A Detailed Salad in Gazi

EDIT: With input from my professor, classmates, and my dad I have revised the paper for submission which is below.

I have to write small vignettes for class here so I expanded upon the salad in Gazi and decided to post it and get see if I can get some feedback.

I am convinced now that tomatoes and yogurt in Greece come directly from God. The evidence of this comes from a small café in the Gazi district of Athens adjacent to the Keramikos metro station. As soon as I had made the trek from the Thissio metro station down to the Technopolis in Gazi I looked up and realized just how close to the Keramikos metro station I was. “I wish I had purchased a guide book with up-to-date metro routes,” I thought to myself. I then sat down at the Κανδαυλος café and settled in, unaware of the slice of heaven I was about to receive.

Upon ordering what I thought would be a modest salad for 5.90 € a plate the size of one of Saturn’s moons was brought out to me. A huge bed of loose lettuce was accompanied by thick chunks of tomato layered with blackened chicken and cheese and topped with Κανδαυλος sauce. The sauce was a mixture of yogurt, dill, garlic, and something else I’d probably be killed for knowing about. To quote Sarah McCormick on Greek yogurt, “it was richer than homemade ice cream and had a slight sour tang that curled my lip.” The yogurt in the sauce made the salad thick and resistant to tossing. I was simply satisfied with hunting out bits of chicken in the forest of lettuce and bringing them up for air through the dense cloud of sauce on my place. After about an hour of attempting to finish the salad there was still a normal serving of salad left on my plate. That was also about the same time that the couple next to me ordered a plate of fries smothered in chicken. My eyes became hungry for some luscious starch and I ordered a plate of fries for myself. ”Θέλω πατάτες” I said to the charming waiter as he nodded at me and winked. As soon as the fries came I quickly forgot about the salad and my lack of appetite. They were seasoned with something that made me understand why ketchup is nowhere to be found here, it just isn’t needed.

As soon as I had my fill of what the café had to offer my eyes were hungry for something new. As I looked up and around me I soaked up the beautiful sight of Gazi. The sun was just setting which put a soft calm glow on the park surrounding the metro station. Across the park from my café was another street entirely lined with cafés and people to fill them. I sat there at that café for an hour or so after I had finished eating just watching what was going on in the park. The constant movement provided plenty to watch as I sat and relaxed that evening. A gentle breeze rustled the trees as the sun went deeper and deeper into the horizon. I knew then that this was a place I wanted to come back to and share with anyone that wanted a truly amazing Greek experience.