As the “big Carnival weekend” is approaching, we keep reading that all sorts of merriment should be expected around town, so we thought we’d go out and find it today.
But first, food. We decided to check to see if our new favorite taco place was open, but as we got closer we also realized we could get pastitsio from H’s new favorite place — she’s kinda been dreaming about eating it again — so we swerved right instead of left to go get that, only to get down there and see that they were already closed up for the day.
I guess tacos it is.
We retraced our steps back towards the taco spot and sat inside. It’s been a cold week or so in Athens, in the low-to-mid 40s most days, so we sat inside so our tacos wouldn’t immediately get cold. The tacos are very good but I don’t know what type of tacos they are — the tortilla is corn but pressed and griddled and it gets close to tostada crunchy, but it still has enough flexibility that you can fold it up and eat it … well, like a taco. Their barbacoa is excellent. It did make me nostalgic for Mexico City and I am happy that, tentatively, we have some time in Mexico penciled in for later this year.
We decided next was coffee and the weather was limiting our options a little — some places would be closed, some were mainly outside seating, so we decided to head to Mokka (really the eye-opener of the week, so tasty and really as close as any other coffee shop) to get coffee. As we walked, it turned out that we were right by The Clumsies, site of last summer’s heatwave-sweat blue cocktail stop, where the waitstaff just kept bringing us containers of ice to put in our water. They also do coffee, so we audibled and stepped inside, only to find that the place was PACKED with humanity and they were on a waitlist. We waited for a bit and looked at the new winter menu and … the cocktails were not really speaking to us. Let’s just say “lots of mushrooms.” So we audibled back out and headed towards Mokka after all.
We grabbed a table outside at Mokka. The patio is in one of the “tunnels” leading into Varvakios Market so it’s protected from the wind a bit, so it was pleasant enough. I’ve been trying filter batches of the various beans just to get some variety, and it’s been fun, and they’ve all been tasty. I got a little apple pie too. (Coffee needs a sweet treat.)
Heading back, I had promised we’d hit Krinos on the way back through, so we stopped and got loukoumades and chatted. The inside of the shop feels like the old original Churreria El Moro in Mexico City — I half expect to find the TVs turned to soap operas.
Our last stop was Ergon House / 72H to see if there were any baked goods to stock in the house for overnight. We grabbed a block of cheddar cheese, another tote bag, a baguette and some sweet treats for later, then called it a early night.