Second Helpings in France

If you're a guest for dinner at someone's home in the U.S., it's not unusual to be asked if you would like "a second helping." If you do, you simply ask for "more pot roast" or "more asparagus" or more of something else.

Interestingly, this blogger informs us that in la belle France, the custom is quite different. She's married to a Frenchman and has lived in France, so she should know a thing or two about the country's customs. In any case, she writes:

If you ever attend a (French) dinner party and plan to take seconds, you must take seconds of all the dishes. For example, if the meal consists of a meat, potatoes and a vegetable, you cannot just take a second serving of the potatoes; you must take a second helping of all three, otherwise you will insult the host.

It makes them feel like you only liked the potatoes so that is all you want to have again.

Or, if they weren't so hyper-sensitive, they could conclude that you simply liked the potatoes the best. Which raises the question: what if you did only like the potatoes? So what?

I love dining in France, but this custom seems more like something that overfed, overweight Americans would have devised.

Vancouver: Ready for Both the Olympics and Foodies

Lots of athletes around the globe will soon depart for Vancouver in quest of Olympic medals. Yet, according to the N.Y. Times' Sam Sifton, the city deserves a medal of its own -- for the quality of its food. He writes:

Vancouver is a terrific place to eat. It is diverse and exciting in its culinary offerings. ... Vancouver is among the best eating towns in the history of the Winter Olympics.

Exactly what is it that makes Vancouver such a fine city for foodies? Find out by reading the article.

Dining in Greece (Part II)

Greek Dining Habits & Quirks

* The Greeks eat dinner as late as the Spanish do -- never before 8:30 or 9:00 p.m., and usually closer to 9:30 or 10 p.m.

* In all but the most expensive restaurants, silverware is not resting on the table when you are seated. It is generally delivered (along with napkins) in the same basket as the bread that comes to your table.

* As in most European countries, restaurant diners drink bottled mineral water, not tap water. If you open the bottle, pour water into glasses and then leave the cap off the bottle, don't be surprised if a server replaces the cap on the bottle. If you look around, you'll notice that Greeks always seem to put the cap back on the bottle after they've poured water. It's almost an obsession.

Wines

When you think of Greece and then think of wine, what probably comes to mind is Retsina wine -- the mediocre wine with the scent of pine resin. Thankfully, you will not find Retsina on the typical wine list over there.

Having said that, don't get your hopes up too high. I drank a lot of wine during my nine days in Greece, and my observation is that the whites can be quite enjoyable to drink, but the reds were generally disappointing.

Wine is generally quite affordable in Greece, even on restaurant wine lists. At a grocery or wine shop, you'll rare pay more than 9 euros ($13.40) for a bottle of Greek wine.

If you're in doubt about which wine to buy or order, Boutari is a respectable producer -- sort of the Guigal of Greece.

Dining in Greece (Part I)

Greek cuisine. It feels funny even using such a term because Greek food is distinctly unfussy. After spending nine days in Greece, here are my observations about restaurants and dining over there.

Let me cut right to the chase. Eating in a country like Italy or France is a huge part of the travel experience. This is not the case in Greece. Don't get me wrong -- there are plenty of good meals to be eaten in Greece, but it isn't about the food over there. You don't get the same vibe about mealtime as you get when you're traveling in France or Italy.

Greek Salad

Greek salad is the backbone of the country's cuisine. One interesting note: a Greek salad here in the U.S. is served with small, crumbled pieces of Feta cheese. (Feta is to Greek cuisine what parmesan is to Italian.) In Greece, a Greek salad is served with a rectangular block of Feta, sprinkled liberally with oregano, resting atop the tomatoes, cucumbers and red onion.

The quality of a Greek salad generally rests on the quality and freshness of the tomatoes and cucumbers. My friends and I found that in Greece, this is hit or miss -- tomato and cucumber quality depends on where your restaurant happens to get its produce.

