Island capers: We just found what is probably the world's best delicatessen on the Greek island of Syros
You won't find this caliber of Grecian nosh anywhere else
Look, I'm happy that Tinos, a Greek island, has earned a reputation as a foodie place — I really am, and I wish the place nothing but success and plenty more ‘influencer’ blog posts claiming to discover it. But if the creeping Mykonozation of Tinos gets out of hand fear not, for I'm shipping Syros and its array of eats.
Syros is kind of like the Chicago of the Cyclades, meaning forget about the beaches (mostly) but dive into lots of other stuff. Case in point, what square foot for square foot might just be the world’s best delicatessen right now. I didn’t discover this one on my own—the information was whispered to me over a craft lemonade spritzer in a secret courtyard in Syros’s gleaming capital of Ermoupoli, which as it happens is just a ferry hop away from that presumptive gourmet’s paradise, Mykonos.
I had just had a culinary come-to-Jesus moment over a plate of semi-hard San Michali and other local Syros cheeses at Greece’s newest member of Small Luxury Hotels, the Aristide Hotel. The reason? A little revelation called caper jam. It was puzzling. Sweet. Provocative. Something that neither me nor you have ever tasted before—and if you have, then your next jar’s on me. Funnily enough there was a mere dollop of it on the cheese plate but sometimes, as they say, less is more. But out with the less, I had to have more of this unlikely ambrosia. Which led to an inquiry, which brought on that whisper, which turned into a mission and ended a short distance away down by the bustling port, at Prekas Syros Traditional Products.
And it’s the best little Greek deli you’ll ever come across. Anywhere.
Pause. Before we go any further, and to put things expeditiously in context, New Yorkers or ex-New Yorkers of a certain age will remember Manganaro’s Italian grocery on Ninth Avenue, in Hell’s Kitchen. You walked into that emporium and presto! you weren’t in any of the five boroughs anymore, you were somewhere in Italy. Now, stride into Prekas and (can I get an opa! ?) you are in Greece deep, a million miles away from Walmart, and you’ll going to love it. This one’s worth—blasphemy alert!—skipping your ferry to Mykonos for.
The place is jam-packed with locally-sourced and produced Greek products, many from the relatively obscure island of Syros itself (yes, there is an island hinterland beyond the pretty port city of Ermoupoli). The shop itself has the exotic air of one of those fragrant spice markets along the side streets of Athinas street in Athens and yes there are spices here, and salts for that matter, but also wheels of artisanal Syros cheeses, organic Greek olive oils and surprising Greek wine finds, Syros fig liqueur packaged in pretty bottles that sell fast, Syros caper jam when it’s in stock, and more. Lots more. You’re gonna need a bigger suitcase.
The owner, Kostas Prekas, is like me no great lover of supermarket shopping. In a new interview in my Greek newsletter of choice, A8inea, he declares that “supermarkets cannot ‘understand’ traditional products.” To which I would add, maybe because it’s just not in their nature—it certainly isn’t at your average Costco, which elevates averageness to the pinnacle of anodyne consumerism.
Shopping at Prekas is anything but anodyne: yes it’s small, but the passion with which Kostas has sourced and curated his inventory is apparent in the visuals and the aromas, which even from behind a mask you can get a nice whiff of. For the full take on his uncompromising approach to selecting and selling Greek products, read the full interview here (if you’re using the Chrome browser, it will automatically translate to English).
I’m guessing that Prekas, whose personal and professional gastronomic journey has included a stint as a chef in the Greek army (the Oracle of Delphi may be pointing to Netflix on that one) didn’t set out to wow or beguile. But his little Greek delicatessen does precisely that—and I’m calling it, a Christmas gift from this place will be both quickly eaten and not soon forgotten.
Whet your Greek appetite some more with a visit to Prekas’s Facebook page, here.