Next assignment: FOOD

Since I brought money to explain about other countries' systems of currency, and since we're going to use menus to order food with the money, I thought we should talk on the blog about what kinds of food we like and what we would like to try. One cuisine I miss a lot in Japan is Greek. There are plenty of French, Italian, Chinese, Indian and of course Japanese restaurants in Japan, but I can't think when I have ever seen a Greek restaurant. Does anyone know of a Greek restaurant in Japan? Greek food is very popular in the US, to the extent that it's a stereotype of Greek Americans that they own restaurants. There are plenty of other stereotypes, of course, but the Greek American diner has even been satirized on "Saturday Night Live." According to the New York Times:

Estimates are that there are well over 1,000 coffee shops and diners operated by Greek immigrants in the New York metropolitan area alone, and countless others up and down the East Coast.

The most stereotypical Greek dish is probably Moussaka, but the word is derived from Arabic, and in fact the dish is found all over the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Greek is really just one variety of cuisine from that part of the world, and is similar to most of the others. There are many "falafel joints" in the United States that sell the same bean cakes in pita bread. Sometimes they are Greek, sometimes Lebanese or Egyptian, sometimes Israeli, but they all have basically the same food. I remember asking the waitress in a Greek restaurant one time what the "Greek Coffee" on the menu was. She leaned over and whispered "It's Turkish Coffee, but don't tell my boss I said that." Whenever I'm back in the States or passing through Europe I try to get to a Greek restaurant. I hope you try Greek food someday. They really know how to cook lamb deliciously. Here are some pictures of Greek food from the Internet: