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Meaty feast meet-up
A Greek picnic on Shelter Island
“Piquenique?” says Larry. “Let me check with Janis. She may be in Venezuela.”
He’s exaggerating. But only a little. His wife Janis has this incredible life chasing birds around the world. Where she is depends on where birds are. The other day she was following godwits — virtually — as they flew 8000 miles out of Alaska, above the Pacific and down to New Zealand. Non-stop. Eleven days and nights, zooming along at 65 mph. Some come here, too. They’re the demure, long-beaked shore-peckers you see on our beaches around this time of year. It’s one reason Janis and Larry like to picnic by the water.
Larry gets back to me and my true love Diane. “Janis says how about a Greek picnic on Shelter Island? Our treat. We know the guy." That’s a hard offer to refuse. So a little later we’re crowding into this sleek Greek eatery just below the mountain redoubt that is USD. Place is called Zgara. (Quick Google check says “Zgara” is most likely origin is Albanian, meaning “grill” or “barbecue.”)
“These are our go-to picnic guys,” says Janis.
“The usual?” asks Mike, who’s running things behind the counter. His place is smart, spartan, and popping with specials like “Gyro Tender Platter,” and “Souvlaki Pork Platter.” (They cost a bit, like a lot of the plates on offer: $18.70 each.) One of the guys is at the two Trompos - the vertical piles of sliced, gyrating gyro meat. He’s shaving them with what looks like a giant electric razor. “We go through one of these piles of meat every day,” says Mike. “Everyone likes our gyros.”
Hmm. Greek. I remember my childhood when Greek restaurants were the only foreign restaurants out there. (That’s besides Mexican, of course. But Mexican’s family.) It seemed like Greek was the go-to exotic experience, unless you wanted to shell out wads for some silken French steakery-eatery. Not much has changed since then. We’re looking at a selection of ways to prepare meat: shawarma, doner, rotisserie, al pastor, doner kebab, and of course gyro. “Best gyro in San Diego,” says a chalkboard sign. “Made from scratch every day. Kofte, souvlaki, loukaniko.”
Diane sees me frowning, trying to remember what da heck these terms mean. “Which is which?” I whisper. She sighs. If you don’t know these by now…
“‘Kofte’ is ground meat,” says Janis. “‘Souvlaki’ is grilled meat on a skewer. And ‘loukaniko’ is a pork sausage with orange peel to flavor it.”
“‘Loukaniko’?”
I know Diane is itching to tell me about loukaniko.
“From Lucania. Roman legions brought it back to Rome maybe 2000 years ago.”
I give that quizzical look again.
“Lucania? Province down in the boot of Italy. Greeks took to their sausage. Now loukaniko is everywhere. They call it linguiça in Brazil.”
“Wow. What other totally out-there facts do you know?” I ask.
“You should come up and see me sometime,” says Diane. “Find out.”
“Do you want us to order?” asks Janis. “Keep it simple?”
Long and short is, 15 minutes later we pile out of Larry and Janis’s car along Shelter Island, right next to their favorite picnic spot. “Notice this table?” says Janis. “It’s end-on to the bay. Cuts arguments. That way we can both bird-spot on the water while we sit facing each other.”
And wow. This couple is going the full monty. They’re spreading out a colorful tablecloth, green and red plates and cutlery — plastic, but classy plastic — and then candles! Like, in candlesticks. Then bottled water, and finally the food. “So this one is Greek salad, rice, and more salad,” says Janis, “plus the mixed grill of pork gyros and chicken gyros, and biftekia — kind of a beef roll. It’s got cheese inside. Next to it is this bacon and chicken wrap on a skewer, plus more chicken.”
They’re laying it all out in a well-practiced way. “We do a picnic about every two weeks,” says Janis. “Not always Greek. We sometimes do Mexican or Thai.”
We’re being watched, I notice, by a newly fluttered-in clump of seagulls. “Just don’t let them land on the table,” says Larry. He’s wielding a real knife, scraping the chunks of chicken and bacon off their skewer.
The bacon-wrapped chicken’s what I go for first. Not sure if the Ancient Greeks ever thought of this combo, but it sure is delicious. I’m mixing the rice, the salad, salad dressing, and the meats in each mouthful. Lotsa garlic in there, I swear. Glass of wine would be fine with it, but gotta work this afternoon. I stick with water. Thing that strikes me: there are an awful lot of viands in this meal. “Did the Ancient Greeks always get into meat as much as this?” I ask. “And wine?”
“Depends,” says Diane. “The rich Athenians, probably yes, but most people couldn’t afford meat at this level. And wine? Even the aristocratic Greeks, when they held their drinking symposiums — okay, symposia — would water their wine down. They considered it vulgar to drink it straight.”
Huh. “But what about food apart from meat?”
“The ancients? Think Mediterranean Diet,” Diane says. “Lots of veg, fruit, legumes, grains, fish, eggs, dairy, olive oil, protein from beans and nuts, plus meat and poultry, but less of it. Sweets? There was no sugar, so figs, honey.”
“How about breakfast?”
“Often, bread dipped in wine, pancakes, figs, olives, cheese, yogurt. Overall, a pretty healthy diet.”
“I wonder how future generations will look back on us and what we eat,” I say.
But I'm upstaged before anyone can answer. Somebody has come onto this grassy patch and released a Flemish Giant Rabbit. “Bet it’s a Welsh rabbit,” I say. “They’re pretty rare.”
I thought that was sort of funny. Diane ignores it. She’s still on the food track. “Ed, darling,” she says. “Can we take inspiration from this in our diet, but stick with the Ancient Greek diet? Drop the meat?”
“Sure,” I say. “Long as we can start off with a symposium.”
The Place: Zgara Greek Grill, 1229 Morena Boulevard, 619-228-9210
Hours: 11am-8pm daily; closed Sunday
Prices: Gyro tender, with pork, rice or fries, veggies, pita, $18.70; chicken gyro, two skewers, same sides, $18.70; bifteki gemisto (Greek burger), two rolls seasoned ground beef stuffed with cheese, veggies, tzatziki, wrapped in warm pita, $19.74; spanakopita, 2 pieces, $7.52; chicken bacon souvlaki, on a skewer with pita, $11.96; kofte, ground beef and lamb, tzatziki, veggies, in pita, $11.96; falafel (chickpeas in balls), with hummus or tzatziki, in pita, $10.38
Buses: 44, 105
Nearest bus stops: Linda Vista Road and Napa Street (44); Morena Blvd and Viola St (105)
Trolley: Blue Line
Nearest trolley stop: Tecolote Road
Here's something you might be interested in.
Meaty feast meet-up
A Greek picnic on Shelter Island
Meaty feast meet-up
A Greek picnic on Shelter Island
“Piquenique?” says Larry. “Let me check with Janis. She may be in Venezuela.”
He’s exaggerating. But only a little. His wife Janis has this incredible life chasing birds around the world. Where she is depends on where birds are. The other day she was following godwits — virtually — as they flew 8000 miles out of Alaska, above the Pacific and down to New Zealand. Non-stop. Eleven days and nights, zooming along at 65 mph. Some come here, too. They’re the demure, long-beaked shore-peckers you see on our beaches around this time of year. It’s one reason Janis and Larry like to picnic by the water.
Larry gets back to me and my true love Diane. “Janis says how about a Greek picnic on Shelter Island? Our treat. We know the guy." That’s a hard offer to refuse. So a little later we’re crowding into this sleek Greek eatery just below the mountain redoubt that is USD. Place is called Zgara. (Quick Google check says “Zgara” is most likely origin is Albanian, meaning “grill” or “barbecue.”)
“These are our go-to picnic guys,” says Janis.
“The usual?” asks Mike, who’s running things behind the counter. His place is smart, spartan, and popping with specials like “Gyro Tender Platter,” and “Souvlaki Pork Platter.” (They cost a bit, like a lot of the plates on offer: $18.70 each.) One of the guys is at the two Trompos - the vertical piles of sliced, gyrating gyro meat. He’s shaving them with what looks like a giant electric razor. “We go through one of these piles of meat every day,” says Mike. “Everyone likes our gyros.”
Hmm. Greek. I remember my childhood when Greek restaurants were the only foreign restaurants out there. (That’s besides Mexican, of course. But Mexican’s family.) It seemed like Greek was the go-to exotic experience, unless you wanted to shell out wads for some silken French steakery-eatery. Not much has changed since then. We’re looking at a selection of ways to prepare meat: shawarma, doner, rotisserie, al pastor, doner kebab, and of course gyro. “Best gyro in San Diego,” says a chalkboard sign. “Made from scratch every day. Kofte, souvlaki, loukaniko.”
