I spent the daylight hours of my first day in Rhodes as you can only do in Greece. After arriving at the Rhodes Backpackers’ Hostel and settling in, I went to the supermarket. But did I listen to Michael (one of the hostel’s two owners) who provided clear directions to go left? No, I went right and wound up at the fruiteria (that’s what we call the green grocer’s at my house). There I found all that I needed to make soutzoukakia, except for chopped beef, the main ingredient.
Allow me to introduce you to Paschalis, the owner of the fruiteria. He’s the first Greek to not speak to me in English, so I got to exercise my brain and ask for things in Greek — only to find out he’s a naturalized Greek who originates in Albania. He was friendly, offered advice (in Greek), and when he learned what dish I was making, he got on the phone, called his bud — the butcher — ordered my chopped beef, and advised me that it would arrive in 20 minutes. He pulls from under the counter a clean shot glass. He then pulls out his own glass, already full from before. He pours for me what I later learned was raki. Guys, it is smooth and tasty, not at all what I expected!
Then, as if all that’s not enough, he pulls an oblong silver dish with a veggie salad and fish. His fork was already in the dish, but he pulled out a second fork for me. And guys, I could have stayed there for hours. This man was so cool (and not cuz he fed me) and communicative. And when the butcher arrived, he too joined us for a drink. Eventually, I left. Had I stayed any longer, the meat would have cooked itself!
I spent the evening getting lost on the island. The only reason I made it back to my hotel is that I covered the entire city on foot, as if it were a grid. Eventually, I had to find home. I left the hostel with a clear plan to visit a destination that maybe was closed, so I must have walked past it and got lost. Rhodeans give directions like San Diegans (there she goes making generalizations…) Everyone I asked for help was kind and willing, but had no idea how to get from point A to point B. They would map out my route on their phone but could not tell me whether to go right or left to begin my trip, or the names of the streets around us. Thus, I asked for lots of help and still had no idea which way to go. I relied on my memory and eventually made it back.
Starved (I was supposed to get dinner out), I took some of my chopped beef, mixed it with a few ingredients (by feel), and had awesome beef patties for dinner with wine that I bought from the fruiteria guy.