Our quick healthy meals lovers
Uncle Gussy’s mobile kitchen t stays in the very heart of New York. Because of this, we often communicate with people from different cultures. In the first place, they tell us about their favorite food, adventures, and travels.
Many of our customers become our long-time friends. They often come to Uncle Gussy’s for quick healthy meals, or just to grab some appetizers or Greek desserts. And just like with any friends, we love to chat with them about kinds of things. In our Uncle Gussy’s Greek restaurant, we are told many beautiful and interesting stories on various subjects. And we decided to publish some of them. This will give you the opportunity to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of Greece, even if you are in NYC and not in Athens.
Hellenic Helen
So, today’s storyteller is Helen. In fact, we consider it symbolic to open a cycle of stories of our Greek restaurant guests with such a name. What the sounding of ‘Helen’ is alike? Of course, the Hellenes! And immediately well-known Mykonos, Aegean Sea, Crete and Greek gods legends come to our mind. Since childhood, we have been familiar with these words. How many Greek myths and legends they evoke in our consciousness! We immediately recall all Greek mythology, Greek gods and goddesses (Oh, incomparable Aphrodite!). Ancient Greece comes to life. It opens before us like a Hellenic cuisine cookbook, filled with delicious legends aka recipes.
Now, our dear quick healthy meals lovers, what Greek gods and goddess names do you remember? Come on, let’s go Hellenistic! Our choice is Apollo, Zeus, Athena, Dionysus. Now, it’s your turn.
Time in Greece
And we are giving the floor to our Helen, beautiful Helen.
“I enjoy tasting different healthy meals and traveling. It always gives me new experiences that refresh my worldview. After all, I love to discover new things, new countries, new views, tastes and smells. Greek food is one of the most vivid impressions of my life. It was all at once: bright sun, clear sea, white ship and charming aromas of Hellenic dishes.
We moored to the coast of the Greek city of Nafplio. An ancient gray fortress stood on its summit. It was early morning, the air was full of freshness, and the sea was calm. The waves were gently whispering to one another near the shore. What they were talking about? Maybe it was the legend of Hercules, Greek gods or the birth of Aphrodite, who knows.
We went down the wide gangway. The day promised to be hot, so most of our tourists wore light clothes. The heads of many women were covered by wide-brimmed hats. We walked unhurriedly, observing the Hellenistic marina and getting acquainted with a new place on earth.
Not far from the debarkation place, my friend and I noticed white umbrellas of a small traditional Greek restaurant. So, we headed there. We decided to plan nothing in advance, but to be simply open to everything new. We were wondering what their menu would be, how the waiter would be dressed, how he would greet us, what quick healthy meals he would suggest to us… All of a sudden, to the left of the restaurant entrance, we noticed an interesting thing. This immediately caught our attention.
Greek Restaurant
Several long poles were installed vertically. Between them, the wire was stretched. I would say it was rather a thin rope. It formed a kind of fence. But this fence was not that simple. There was something hung on the ropes. You’ll never guess. It was two lines of tidy hung octopuses! Not fish, no, but the very true sea octopuses. Dear Greek gods! They were, of course, not that huge as those creatures that live in the depths of the oceans. These Nafplio octopuses were of medium size.
It was indeed a very beautiful view. Just imagine it. Dazzling white umbrellas of the Greek restaurant are against the backdrop of bright green lush vegetation. And near them were these purple, pink and gray sea creatures. We were thrilled. In fact, this was a real authentic Greece, absolutely unique country, with its ancient culture and appetizing quick healthy meals. We grew up on Greek myths and legends. Not only us but the world, in fact, grew up on them. After all, the ancient Greeks set the scene for many younger cultures. And the whole modern Europe, in fact, is based on Rome and ancient Greece. We could hardly find a person who never heard the legend of Hercules or some Greek gods’ names.
At the entrance to the Greek restaurant, we were met by a young dark-haired man. His dazzling smile was genuine. Well, why not smile if the Greek gods put you in such a beautiful place!
Authentic quick healthy meals
The menu was very interesting. There were the main traditional Mediterranean foods – appetizers, crabs, pork souvlaki and desserts. In Nafplio, we wanted to have some authentic quick healthy meals, something which Greek gods would choose.
While we were reading the menu, we began to remember which countries we had visited and which foods we had already tried. As I said, we love traveling and we have already visited many places. Chinese food, Thai and Mexican food are too exotic for Greece. But maybe Greek cuisine would be similar to Italian food or Turkish one? ‘Let’s see what we’ve got here… Oh, Patricia (that’s my friend’s name), look here; they have those octopuses on the menu. So, we just couldn’t resist. The Octapodi was just perfect! This octopus was marinated and very tender.
Leaving the Aegean Sea
Of course, we went also for excursions on that day, and we visited that castle on the top of the mountain. And these impressions also go to our memories-collecting box. But these healthy meals in a Greek restaurant were something. When we are asked to tell something about Greece, I always start with a picture that was first imprinted in my memory. To sum up, My time in Greece is a good souvenir for me.’