Treats From Thessaloniki - Cookie Man

Last week I got back from a fun adventure to the city of Thessaloniki.  It's the second largest city in Greece, many consider it to be the cultural hub of Greece, but I would also consider it the baking capital of Greece.  It's not hard to argue that this city has some of the best food in the whole country, yet it's very surprising that more tourists don't come and visit. All this week I've decided that I'm going to highlight some of the food adventures I had on my epic adventure.  Most of the treats featured will be sweet, but not all of them.  What I can guarantee is by the time you read all of these adventures, you might consider a stop in Thessaloniki on your Greek vacation.

If you ever decide to open up a store selling sweet baked goods, you could really learn a lesson from the Cookie Man.  The Cookie Man is a bake shop in Thessaloniki that sells... you guessed it, cookies.  In a town full of spectacular bakeries, the Cookie Man has one edge over the competition, the smell.  From now on this place will set the bench mark for greatness when it comes to the smell of bakeries, both in quality and intensity.  While walking around the streets of Thessaloniki one day, Allison and I caught a whiff of cookie.  The smell became more and more intense, and after walking for more than a block we came to its source, the Cookie Man.

As soon as we got to the store we knew it was the place.  Not only because the smell in front of this store was more intense than any cookie smell I've ever experienced, but also because in the window they have their cookie baker going at full tilt.  This is the second great plan that the Cookie man has, they show exactly what is making this awesome smell right up front.  We had no choice but to go inside and buy a cookie or two.

The store was full of cookies, but before buying any, I asked if two of my cookies could be straight from the machine.  The lady told me "of course" and we then started selecting our cookies.  While the cookies straight from the machine lived up to the smell, I have to be honest and tell you that the other cookies weren't really that spectacular.  It's not that they were bad, they just didn't live up to the smell of the fresh cookies.  I guess what I'm suggesting is, if you visit the Cookie Man of Thessaloniki, make sure to get fresh cookies, and eat them up quick.

CC