Back in January I talked about the conversations we'd had with a couple of locals in Kalathos about, primarily, the water situation. Only now have I realised that there was one other chat we had on that occasion which I'd intended to mention in that post ("How Will You Find the Time?") but had left out, mainly because I went off on a tangent talking about the nightmare of trying to get our driving licences converted to Greek ones before the dreaded Brexit. Sorry to mention that, I'll try not to do it again.
There's a rather traditional-looking taverna just a couple of metres off the main road as you travel north out of Kalathos. You could easily drive right past without spotting it, as it's a few metres down the lane that leads to the area known as Ostria Beach, passing the Atrium Palace Hotel en route. The taverna's called "Stefanos Family Taverna" and we've never eaten there.
However, we were passing on foot recently and struck up a conversation with the two women that are involved in running it, and they are mother and daughter. They'll forgive me not remembering their names now, as it's some weeks ago that the conversation took place. The place is named after the mother's husband, who is indeed the Stefanos to which the name refers. So it lives up to its name as a 'family' taverna.
I remarked on the fact that, although we'd been living not all that far away for well over 13 years now, we haven't as yet paid them a visit (so many restaurants, so little time). I did say, though, that I thought they must be good, because they're out on a limb and yet still in business after all this time.
"I suppose you get a lot of locals in, is that the secret?" I asked the ladies.
"Well, actually, no." Came the unexpected reply. "The locals tend to look out for themselves, and we're still considered interlopers, outsiders, by the villagers of Kalathos."
"How could this be?" I asked them. I mean, they've been in business there since well before we arrived in 2005. Surely they're locals themselves?
"Well, no," said the ladies. "Our family is from Massari, not Kalathos. They have the Ostria and the Milos, near the beach, so we tend not to see the Kalathians here too much."
I found this amazing, yet reminiscent of the situation in parts of rural Britain too (certainly in deepest West Wales). You only have to originate from a couple of miles over the hill to still be viewed as an outsider, even if you've lived in a community for many years. Family origins still engender a fierce xenophobia it seems. Massari is only two or three Kilometres along the road from Kalathos, yet it may as well be in Australia!
Still, owing to the fact that, finances permitting, we aim to be dining out a little more often from now on, since we're neither of us bound by the constraints of a working schedule any more, we promised the ladies that we'd give the Stefanos a try this year. I do rather like the look of the place, since it exudes a traditional taverna atmosphere when one peers on to the front terrace from the road.
Plus, if you've taken a look at the Facebook page (the link was above, where I first mentioned the taverna's name), you'll not have failed to notice the positive reviews. It seems to have a rating of 4.9 out of 5 from the 44 reviews that have been posted on that page.
That's good enough for me. If and when we get there, you'll be the first to know our verdict on the outsiders.
There's a rather traditional-looking taverna just a couple of metres off the main road as you travel north out of Kalathos. You could easily drive right past without spotting it, as it's a few metres down the lane that leads to the area known as Ostria Beach, passing the Atrium Palace Hotel en route. The taverna's called "Stefanos Family Taverna" and we've never eaten there.
However, we were passing on foot recently and struck up a conversation with the two women that are involved in running it, and they are mother and daughter. They'll forgive me not remembering their names now, as it's some weeks ago that the conversation took place. The place is named after the mother's husband, who is indeed the Stefanos to which the name refers. So it lives up to its name as a 'family' taverna.
I remarked on the fact that, although we'd been living not all that far away for well over 13 years now, we haven't as yet paid them a visit (so many restaurants, so little time). I did say, though, that I thought they must be good, because they're out on a limb and yet still in business after all this time.
"I suppose you get a lot of locals in, is that the secret?" I asked the ladies.
"Well, actually, no." Came the unexpected reply. "The locals tend to look out for themselves, and we're still considered interlopers, outsiders, by the villagers of Kalathos."
"How could this be?" I asked them. I mean, they've been in business there since well before we arrived in 2005. Surely they're locals themselves?
"Well, no," said the ladies. "Our family is from Massari, not Kalathos. They have the Ostria and the Milos, near the beach, so we tend not to see the Kalathians here too much."
I found this amazing, yet reminiscent of the situation in parts of rural Britain too (certainly in deepest West Wales). You only have to originate from a couple of miles over the hill to still be viewed as an outsider, even if you've lived in a community for many years. Family origins still engender a fierce xenophobia it seems. Massari is only two or three Kilometres along the road from Kalathos, yet it may as well be in Australia!
Still, owing to the fact that, finances permitting, we aim to be dining out a little more often from now on, since we're neither of us bound by the constraints of a working schedule any more, we promised the ladies that we'd give the Stefanos a try this year. I do rather like the look of the place, since it exudes a traditional taverna atmosphere when one peers on to the front terrace from the road.
Plus, if you've taken a look at the Facebook page (the link was above, where I first mentioned the taverna's name), you'll not have failed to notice the positive reviews. It seems to have a rating of 4.9 out of 5 from the 44 reviews that have been posted on that page.
That's good enough for me. If and when we get there, you'll be the first to know our verdict on the outsiders.
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