Last week we took a short trip to Greece, or the closest thing to it in New York City. Contemporary Greek restaurant Nerai hosted a special luncheon along with Global Alive founder Evangeline Plakas and Greek National Tourism North American Director Grigoria Kamaterou, to showcase their passion for the beautiful country that is Greece. Throughout the afternoon, guests were treated to visuals of the country, as well as a full wine pairing lunch.
We started with an amuse bouche of tzatziki and tarama followed by grilled haloumi cheese with fresh figs over a shaved fennel salad with toasted hazelnuts and a balsamic glaze. Nothing beats haloumi, so we were happily chowing down right from the start. Next, we had grilled octopus with caramelized onions, followed by seafood orzo with mussels, octopus, shrimp and calamari. For the main course, we enjoyed lamb chops served alongside honey-glazed carrots and oregano juice. We finished off the luncheon with a tasty bread pudding with almonds, cinnamon, chestnut gelato and praline cream. All of the wine pairings really brought out the flavors of each dish and if you’re looking for a superb wine pairing I would highly suggest arranging one at Nerai.
The afternoon wrapped up by raffling off 5-night trips to Santorini or Myknonos to three of the attendees thanks to Aegan Promo Kostas Skagias. (Guess who won?!) It was a fabulous afternoon that gave us such a great taste of Greece that we can’t wait to travel there and see what else is in store for us.
