Way too much meat!
Greek taverns serve larger portions than most people are used to. That takes some getting used to and can sometimes even be a bit of a shock…
For years now, the Royal Christmas Fair has been held in The Hague. It’s one of the largest and most beautiful Christmas markets in the Netherlands, with a wide range of Christmas items, clothing, drinks and food. A few years ago, at one of the food stalls, you could only order one dish. It was a kind of mixed grill, but in four sizes, tailored to the size of the group of diners. The menu was written on a blackboard:
2 people: MEAT
3 to 4 people: A LOT OF MEAT
5 to 6 people: LOTS and LOTS OF MEAT
7 to 8 people: WAY TOO MUCH MEAT
The grill on which everything was prepared was outside, and the smell of roasted meat attracted many people to the stall. It was busy, and groups of carnivores were feasting on the delicacies, which were served on large platters on the tables and benches.
WHEN GREEKS HAVE FUN, THEY GRILL
Visitors to Greece know that Greeks also love a piece of meat from time to time.
I always thought that, given the proximity of the sea and the many islands, fish would be the main component of the menu. And there are certainly excellent fish restaurants to be found on almost all the islands. However, when it comes to socializing over a meal, Greeks slaughter and barbecue. Greeks are meat eaters. Anyone who eats at one of the many tavernas will quickly discover this.
ZORBA’S TAVERNA
The first time we were confronted with the Greek concept of “Way too much meat” was at our local taverna called Zorba’s. There are many restaurants on Rhodes that refer to the famous film adaptation of the book of that same name from the 1950s, which was partly filmed on Rhodes. There is even an Anthony Quinn Bay, named after the film star who played the lead role. Unfortunately, according to our Greek neighbor, Quinn only visited once, sixty-five years ago. He says that he prefers the book (written by Nikos Kazantzakis) anyway.
Zorba’s menu features the standard list of items served in most taverns, supplemented with a number of ‘house specialities’ and daily specials. During a late lunch in April, we had a special experience. We ordered a Greek salad to share, as it was too much for one person, followed by what we thought were two smaller dishes: a farmer’s sausage for me and, what was simply described as, a “pork chop” for my girlfriend.
A NICE LITTLE CHOP
The salad arrived first. This was followed some five minutes later by my “local sausage”. At first, we thought we wouldn’t be able to eat at the same time, but that turned out to be a too hasty conclusion. The waiter returned a minute later with a large platter that he had to carry with both hands. On it was the largest pork chop we had ever seen. I come from a family of butchers and had to take a closer look at how this monstrous piece of meat was put together. For those interested, it comes down to a rib chop being cut while the complete belly is still attached. Including the bones, of course. This colossus was some 1.5 to 2 centimeters thick and must have weighed at least one and a half pounds.
My girlfriend started eating, bravely, in the knowledge that she would never finish it.
Like everything else you eat in Greece, this lunch tasted fantastic. It was just a tiny bit too much.
At least 700 grams of pork
MEAT PER KILO…
We asked the waiter why this dish was so enormous. At first he looked a little surprised, then explained that all Greeks eat their pork chops this way and that he didn’t quite understand my question. In fact, he thought our question was strange and looked at us incredulously when I told him that we preferred pork chops in a different, much smaller size.
On the table next to us the waiter had left a menu which I grabbed and looked at again to see if there was any indication of the size. I didn’t find any indication but suddenly I saw a section at the bottom of the page with main courses with the unambiguous heading: “Meat per kilo”.
It was possible to order lamb chops, pork chops, beefsteak and calamari by the kilo; the prices per kilo were listed. All very normal, then, for Greeks.
Of course, we couldn’t finish everything, and on the way home we made many stray cats happy with our pieces of meat. The cats had no problem with being fed from a ‘doggy bag’.