TeamSD: Adventures of Lawyer Girl and Demian Man

Welcome to Athens

Since I’m not as funny as Demian, I’m going to play to my lawyerly strengths in my blog posts – that’s right, bullet points.

Athens Highlights

• Went on an Athens Walking Tour led by Aristotle: Much to Demian’s chagrin, we spent most of our first full day in Athens on walking tour of the city, which included highlights like the changing of the guard at Parliament, the National Gardens, the Temple of Zeus, Hadrian’s Arch, the Plaka, and the Acropolis (where we saw the Theater of Dionysus, the temple of Asclepius, and, of course, the tourist-swarmed and larger-than-life Parthenon).

• Tried the infamous Nescafe frappe, as well as various renditions of a Greek salad.

• Got lost among the whitewashed, blue-doored, bougainvillea-covered houses in Athens while looking for Monastiraki, one of the shopping districts.

• Bought custom-made sandals (and convinced Demian NOT to buy a murse) from Melissinos, the poet sandal-maker of Athens who apparently went to Parsons School of Design and has be-sandaled the likes of John Lennon, Barbara Streisand, and Jackie O.

• Ate at the Michelin-starred Varoulko, which had fantastic food and less-than-fantastic service.  For you curious foodies out there, we had a four-course (plus dessert) meal, including: (1) a refreshing, toothsome carpaccio of baby sea-bream fillets, lightly drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice; (2) perfectly fried whitefish (the lightest, crispiest breading), accompanied by an eggplant aioli (best tartar sauce ever!) and a slightly incongruous strawberry reduction; (3) grilled octopus tentacle (giant, smoky, al dente), with an eye-opening, confetti-shaped pasta interspersed with flakes of slightly salty Greek cheese and chewy-sweet (what I think was) dried apricot; (4) an unmemorable and slightly overcooked white-fleshed fish with generic sauteed greens and a shredded potato cake; and (5) a solid, but not particularly imaginative, pear-themed dessert–caramelized diced pear, pear sorbet, and vanilla ice cream between two thin strips of sweet, crisp phyllo.

Although the weather was bipolar at times (alternatively windy and sprinkling, then sunny and hot), we were lucky to have been able to enjoy Athens without any strikes, protests, or otherwise scary incidents.  We were also pretty satisfied with our hotel, The Athens Gate, which was a short distance from the Acropolis and Syntagma Square (where the government buildings, and incidentally, a lot of the recent protests have been held).  While small, our room was modern, clean, and comfortable, with a great shower and a beautiful view of the Temple of Zeus.  (It was a bit of challenge getting to our room at first, though, because the elevators in the hotel are designed to hold, at most, four people . . . with our suitcases, even just two people was a squeeze.)  The rooftop restaurant where we had dinner one night and breakfast the next morning was a great place to admire the Acropolis, especially when lit up at night.  We both thought it was a nice touch to have been greeted at reception with glasses of water and lakoumi (which I believe is the same thing as Turkish delight).

Before getting to the pictures, I’ll leave you all with some random observations about Athens that you may not find out from the guide books:

• When eating out, you will get a series of receipts for every item that is brought to the table. We were royally befuddled by this at first, and it was near impossible to get a cogent explanation from anyone (in fact, our server at Varoulko treated us like idiots when we asked about the series of receipts to make sure that we weren’t being undercharged).  Matt Barrett, who maintains a very helpful and comprehensive travel guide online, explains it pretty well: “At the end of the meal you will get a bill which is supposed to be a printout from a cash register though if you are in a far off village where the tax people rarely come it may just be a scrawled piece of paper.  By law there has to be a receipt for everything on the table and so it should not surprise you if at the end of the night you have a handful of these little receipts.  It won’t take much work to find the updated one.  The reason this is done is not so they can keep track of what you are eating.  They know. It is so the government can keep track of what the restaurant is selling. If a tax person comes into a restaurant and the tables don’t have receipts they can be charged thousands of euros for each infraction.”

• (Crude, but) You can’t flush toilet paper down the toilets.  Instead, you need to dispose of your paper products in the trash cans, which are emptied frequently.  Talk about testing a marriage.

• There are a TON of stray dogs in Athens. Most have collars and appear to have been abandoned by their owners, which is pretty sad.  A couple of these strays followed us from Parliament, all the way to the Acropolis.  Adorable, but again, sad.

• Graffiti is EVERYWHERE, which is unfortunate in such a historic and otherwise beautiful city.

• There are NO Starbucks(es?) anywhere! Not necessarily a bad thing, just a surprise.  There are, however, McDonald’s(es).

