The Greeks & the simple chairs and tables

Enter any taverna or cafenio in Greece, and you see neatly arranged square tables with 4 chairs. Seems logical until you realize, that these chairs are not for 4 people, since nobody uses 1 chair per person. Two people sit down, and immediately pull over 2 more chairs, and get comfortable. Arms, feet and bottoms are settled in, using the extra chairs to accommodate all parts. If it is a taverna, and they start to order, we realize the waiter has dragged another table over, the first one already has cell phones, cigarettes, and worry beads as well as keys spread all over it.

By Greg Birbil, gourmed.gr

Water, bread and wine quickly, or not so quickly, are brought over. There is no way the first table could have handled all of this.

When the food arrives, starters, dips, toasted bread, salads, all sorts of stuff, the second table starts to groan. A friend stops by for a drink, 2 chairs appear, since he is not staying for a meal, 2 are enough.

I dread to think what is in store for the table when the meal arrives. Another table dragged over?

The lowly square table in Greece, 1x1 m., is probably enough for one person for coffee, water, sugar bowl, personal stuff etc. Never the less, this almost never occurs, lone eating or even drinking coffee alone, never seems to happen.

Why does a country, like Greece, produce so many uncomfortable chairs, and these miniscule tables? This remains a mystery to me. It seems an opportunity, for some Greek innovator, to develop a comfortable chair, as well as a larger table.

Perhaps there is an obscure law that prevents this. It really would be a shame if this does change though. Part of the charm of Greece is uncomfortable chairs and tiny tables. The Greeks would not be the same using one chair, and having larger tables. We would miss waiters reorganizing the interior of a restaurant, just to accommodate 3 customers.

My next question is, why coffee in Greece is so expensive?

20.06.2008