Funky Gourmet in Athens: Best Restaurant in the World?
July 15, 2012
I admit, I am a foodie even though I dislike that term. And I like to cook myself. There are only a few thing more satisfying than experiencing an incredible meal that can’t be reverse-engineered. We’ve had our share of amazing dining experiences all over the world in our day. Funky Gourmet in Athens(?!) takes the fruit basket. Wow.
Here are a few pictures and videos of the meal I just experienced. The pairing was exquisite. Just amazing. The soundtrack was great too. There was only one bug, the American hamburger homage can go (too sweet). Most of the dishes were astounding (and non-reversible).
Highlights mostly in order but skipping some courses.
Digging for celery root
Squaring the pea
Vegetable salad
Salmon substitution. This course was incredible.
Pearl in shell beats the oyster at Volt hands down, It actually tastes fantastic.
The coup de grace: the very berry dessert, A combination of real a virtual fruit.
If you have a chance to go to Funky Gourmet, definitely go. An experience worth travelling to Athens for.
Having travelled well over a million miles over the last ten years, I have had lots of opportunity to fly internationally on United. Back in the old days we used to horde our systemwide upgrades for just that kind of trip. Things have changed since the United/Continental merger—and not for the better.
I have spoken with about a dozen fellow 100K and global services United flyers, and they all agree that the biggest current unsolved problem when travelling internationally has to do with the upgrade list on international flights. We have all been booted from the upgrade list that is supposed to be completely automated. What happens is this. You sign up for an upgrade and get on the list. Then control gets released to the gate and the list gets mangled and 100k flyers drop off like flies. I was even de-upgraded this year (a word I sadly have to invent for Jeff Smisek’s new broken United)! Ever been kicked out of a business class pod for no good reason when you’re already in the seat? Well I have. It sucks.
My friend Jacob says that he has been kicked off the waitlist internationally at least 8 times and that it takes him 2 hours on the phone with United the night before his international flights to straighten things out. Amazing that this known problem has persisted so long. More attention to paint and buying airplanes than operating the ones you have properly perhaps?! Smisek, get an ops guy or get out of the way.
In order to avoid the upgrade list fiasco and the potential for being de-upgraded, I have taken to either buying business class direct or quadruple checking that the upgrade will go through the second an international economy ticket is purchased. This turns out to be either expensive or frustrating. I guess United wants me to go the expensive route. Thanks for your loyalty to your customers?! NOT.
This last trip, I flew through Frankfurt and had a long layover both going and coming. The United Arrivals facility no longer exists, and the Lufthansa lounges are so crowded that it is difficult to find a seat. The wifi systems are likewise utterly overloaded. So much so that it took me 40 minutes to get on the net to post this. (Maybe it’s an evil censorship plan?)
With no United Arrivals showers, I opted for the Lufthansa Senator Lounge and the adjoining business lounge near A26 in Terminal 1. There used to be amenities like up scale soap and shampoo. Now there is a dispenser of off brand “product” to use as soap, shampoo, conditioner, cooking oil, and antibiotic salve.
The shower is nothing to write home about.
Showers after a long flight feel great. But you know how we feel about plastic showers around here!
An amusing note. In the current iteration of the United business class packet thing you get at your seat there is a comb that reminds me of the ones we used to carry around in our back pockets in 6th grade. Classy? Not really. Ours had clever smart ass comments like “kiss my ass.” Way better than “United.”
A comb just like in 6th grade. Mrs. Snow would confiscate it.
One thing that has improved when it comes to international travel is customs at Dulles Airport. A vastly improved facility with Global Entry capability. It took me 10 minutes to breeze through customs today, mostly spent waiting for my bag.
Hotel Grande Bretagne Athens Greece: Send Your Grandma
July 13, 2012
The Hotel Grande Bretagne is an old school luxury hotel chock full of marble staircases, chandeliers, and slightly impersonal service. Rumor has it this is the best hotel in Athens (which is a great place to visit even in the 100+ degree heat of July). Boutique hotels have not yet sprouted here.
On arrival in the afternoon, I was upgraded from a junior suite to a regular suite (room 225). Though the suite itself is nicely appointed, it is old fashioned and has no view at all. I guess the plus is that it is quiet, but a view of the Acropolis (available from the restaurant) would be nice. I asked the front desk to look into a room with a view and their one room swap suggestion was a severe disappointment. I would have been smarter for them just to say no. Like I said, “impersonal service” which is the sort of thing you expect at last generation luxury hotels.