• The Greeks we have met so far are not particularly moved by an effort to speak their language (of which, thanks to some Greek-language software Demian got before the trip, we now know a few rudimentary phrases); so we’ve given up.  Good thing pretty much everyone speaks English!

And now, for the pictures!
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Typically, I don’t make New Year’s resolutions.  I haven’t thought about it much, but it’s probably because I think that if you want to change something about your lifestyle, there’s no reason to wait until New Year’s to do it.  This year is a little different.  With a daunting year at work on the horizon, I figure I need a little more structure (and a little more accountability) to keep it together.  With that, here are my (inartfully stated) resolutions:

1.  Keep better track of my finances.

2.  Don’t be such a fatty.

Since we bought the house in 2007 and I started wedding planning, our budget and finances have been in shambles.  I didn’t keep up with how much we spent, paid some bills late, and just generally had no idea what the hell was going on with our money.  As a result, I think we’ve spent a lot more (and saved a lot less) than we intended over the last two years.  Well, no more!  With the wedding over a year behind us, I have zero excuse to not get my act together.

As for my second resolution, maybe I’m being a little harsh on myself, but I think I’m going to have to be – it’s just way too easy to tell myself I’m too busy or too tired to work out and eat right.  Thanks to a colleague at work, I’ve now committed myself to working out at least 3 times a week.  We started back in December, and now that I’ve gotten used to making exercising part of my weekly routine, I’ve gotten up to 5 times a week.  It’s really only 20 minutes each session (thank you, Jillian Michaels!), but it’s perfect for my busy schedule and otherwise lazy self.  I’ve started to notice a difference in my body in the last week or so, and that’s been really satisfying.

There are probably definitely other things I could change about my lifestyle, but I think two resolutions are all I can handle this year.

Wish me luck!

Herringbone Linen Tank Dress and Stretch Knit Denim Tank Dress from Bebe

Donato Enoteca is the latest in a line of recently opened restaurants in Redwood City (following 2007′s Slanted Door-wannabe Red Lantern and this year’s gastropub-without-the-pub Martin’s West).  Of course, I had to try it, since it’s just a block away from the theater and the menu looked so promising.  After dragging Demian all around Stanford Shopping Center yesterday in search of a new summer dress, we stopped at Donato Enoteca for an early dinner.

The interior is rustic elegant, with exposed wooden beam ceilings and an open kitchen trimmed with beautiful (and its appears, unused) copper pots and pans.  You can dine indoors or al fresco, with the two areas separated by large, wood-framed windows and a door that permits the waitstaff to pass between the two without clogging the dining room – pretty clever, and something that I appreciate.

Service is good, but not perfect.  Our water glasses were replenished frequently, appetizer and entrees came quickly, and the staff was friendly.  However, there was a long wait – and a few attempts – to get the dessert menu because our waiter had disappeared after our entrees arrived.

The food is decent, but not memorable.  There’s not a single thing – including the practically unsweetened lemonade – that I would come back for, except perhaps to have a glass of wine before a movie to enjoy the pretty restaurant.

Fresh, warmed foccacia is served with an olive oil, basil, garlic, and what we believed to be fresh mint aioli.  The bread is good, but the aioli a little weird – the mint adds a very grassy taste that seems almost out of place.  We started with an appetizer that I had been looking forward to, Calamaretti e Fagiol, Fresh Monterey Bay calamari with “bianchi di Spagna” beans and mache lettuce, plated to the side.  The little calamari themselves were lightly poached, then slightly grilled, so a little crisp on the outside and barely cooked on the inside.  I thought the seasoning was good – good balance of garlic and salt – but the plate was just too oily.  Having the mache to toss in the oil helped, but the plate could have used a little acidity.

I had ordered the Risotto Nero, a squid ink risotto with Nova scallops, tiny cuttlefish hidden in the risotto, slices of cooked tomato flesh, and Marche DOP extra virgin olive oil.  I am a sucker for squid ink, which, as I learned from Demian, is not the ideal choice for a date.  Overall, I was happy with the flavor of the risotto, although it was a tad salty.  It contrasted nicely with the sweet acidity of the tomatoes – a tasty combination of hearty and refreshing.  Unfortunately, the scallops were overcooked and dry – a disappointment.  Demian ordered what would have been my next choice, Foiade di Funghi, organic buckwheat parpadelle pasta with mixed wild mushrooms, garlic, parsley and slivers of Grana Padano cheese.  Demian’s dish was also a disappointment – the pasta was grainy and flavorless, and the dish in general lacked any mushroom intensity.

