First came the garlic bread then came the booze. I had ordered Ouzo, a spirit unique to Greece – the spirit of Greece you might say. It was brought down to me in a neat 50ml bottle, coupled with a glass and a tin of ice. But then I had to make way for the mussels saganaki and I hadn’t even popped the cap yet.
Ouzo is an aniseed spirit made with the leftovers of wine-making grapes. I poured the spirit over the ice cubes, watching as the clear liquid turned cloudy. Then took a large sip and chased it down with a spoonful of saganaki sauce. It tasted like sambuca, but stronger… and not as sweet.
My first few sips of ouzo were manageable. But the more I drank, the more I struggled to stomach it, and the pan of mussels saganaki became my much-needed chaser. I’d take a sip of the sharp spirit and then dive into the luscious cheesy tomato garlic sauce.
It seemed a travesty not to be drinking a glass of white wine with my saganaki, but I had to at least attempt to do things the Greek way. Ouzo is traditionally drunk with Greek meze – including stuff like grilled octopus. I figured I wasn’t too far off having it with mussels saganaki, and the funny waitress certainly didn’t seem to find anything out of the ordinary with my choices. Then again, she knew I was English so perhaps nothing would have surprised her.
The restaurant was near the seafront. I was in Pireaus which I had mistook to be very much a part of Athens, however – like Tivoli is to Rome – Piraeus is merely part of the greater Athens area. Regardless, it’s all Athens to me.
I think of my first taste of ouzo may also be my last…
