Rhodes is a Greek island off the coast of Turkey. We arrived this morning, disembarked, visited the Palace of the Grand Masters, and walked all around Old Town. We worked up an appetite, so now it’s time to have some lunch in Rhodes.
The Cruise So Far
Our Greek Isles cruise started in Venice. We stopped at the Italian town of Bari on our way to Greece. Then we toured the ruins at Olympia and made stops at the islands of Santorini and Mykonos.
Rhodes is the eastern-most Greek island, and the turn-around point of the cruise. Buildings here are a mix of Turkish and Greek architecture, so it’s unlike the other Greek islands we’ve visited so far.
Wide, shaded pedestrian streets surround Rhodes’ Old Town. Inside Old Town, white canvas awnings line narrow lanes jammed with small boutiques and businesses. A vegetable vendor made his way up and down the bustling lanes. It was a scene from another age.
Let’s Eat!
There is no shortage of restaurants in Old Town. We picked one and sat outside in a courtyard shaded by huge trees.
We started off with a mixed appetizer plate. It came with slices of cucumber and tomato, a stuffed grape leaf or two, local olives, tzatziki sauce for dipping, a tiny piece of pastitsio and a piece of moussaka, local feta cheese, and a hard-boiled egg.
That might seem like a lot to eat before the main course, but each item was small and light. Well, except for the pastitso. And the moussaka. Oh well!
We took our time nibbling away and sipping wine. The temperature was climbing, but it was cool and comfortable at our table in the shade. After all of that walking this morning, it felt great to sit, nibble, sip, and people-watch from our shaded enclave.
For the main course, I had to have more of the moussaka that was on the appetizer plate. My always-health-conscious Better Half ordered a chicken dish.
Moussaka is sort of a ground lamb and eggplant casserole with a tasty custardy topping. Come to think of it, I need to find out what’s on top so I can make moussaka at home.
The chicken dish was a leg and thigh cooked in a mushroom sauce with a side of rice. Cooking juices from the chicken and the sauce soaked into the rice. Mmmm.
The moussaka was off-the-charts good. Oh man. My mouth is watering right now, just thinking about it. (That’s it in the pic at the top of this post).
The Antidote
There was no room for dessert after eating all that, but there was room enough for a Turkish coffee. You know — the kind that puts hair on your chest. A Turkish coffee is the perfect antidote for stuffing yourself with too much moussaka.
We’ve liked everything about this restaurant and everything we’ve seen here in Rhodes. No wonder Demetrius the Besieger tried so hard to get inside these walls!
After lunch we walked back toward the market square at the entrance to Old Town. We’d almost made it back to the main gate when we saw something that caught our eye – again.
No – this time it wasn’t a hand. It was gelato. How on earth could we be looking at gelato after putting away a big lunch like that? We weren’t really looking at the gelato. The gelato was looking at us!
You are disbelieving, perhaps? I had anticipated this, so I took a photo. The eyes are olives stuffed with something to make them look like eyeballs. Well, I don’t think they were eyeballs. But I didn’t think the door knocker from last week was a hand, either!
To be continued…
