*originally published on June 30, 2017 on ripcityramblers.wordpress.com*
Hear ye, hear ye!
I’ve always wanted to say that. I know you’re itching to get to this next issue of my Top Ten, but before you do, I have an announcement to announce. The food in Italy and Greece was mostly bomb-diggity, but from Croatia onward, the food is slightly underwhelming.
Therefore, instead of my usual Top Ten, this is a Top Eight. Unlike my Southeast Asian Top Ten, but as with my Japanese Top Ten, these excellent European eats are ranked in no particular order.
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1. Chimney cake with ice cream ~ Budapest, Hungary
Chimney cakes are basically Romanian churros (which are basically Mexican donuts), but I’ve seen them now in Budapest, Prague, and Krakow. Sweet dough is wrapped around a rotating spit, roasted in a hollow cylindrical shape, and dusted with cinnamon.
You can even get these delicious cakes with soft serve ice cream or whipped cream inside, if you’re trying to put yourself in the hospital. The irresistible smell of them baking can be smelt for what seems like miles around, so when looking for chimney cakes, simply follow your nose.
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2. Profiteroles ~ Vietri sul Mare, Italy
When the Ramblers were perusing the many freezers full of desserts in Eco del Mare, we saw what Jo described as “dung balls”, but were actually chocolate-shell-coated-spherical somethings. Not deterred by Jo’s immature and kinda gross sense of humor, I got a bucketful, topped with whipped cream.
After heading home to the cave, I attacked them with a spoon, and realized that they taste like chocolate-covered, custard-stuffed doughnut holes. My love for a dessert was never stronger than that moment in the cave, with chocolate schmeared all over my face, and a belly full of profiteroles.
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3. Neapolitan Pizza ~ Naples, Italy
It is often said that Napoli is the a-very best pizza in the world. I don’t know about the entire world, but it sure is amazing. A thick crust, but not too doughy, and with fresh, flavor-packed ingredients. Amazing, but is it the best pizza I’ve ever had?
Prior to Journey™, the best pizza that had ever entered my belly was Oregon’s very own Double Mountain. It’s cooked at about 700°, for a short period of time with a very thin crust. So when comparing Double Mountain and Dal Presidente, or other pizza I had in Naples, I would say that it’s apples and oranges, but both are delicious!
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4. Dihovan Sausage ~ Dihovo, Macedonia
Because our time in Macedonia was spent in a tiny village, all of our meals were taken at Villa Dihovo. Our host, Pece, is very deep in the slow-food movement (he’d fit right in with Portlanders), and slow food in Macedonia means homemade sausage.
These sausages were salty, smokey and not dry in the slightest. I suppose the secret is that Pece uses both pork and beef in his sausages, and that’s what provides the diverse and fascinating flavor. Plus, using cow intestines for the skins instead of plastic is a legit improvement – the only time in this lil’ Rambler’s opinion that using organs in cooking is an improvement.
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5. Tsipouro ~ Volos, Greece
Perhaps you recall our Volos blog where I discussed “tsipouro”, which is both an alcoholic beverage and an eating style. You order an alcoholic beverage (beer, wine, or tsipouro) and based on your choice, you are brought an assortment of small plates, rather like Spanish tapas. For example, you order wine, you get meat plates. If you order tsipouro, you get seafood.
We had:
- fried anchovies with sautéed greens
- pasta salad
- cuts of grilled meat
- beets salad
- grilled shrimp
- some sort of seafood risotto served in clam shells
- fried squash slices with tzatziki to dip
- fish and chips, and much more.
Unfortunately, we have yet to discover tsipouro outside of Volos, so needless to say that I shall be returning to Volos someday. (Editor’s Note: Zev didn’t actually imbibe any of the alcohol. But, in case you were wondering, tsipouro is like grappa or ouzo, with an absinthe/licorice taste unless you order it without absinthe in which case it probably tastes like rubbing alcohol.)
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6. Gyros ~ Greece
Gyros. One of my favorite foods, and luckily Portland has many a gyros cart. Before Journey™, I enjoyed gyros, but I never knew what gyros were like in their homeland of Greece. So, when I visited Greece and stuffed my face with gyros, I was surprised to discover that…Portland gyros aren’t very different from real Greek gyros!
This may be a shock to you all, but the only real difference between American and Greek gyros is that Greek gyros never have hummus. Hummus isn’t actually Greek at all. No matter what hummus’s ethnicity is, I still like it in my gyro.
So sue me.
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7. Suppli ~ Rome, Italy
Ahhh, Suppli…The latest kulinary kraze to hit Rome is street food. And, the most popular of this new-fangled street food is suppli. Suppli is kinda hard to explain, but I’m pretty sure you just get some rice and tomato sauce and melted cheese, mold it into an oval, and deep-fry it. They taste like something that Italian-Americans should eat on Super Bowl Sunday.
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8. Gelato de Teatro ~ Rome, Italy
When we were in Roma, Signe’s mom Michele (Cedarwood friends who have spent a lot of time in Italy), sent us to a gelato place that she claims is “the best in Rome”. Well, we went, and… it was absolutely amazing!
The gelato here lacks the neon-colors of the gelato you see by the Trevi fountain, which means that the ingredients are real, and without food coloring. For instance, the pistachio is not neon-green, but a pleasant earthy color.
My tiramisu flavored gelato was supreme, with real Italian caffè. We visited several times during the course of our stay in Rome, and each time my calzinis were knocked off! Without a doubt, il miglior gelato in roma!
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Honorable mention: Vending Machine That Made Fresh Orange Juice ~ Naples, Italy
During our Neoplolitan tour of the underground, we passed a vending machine with oranges located in the top. Being curious, I popped a €2 coin in, and with much buzzing and whiring, the machine produced fresh OJ! And it was good, especially when mixed with some aqua frizzante! Why don’t we have this at home?
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Eat It 
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