When you’re traveling, it’s the unexpected adventures that
can be the most fun (or the scariest—or both.)
Nick and I are currently staying at Costa Navarino Resorts in Messinia,
Greece, overlooking the Ionian Sea. It’s
my favorite resort in Greece for so many reasons, including their respect for
nature, the environment, and the people, animals and traditions of the
surrounding area.
When we checked in to Costa Navarino this time, we learned
that they now offered a “Funky Gourmet Summer Pop-Up Restaurant” -- an
“unconventional culinary experience” presented by the owners and chefs of the
two-Michelin-starred Funky Gourmet Restaurant in Athens. The pop-up restaurant at Costa Navarino, I
read, is “located in the brand new Earth-sheltered Club house at the Bay [Golf]
club house.” Nick made us a reservation for Saturday night, to my great
excitement, because I had never ever eaten in a two-Michelin-star restaurant,
even (especially!) in my single-girl days in the sixties when I lived in London
and traveled frequently to Paris.
In our room in the Romanos section of the resort complex, I
found a magazine which had an article about the two young, married Greek
chefs—Georgianna Hiliadaki and Nikos Roussos--
who opened the “Funky Gourmet” restaurant in Athens in 2009, the only
restaurant in Greece to serve a degustation menu. (The couple originally met at
the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. They have two children,
aged four and almost two.)
Their first Michelin star came in 2012, the second in
2014. Now they’ve closed the Athens
restaurant temporarily, except for private events, and in November of 2020 they
will reopen it in the newly re-launched Athens Hilton. Meanwhile they opened the pop-up version here
in Costa Navarino from July 8 to August 17, creating an all new 11-course menu
based on their research about the traditional cooking of Messinia. In the month of November, they will open a
similar pop-up restaurant in Salzburg, Austria.
The magazine article stated that “There’s something ‘funky’
about all of their dishes, be it the unusual shapes, colors, textures or
aromas.” That was certainly true. The meal we enjoyed was made up of eleven
courses, and as we were told at the beginning, there were surprises and gifts
throughout.
After a ten-minute taxi ride to Costa Navarino’s newest golf
course, we were escorted to a table overlooking a stunning view of candlelit
tables, green swards, olive trees reaching down toward the bay, and stars and a
new moon overhead, appearing as the sun set.
We were welcomed by two servers, a man and a woman, who would be the
main actors in the drama we were about to enjoy—explaining every course and
adding ingredients, including special sauces and spices, to our plates as we
watched.
The first surprise of the evening was the price. The servers handed us each a menu which
began, “MESSINIAN LAND, Degustation Menu 220 Euros per guest, Wine and
Drinks Pairing 90 Euros per guest, Picnic under the Olive Trees
(Supplement 45 Euros per guest.)
Without a word to each other, we quickly decided to forego
the opportunity to begin our meal while sitting under the olive trees on the
sloping hill below for 45 euros. We also
chose to avoid the 90 euro pairing of a different wine with every course,
choosing instead a bottle of a local rosé to take us through the meal. (But two dishes were still presented with a
special wine that the chefs felt was an essential partner to that course.)
Our servers warned us, before the food arrived, that we
might be unwilling to try certain ingredients, namely fish roe, sea urchin
eggs, and lamb’s brains. I opted out on
the brains, but okayed the fish roe and sea urchin eggs, which I’ve had many
times in Greece. Nick, being Greek, is
fine with eating brains, not to mention the eyes of the roasted goat or lamb,
which are often given to the honored guest in his native land.
Then the drama began with a “welcome course” that was not
even on the menu. Our servers brought us
each a wrought iron tiny olive tree supporting three small, round, crusty
appetizers called “travihktes” which they said were traditional in Messinia
(but probably not served exactly this way, with pure gold leaf on one, bits of
honeycomb that crackled like glass on another, and tiny marshmallows on a
third. They also included truffles and
caviar.) I thought they would be sweet, but the flavors hovered between sweet
and savory and were absolutely delicious!
Next course, housed in the first surprise gift of the
evening, was presented as a small wooden box with a clasp, on top of which was
burned: “Joan welcome to Funky Gourmet in Messinia!” Nick
received the same message, but written in Greek, welcoming “Nikola”. Opening the boxes, we found in each one a
single “Dipla”. I think of Diples as a Greek version of fried doughnuts, but
this single Dipla was stuffed with something delicious (I think cheese) and
decorated with fruits, veggies and cheeses.
And set on a bed of cut and dried figs.
The servers whisked the boxes away, saying they would be given back at the
end of the meal, and they were—but now they were each filled with four small
bottles of “Navarino Icons”—the famous olive oil of the region-- combined with
different flavors
The third course, called “Kobe”, was a piece of watermelon
flavored with thyme, fleur de sel, and including cheese underneath. Then a beef demiglace was poured over it, as
it sat in a large beef bone.
Course number four, called “Salad of the region” was
arranged to look like a summer wreath, and included orange, potatoes and quail
eggs, with siglino consommé poured over it.
The sun had slipped below the horizon and it was getting
dark as we were presented course number five—called “Kolokythokorfades
Ladera”.
“Kolokythi” means “zucchini” and “Ladera” means cooked in olive oil, for which the region is famous. But this dish looked to me like a poinsettia flower that had been dried. (I knew that poinsettias are poisonous, so hoped I was wrong!) I learned that this was a flower of the zucchini plant that had been cooked and then dried for 24 hours in a desiccation machine, making it flat, crispy and tasty. Hidden beneath the flower was an oblong thing that looked like a meatball. Nick said that it was delicious because of the flavor of the hamburger, but it turns out that this was a vegetarian dish, featuring quinoa. The last touch was to have an olive oil concoction poured over it.
“Kolokythi” means “zucchini” and “Ladera” means cooked in olive oil, for which the region is famous. But this dish looked to me like a poinsettia flower that had been dried. (I knew that poinsettias are poisonous, so hoped I was wrong!) I learned that this was a flower of the zucchini plant that had been cooked and then dried for 24 hours in a desiccation machine, making it flat, crispy and tasty. Hidden beneath the flower was an oblong thing that looked like a meatball. Nick said that it was delicious because of the flavor of the hamburger, but it turns out that this was a vegetarian dish, featuring quinoa. The last touch was to have an olive oil concoction poured over it.
Before course number six, listed as “Gourounopoula”, our
servers cleared the table and then covered it with brown parchment paper. Then they brought in round plates decorated
with colorful (desiccated and edible) leaves and flowers, laid on a translucent
circle which we were told was edible rice paper. In the center was something that looked like
lasagna, but was in fact pork belly on top of what, I can’t remember. And nearby was placed a pot of plum sauce
that we were told to add as we wished.
Then, around the table, were scattered crunchy things that we were told
were fried pork, also to be dipped in the plum jelly. There was no cutlery for this course, as we
were supposed to roll up the circle of rice paper and eat it all like a
taco. This was tricky, but, as
with several other courses, we were furnished with warm, damp towels to clean our
hands afterward.
(Dear Reader, I’ve walked you through the first six
courses of our $600 meal and this is long already for a single blog post. Tune in to my next post if you want to hear
about the final five courses in which we eat: raw eggs ,
“Clever Sea Urchin Eggs”, a sherbet that began as a Greek salad, and a dessert --one of three--that exploded!)
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