This is the fifth of a ten part series on dining on the Greek island of Samos. I have now been there three times for stays of a month or more. I have painted on each stay. Here is a link to the last ten paintings I did in 2014. This time has also has given me a chance to sample many of the great restaurants on the island. The first three posts look at the smaller mountain villages and seaside towns. The larger towns will now be covered in individual posts. I started with Mytilini, the largest of the mountain towns. It is where we stayed.
This post covers Karlovasi, the second largest town on the island. It has a working harbor and nice old section up on a hill over the new town. It is located on the northwest side of the island. The School of Sciences of University of the Aegean is located in the town. It was a flourishing tannery and tobacco manufacturing center in the early 1900s. Many magnificent neoclassical mansions can be seen from that period as well as the remains of the large stone-built factories at the "Ormos" seaside.
Dionisos is an excellent restaurant in the middle of the new town at Plateia 8is Maiou, Below you can see some of their offerings. They include: fava bean spread, sautéed field greens, grilled cheese, cheese pies, goat in tomato sauce with fries, and chilled cherries for desert.
We also went to a fish market where you can order fish cooked to pick up in the afternoon. You see some of the selected and the two grilled fish we enjoyed for lunch.
There is a great restaurant just outside Karlovasi in a small hill town. It is called the aristocrat in Greek. Below you can see some of their offerings. They include a salad with lemon mustard dressing, pastry with honey, stuffed onions with tomato sauce and cheese, pork stew with fries, mousakka, and pork with green beans in a lemon mustard sauce.