The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
Singing in the Rain

Into each life some rain must fall ... and it fell into ours today. The day looked decent enough in the early morning but by mid-morning the clouds were bunching and getting darker. It looks like we are in for a couple of damp days. Having a an apartment to stretch out in makes the rain less of a problem than if we were restricted to the confines of a standard hotel room, though.

Margene ran another load of wash in the morning and, to be safe, we moved the drying rack off the balcony and into the spare bedroom. Good thing, too, because when the rain finally came, the north wind drove all the water right into the side balcony. Sometimes you guess right.

Our neighbors, Lynn and Phil, don't have a car and it's a long hike into town from here. Since we needed to make a grocery run anyway, we had arranged to take them into town to have some lunch and hit the supermarket. We had just made it into the restaurant when the lightning flashed, the thunder rolled and the sky opened. The wind came up, the temperature dropped and it got downright cold and nasty. We were by a window overlooking the port and watched the sea turn a muddy green and waves break onto the piers.

Partially in self defense and partially because we were enjoying the company, we took our time over a pleasant lunch, hoping the storm would blow over before we had to leave. It didn't. Of course, being from the Northwest, I had left my rain jacket in the apartment. I figured the temperature was in the mid-70s and a little rain wouldn't be that big a deal. But at 60 degrees driven by a high wind? I really could have used that jacket! Sometimes you guess wrong.

By mid-afternoon the bulk of the heavy rain had passed and we just had a high overcast. But by then we had both settled in with our books and had no real desire to get out and about. Maybe tomorrow.

For some reason the wi-fi connection suddenly got sporadic so I don't know how long it will take to get this posted. Stay tuned.

When you don't do a lot, there isn't much to take pictures of ... and I figured endless photos of Margene reading would have limited appeal (although I'd still dig them!) Anyway, the big event of the day was lunch at Kircin Restaurant. From the outside, it looks a bit like a run down shack hanging over the waterfront (it looks pretty much like that from the inside as well!), but it is supposed to have the best fish in town. I wasn't quite sure about the stack of new urinals next to the fireplace in the dining room ... but it WAS a new approach to ambience.

Margene and Phil went for the fried calamari, Lynn had sea bream and I tried the fish casserole. The calamari was nowhere near as good as what I had at Korfez yesterday (for the same price!) and the portion sizes varied significantly between the two plates. When that happens, the person with the largest portion doesn't feel happy about getting more, the one with the smaller serving feels cheated. In this case, I think Margene was seriously cheated but with the language barrier, we can't effectively complain ... so we just won't come back.

Restaurateurs take notice: even without a language issue, only one in 25 will tell you when things aren't right. The rest just go away and 94% of them won't come back. Pay attention to the details, watch faces and stamp out inconveniences before they become problems.

Sea bream is a small local fish a little bigger than a good-sized trout, presented whole. Lynn ate it all so apparently they got that one right. My fish casserole was something different. Served on a sizzling platter, it was the first time I had seen cheese and fish together. Normally that is a totally unworkable combination although in a strange way it seemed to work here. I'd give it a B- though. Maybe I should have tried the bream!

[Itinerary Page]

© 2013 Restaurant Doctor