Here is the room.
 The living room section of the suite (situated off the marble floored foyer where the closet is). |
 A comfortable and over dressed bed. Chandeliers in every room but the bathroom. |
Granted having a welcome gift in your room is nice, but this time it was generic, addressed to nobody from nobody in particular. The Starwood people don’t seem to want to get to know their non-loyalty related guests.
A nice but generic welcome of Ouzo and black olives.
The all important bathroom. Nice shower cubicle with multiple showerheads was a bit on the small side in actual use. The water here has a slight sulfer smell.
 Shower cube with a hypotenuse door. |
 Bathtub. Never used (as always on this blog). |
Possibly the biggest problem with the Grande Bretagna is the Starwood idiocy of paid internet service with charges/usernames for each device. Ridiculous. I overheard a 16 year old girl in the hallway complaining to her mom, “yeah and they are uber stingy with their internet.” Get with the program guys, you’re putting your entire chain on the same level as Indianapolis! Plus the net service once you do authenticate sucks.
Tiny fuzzy flat screens playing self-congratulatory tape loops do not make you hip. The W people need to take a look around for high irony.
What happens when you try to make an old school luxury hotel hip? Awful things like this.
Then again the restaurant on the 8th floor is very good (breakfast is a great spread), and the view can’t be beat. The bar is serviceable and makes an OK drink, but they need to use real pineapple juice in their zombies. (No real mixology discovered in Athens this trip…the Speakeasy was too far away.) The 7th floor outside pool is very refreshing on a 106 degree afternoon.
The view from the terrace restaurant on the 8th floor can’t be beat.
Of course, Athens is Athens. And though it is hotter than the dickens in July (over 100 every day and 106 just at the moment), it is a great place to visit.
A side trip to Aegina was particularly noteworthy. Great place for a hot walk up the hill and a cold beer by the ocean.
 Hovercraft to and from Aegina takes 40 minutes (the boat must go 20 knots). |
 Up the hill in Aegina. |
Finally, the highlight of this visit (and the capstone of several exquisite dining experiences with Jacob) was dinner at Spondi—one time the best restaurant in Athens. Supremely good lamb. Superb flavors very carefully constructed. Everything was world class. (My waiter here at the not too shabby itself 8th floor restaurant informs me that Funky Gourmet is now number one. Oh well, guess I’ll have to come back.)
Cycling back around to shower heads, we’ll have to award the Grande Bretagne four showerheads. Better net and a bit more hip would do me.
Dining out in Greater NoVa
June 4, 2012
In a crazy twist of triplicate small world phenomena, my good friend Jacob and I have had dinner out together every couple of weeks for the last 6 weeks (not to mention mixology). Amsterdam featured a group dinner at Sardegna that included an interesting pasta and mushroom dish concocted with flaming cognac inside a parmesan wheel. Of course the highlight of that evening was insanely good mixology at Door 74.
San Francisco included a trip to the very trendy two star Benu, which was very good but slightly disappointing at the same time. The pairings were definitely the weak point of that meal. High point was meeting Jacques Bezuidenhout for drinks earlier in the evening (he is the head of mixology for the Kimpton hotel chain).
The best thing at benu: duck with truffle bun. This was delicious.
Last week’s trip to Virginia featured a drive across the Potomac River to Frederick, MD for another fancy pants dinner at Volt. You’re not going to believe this, but dinner at Volt was superior to Benu by an order of magnitude (and 2/3rds the price as well)! It was the wine work that did it. Far superior pairings and a sommelier who listens.
The best dish of the entire sequence here, ravioli at Volt. Absolutely outstanding.
So, Frederick, MD (home of Fort Detrick and their evil bio-weapons programs) dogs San Francisco in the super high end experimental three city tour. Rock on East Coast!
As an extra bonus dining tip, this Saturday’s impromptu meal at Tallulah included an outstanding Pheasant concoction and some actual mixology. Barman Steve Rossie created a Yorktown as follows:
1 oz bourbon (he used Wild Turkey 80..I would switch in Blantons)
1 oz apple jack (laird’s bonded)
1 oz sweet vermouth (he used Martini & Rossi I would use Dolin’s in this drink)
.5 oz madiera
2 dashes Angustora bitters (this should be either Fee Brothers West Indian Orange or Reagan’s No. 6)
orange twist (flame for fun)
Plenty of good pickings in the NoVA area for discerning diners.
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