Dessert was also so-so.  My shortbread, basil cream, and peach dessert was just strange combination.  A slightly sweet, very basily cream sat between two very hard shortbread “cookies” that tasted more like unsweetened scones.  A sour, jammy sauce of cooked peaches was also out of place on the plate.  Demian’s panna cotta was better, smooth layers of lemon, then bluberry panna cotta topped a strawberry and raspberry compote at the bottom of a martini glass.  Again, decent, but not cravable.

The restaurant has potential, but there were too many misses for me to explore its potential again anytime soon.

Rating: Two stars.

In typical fashion, I have totally flaked on documenting our amazing trip to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Ningbo.  In sum, though, we had a great time – way better than we expected, given the very compressed schedule – and got to spend some quality time with Demian’s family.  In fact, it’s probably one of my favorite trips we’ve ever taken.  It’s been about 12 years since the last time I’ve been to Hong Kong, and it’s so much different experiencing the city as a 25-year-old than as a 12-or-13-year-old.  I think the thing I like best about Hong Kong is that it is the perfect mix of old and new – it embraces the ancient and rich Chinese culture, while celebrating the new and modern.  I loved that in Hong Kong, it’s cool to be Chinese.  I feel like I don’t get a lot of that here, especially food-wise.  Here, we have trendy Vietnamese, Japanese, Spanish, and more recently, Indian restaurants.  Even hot dogs are experiencing a renaissance.  Aside from the recently opened Heaven’s Dog (Charlie Pham’s new joint in S.F., which I’ve yet to try), I feel like we’re stuck with either Mr. Chau’s or the Flower Lounge.  It’s so different in Hong Kong, where you can eat Chinese every day, for every meal, but still experience variety and something new, whether it’s cuisine or decor.

Plus, the shopping in Hong Kong is rad.  It’s definitely more expensive than it was 12 years ago (Giordano – why hast thou forsaken me???), but you can still get pretty terrific deals if you (or your husband’s aunt or cousin hehe) knows where to go

That said, here are my bullet-pointed highlights of our trip – less for you, the reader, and more for me, so that I remember where to go when we (inevitably!!!) return.

Airline: Cathay Pacific: No reclining chairs (?!?!), but excellent on-demand entertainment center

Hotel: Langham Place (Long Ho Zhao Deem, Wongkok): Comfy rooms, FREE internet access in business center!, English TV, and close proximity to delightful street food vendor, Langham Place Mall, and subway (*thumbs up*)

Day 1

• Lei Garden: Great dim sum in a posh setting; best BBQ pork I’ve ever had
• Ladies’ Market (Mongkok): Outdoor market – not the best, but still pretty good for souvenirs
• Times Square (Causeway Bay): Mushroom village (!) and designer stores
• Beverly Island and Trendy Zone (Causeway Bay): Cheapo ladies’ clothes – yeehaw!

Day 2

• Nobu Hong Kong: Great location by the habor, generous portions, and foie gras roll; satisfying, but not earth-shattering
• Midlevels Travelator (so steep!) and Cicada Bar (where everyone knows Victor’s name)
• Harbor Boat Trip: Windy but entertaining light show!
• Hutong: Seriously out of this world Chinese dining experience; ironwork birdcages everywhere, beautiful red hot chili crab dish – we have to go back…HAVE TO
• Night Market: Where was this???  It was awesome!  Hooo pang!

Day 3

• Return to HK from Shanghai (best siu lom bao ever) and Ningbo (family time!)
• Peking Garden: Another great traditional Chinese restaurant (nice carpets!), noodle making, delightful dessert that I can’t remember…darn…
• Or did we go to the Night Market this night?  Dang…it’s starting to fade…

Day 4

• The epic final day
• G.O.D.: “Ikea of Hong Kong” is such an understatement; old-school Hong Kong made COOL
• Xi Yan: Terrific lunch place; healthy and flavorful Chinese fod
• Some amazing bar/lounge near Sushi Kuu – LOTS of Rod Stewart on the speakers (AWESOME)
• Sushi Kuu: The dish that made me love food again (cold poached egg, uni, and ikura); sushi chef is Auntie Vivi’s tenant!; Victor eating that AWFUL PLUM; so much food…SO MUCH ALCOHOL…AAAHHHH!
• Zuma: I can’t believe we ate the whole damn thing (towering inferno of dessert)
• Savva: Best freaking view of Hong Kong

For pictures, check out my two-part Facebook album!