek would do. Sure, I got to break a plate (it was my birthday) and watch people dance and yell "O-pah!" but it seemed like it was mostly for show. But there is REDEMPTION. I went again this last week and ordered the Lamb Burger. I realize that many people do not like Lamb, including my wife. For her some of it is worrying about baby animals; I have tried explaining to her that they really aren't babies, more like late teens, and that the best lamb ranches only butcher the lambs that suffer from ovine anti-social personality disorder, but she doesn't buy it. I really think that most lamb-haters had a bad experience with mutton and have never recovered. Regardless, this lamb burger was the best I have ever eaten. It was juicy, mixed with the right amount of oregano and topped with Tzaziki and cucumbers. I was like the pet dog in the old Hanna-Barbera cartoons that, when presented with a dog biscuit would shoot to the ceiling and float down with a moan of ecstasy. In addition, their Mezze appetizer, which included hummus, baba ganoush and a feta/jalapeno mix (some fusion is cool) was wonderul. So...Taverna is now on my good side. and like MacArthur, I shall return. But probably not before I go again to Cafe Athens and the Greek-owned restaurant in Greeley...but that will be another story. Next up: Sushi. All for now, Berm