Diane sees me frowning, trying to remember what da heck these terms mean. “Which is which?” I whisper. She sighs. If you don’t know these by now…
“‘Kofte’ is ground meat,” says Janis. “‘Souvlaki’ is grilled meat on a skewer. And ‘loukaniko’ is a pork sausage with orange peel to flavor it.”
“‘Loukaniko’?”
I know Diane is itching to tell me about loukaniko.
“From Lucania. Roman legions brought it back to Rome maybe 2000 years ago.”
I give that quizzical look again.
“Lucania? Province down in the boot of Italy. Greeks took to their sausage. Now loukaniko is everywhere. They call it linguiça in Brazil.”
“Wow. What other totally out-there facts do you know?” I ask.
“You should come up and see me sometime,” says Diane. “Find out.”
“Do you want us to order?” asks Janis. “Keep it simple?”
Long and short is, 15 minutes later we pile out of Larry and Janis’s car along Shelter Island, right next to their favorite picnic spot. “Notice this table?” says Janis. “It’s end-on to the bay. Cuts arguments. That way we can both bird-spot on the water while we sit facing each other.”
And wow. This couple is going the full monty. They’re spreading out a colorful tablecloth, green and red plates and cutlery — plastic, but classy plastic — and then candles! Like, in candlesticks. Then bottled water, and finally the food. “So this one is Greek salad, rice, and more salad,” says Janis, “plus the mixed grill of pork gyros and chicken gyros, and biftekia — kind of a beef roll. It’s got cheese inside. Next to it is this bacon and chicken wrap on a skewer, plus more chicken.”
They’re laying it all out in a well-practiced way. “We do a picnic about every two weeks,” says Janis. “Not always Greek. We sometimes do Mexican or Thai.”
We’re being watched, I notice, by a newly fluttered-in clump of seagulls. “Just don’t let them land on the table,” says Larry. He’s wielding a real knife, scraping the chunks of chicken and bacon off their skewer.
The bacon-wrapped chicken’s what I go for first. Not sure if the Ancient Greeks ever thought of this combo, but it sure is delicious. I’m mixing the rice, the salad, salad dressing, and the meats in each mouthful. Lotsa garlic in there, I swear. Glass of wine would be fine with it, but gotta work this afternoon. I stick with water. Thing that strikes me: there are an awful lot of viands in this meal. “Did the Ancient Greeks always get into meat as much as this?” I ask. “And wine?”
“Depends,” says Diane. “The rich Athenians, probably yes, but most people couldn’t afford meat at this level. And wine? Even the aristocratic Greeks, when they held their drinking symposiums — okay, symposia — would water their wine down. They considered it vulgar to drink it straight.”
Huh. “But what about food apart from meat?”
“The ancients? Think Mediterranean Diet,” Diane says. “Lots of veg, fruit, legumes, grains, fish, eggs, dairy, olive oil, protein from beans and nuts, plus meat and poultry, but less of it. Sweets? There was no sugar, so figs, honey.”
“How about breakfast?”
“Often, bread dipped in wine, pancakes, figs, olives, cheese, yogurt. Overall, a pretty healthy diet.”
“I wonder how future generations will look back on us and what we eat,” I say.
But I'm upstaged before anyone can answer. Somebody has come onto this grassy patch and released a Flemish Giant Rabbit. “Bet it’s a Welsh rabbit,” I say. “They’re pretty rare.”
I thought that was sort of funny. Diane ignores it. She’s still on the food track. “Ed, darling,” she says. “Can we take inspiration from this in our diet, but stick with the Ancient Greek diet? Drop the meat?”
“Sure,” I say. “Long as we can start off with a symposium.”
The Place: Zgara Greek Grill, 1229 Morena Boulevard, 619-228-9210
Hours: 11am-8pm daily; closed Sunday
Prices: Gyro tender, with pork, rice or fries, veggies, pita, $18.70; chicken gyro, two skewers, same sides, $18.70; bifteki gemisto (Greek burger), two rolls seasoned ground beef stuffed with cheese, veggies, tzatziki, wrapped in warm pita, $19.74; spanakopita, 2 pieces, $7.52; chicken bacon souvlaki, on a skewer with pita, $11.96; kofte, ground beef and lamb, tzatziki, veggies, in pita, $11.96; falafel (chickpeas in balls), with hummus or tzatziki, in pita, $10.38
Buses: 44, 105
Nearest bus stops: Linda Vista Road and Napa Street (44); Morena Blvd and Viola St (105)
Trolley: Blue Line
Nearest trolley stop: Tecolote Road
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