The Summer of My Greek Taverna: A MemoirThe story of a man in love with a place, a woman, and a dream. Tom Stone went to Greece one summer to write a novel -- and stayed twenty-two years. On Patmos, he fell in love with Danielle, a beautiful French painter. His novel completed and sold, he decided to stay a little longer. Seven idyllic years later, they left Patmos for Crete. When a Patmian friend Theológos called and offered him a summer partnership in his beach tavérna, The Beautiful Helen, Stone jumped at the chance -- much to the dismay of his wife, who cautioned him not to forget the old adage about Greeks bearing gifts. Her warning was well-founded: when back on Patmos, Stone quickly discovered that he was no longer a friend or patron but a competitor. He learned hard lessons about the Greeks' skill at bargaining and business while reluctantly coming to the realization that Theológos's offer of a partnership was indeed a Trojan horse. Featuring Stone's recipes, including his own Chicken Retsina and the ultimate moussaka, The Summer of My Greek Tavérna is as much a love story as it is the grand, humorous, and sometimes bittersweet adventures of an American pursuing his dreams in a foreign land, a modern-day innocent abroad. |
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Aliki Anna asked Athens Avgolemono bay leaf beach Beautiful Helen black pepper boil boys brown cafe caique chicken chili CHILI CON CARNE chopped Christos cinnamon Comnenus cook cucumbers customers Danielle Danielle's dark Demetra dish drachmas drinks eggplants eggs Eleni Evripides eyes farmhouse friends garlic going Greece Greek grinned hair hand heat Hora island kitchen Lili Livadi living looked lunch Magnus Matt Meatballs Melya Memis minutes morning moussaka Mykonos never night Okay olive oil onion oregano ouzo paneyiri parsley Patmians Patmos pepper potatoes refrigerator rent restaurant Rethymnon retsina rooster salt Sara sauce Savas seemed serving sitting Skala skillet smiled spaghetti stared Stelios summer tablespoons tamarisk trees taverna teaspoon tell terrace Theologos Theologos's things Thoma tiny told tomatoes tourists turned Tzatziki valley Varvara waiting walls wine Yenoupas yogurt