I had tried this thin (Armenian)-Arabic pastry with minced meat (usually beef or lamb) and chopped vegetables for the first time in a taverna in Istanbul. This is especially loved in Lebanon, but today, it is shared by many oriental peoples. In Athens, I came across it by chance in Feyrouz.
It was in September 2015 when, on a walk in the centre of Athens for shopping, the smells stopped me in the small alley of Karori. I joined the existing queue and waited patiently.
When it was my turn, and while I was looking at the full display case of lamajoun and peinirlis , a noble young man, Andreas, asked me if it was the first time they had served me. After I answered yes, he began to guide me through their delicious world.
The descriptions were so graphic that it made me want everything, yet I remained firm on choosing the lamajoun; after all, that was what I had gone for. To this day, it is served in three versions: with ground beef, or as a vegetarian dish with seasonal vegetables on wholemeal dough, or za'atar dough, with a mixture of spices, herbs, nuts and tomatoes.
I return again and again to Feyrouz and always sit on the high bench next to the glass window to watch Andreas and his brother Savvas serving with a smile and warmth and mum Eleni Feyrouz coming up and down from the workshop with her goodies.
This small shop, full of oriental aromas, has entered my list of favourite places, as well as my heart.
Vasilis Dimaras is a columnist for Olive Magazine.
