All By Our Lonesome

Every so often, The Wife, Ph.D., and I forget about ignore our friends and hit up the town all by our lonesome. A few nights ago, in dire need of a break from our uber demanding social obligations life, we went for a casual meal to To Pantopoleio "Kali Orexi," a contemporary Greek tavern lauded by many as one of the better eateries in town. This was our second visit to the restaurant, the first having been a great meal almost a year ago for my thirty-second birthday in company of The Brother-in-Law, Double Trouble, The Ball And Chain, Ph.D., and My Zolpidem Supplier. Just like in May, the food, service and ambiance was top-notch for Nicosia's standards.

I keep telling The Wife, Ph.D., that at some point (maybe tomorrow, maybe thirty years from now, maybe in a nightmare involving possessed Brussels sprouts with razor-sharp teeth) I am going to open a restaurant. Either gourmet hamburgers or traditional Mexican or Latin Fusion tapas matched with a carefully selected range of islands wines and fancy Belgian and American beers. As a wannabe restaurateur, To Pantopoleio combines everything I would want in a restaurant: a manageable size (seating for fifty to sixty patrons), a limited yet well-thought and balanced menu, a playful modern decor with chalkboards for walls, a large exposed spice rack and white furniture, and an efficient, non-overbearing service. Likewise, unlike in most Cypriot taverns, customers order a la carte thereby controlling the amount of food set on the table, a definite plus when one reaches those latter stages in life when obesity, high cholesterol and shaky knees become a matter of grave concern.

We started off with a bottle of the 2008 Ktima Argyros Assyrtiko from Santorini -- a Regional Trophy winner in the 2009 Decanter World Wine Awards -- a wonderful wine with a jasmine, citrus and apricot nose, loads of acidity, honeysuckle on the front, dried herbs and wet stones in the mid-palate, and a seductively tangy grapefruit finish. Then came a village salad with huge chunks of feta cheese, spicy tirokafteri (The Wife, Ph.D.'s "crystal meth" of choice), perfectly fried vegetable croquettes and a thick garlicky fava bean dip that would (rightfully) kill off Edward, Bella and the rest of the Twilight franchise. We followed our appetizers with a pork tenderloin in a light creamy herbal reduction and a pork burger in a fresh tomato sauce, both respectively accompanied by baked and fried potatoes. Despite their simplicity, both meats were awfully succulent. To top it all off after having gorged ourselves, a double espresso and a complimentary shot of mastic liqueur and Greek vin santo.

By the end of the evening, with our judgment blurred by the sweet liqueur and our bellies satiated by the excellent food, the thought of bidding good riddance to our fancy friends crossed our minds. Yes, clearing out our schedules of all future commitments would be nice. But then we pondered, "Who would receive the brunt of this blog's mockery?" There is only so much The Wife, Ph.D., can handle before curtailing my nonsense or calling up Our Divorce Lawyer and sending me back west with my literary fiction, striped socks and hundreds of CDs stuffed in a rucksack. So for now, you, dearest of friends, will have to deal with our company, love and damn idiosyncrasies...

Whine On The Rocks Rating: 5 out of 5 Sparkling Spatulas