Tomatoes on the island of Santorini are supposed to be the absolute best in all of Greece, but we generally ate better tomatoes on the island of Crete.

Greece's "Can't Miss" Foods

1. The thyme-scented honey in Crete (and just about any other honey in Greece) is marvelous. You might even want to consider buying some to bring back home with you.

2. The olive oil is very good in Greece, although I wouldn't say that it was quite as good as the olive oils I've tasted in Italy or Spain. If you are one of those persons who likes to dip bread in olive oil, beware: this is not something that Greeks seem to do when dining out. If you're so inclined, just ask your server to bring some olive oil to the table. They'll be happy to do so.

3. If you like stuffed peppers or stuffed tomatoes, you're in luck. They are standard items on the menus of most Greek restaurants in Athens and the various islands. And they are generally well done.

Desserts

Like Asian cuisines, Greek cuisine does not take dessert to great heights. The sweet salute to a meal in Greece is usually something pretty simple -- maybe a cake made of crushed walnuts and honey. Or maybe a baklava. Ice cream is also fairly popular among Greeks.

One word of warning. The quality of a dessert in Greece seems to be directly proportionately to what you paid for it. Many restaurants in touristy areas give diners a gratis dessert -- sometimes it's a scoop of ice cream or maybe a piece of walnut cake. These freebie desserts are generally not worth touching.

We had free ice cream served to us at a restaurant on Crete, and one of my fellow diners said it all: "No fruit was harmed in the making of this ice cream."

Having said that, I bought a wonderful piece of walnut cake from a bakery. It was made with honey and chocolate chips. It sounded like a strange mix of ingredients, but it was really good.

Foodphoria: Rested and Ready

Sorry that Foodphoria has been silent for the past 10 days or so. I took a much-needed vacation and so did this blog.

I returned from Greece, and I will have a few posts in the coming days to share my foodie experiences and observations about eating and dining in Greece. Much of Greek dining takes place in simple, no-nonsense tavernas -- one is pictured above.

I promise much more commentary about Greek food in the coming days.

Eleven Madison Park: Even Better

One of my favorite New York City restaurants is Eleven Madison Park. I have dined there several times, and each experience has been fantastic.

The last time I went there to dine, I was almost slightly nervous. Why? To borrow a title from Frost, "nothing gold can stay." In other words, I've learned from experience that most of my favorite bars, restaurants, hotels, etc., eventually lose the qualities that made me initially love them. It seems inevitable.

So I was sort of wondering last year if Eleven Madison Park would impress me less than it had before. It didn't disappoint me one point.

I am left feeling hopeful about future trips to Eleven Madison Park after reading this review by Frank Bruni in today's N.Y. Times -- the newspaper has raised Eleven Madison Park's rating to 4 stars. Clearly, the restaurant is firing on all cylinders.

Not only is the food wonderful, the bar is ably tended, and the ambience is a tour de force.

Review: Poogan's Porch

Last night, we had another dinner in Charleston, S.C. -- this time, with a number of nieces and nephews in tow. Our restaurant choice was Poogan's Porch, located on Queen Street.

Overall, the food was very good, although I'd rate Poogan's Porch a little below Magnolia's. The highlight of an evening at Poogan's Porch is when they bring a basket of homemade biscuits to your table. God, those biscuits were just amazing. The butter they were served with seemed to have just a little honey whipped into it.

The she-crab soup didn't get good reviews from the three people at our table who ordered it. On the other hand, my crab cake starter was very good -- just enough bread crumbs to help it hold together.

My catfish was good -- a grade of B+ is what I'd give it. Yet the crawfish mac-n-cheese was out of this world. It was the dish that everyone raved about the most. It was listed as an appetizer, but several people at our table wished they could have ordered it in an entree size.

The service was excellent. The needs of little kids put extra demands on a server, and ours handled those demands efficiently and cheerfully.

So, if you're heading to Charleston anytime soon, be sure to put Poogan's Porch on your list of dining destinations.