Greece and Greek Cuisine....Travel

FOOD IN GREECE

Greek Restaurants

Although one can find different ethnic foods in Athens, the great majority of restaurants in Greece serve only one variety of food: Greek food! To most people who consider "variety" to come from different types of cuisines this might sound rather monotonous, but Greek food comes in many shapes, forms, and varieties to keep even the most demanding traveler satisfied.
Restaurants in Greece come in many different sizes and varieties as well. There are the "touristy" restaurants that would normally serve what travelers most often desire, and there are restaurants that cater exclusively to tourists . If you visit Greece as part of a tour group, chances are that you will mostly frequent such establishments. The food quality and service in both cases is exceptional, and the restaurants themselves are very clean. You normally find them in or around the most touristy spots of Greece (like Olympia) and the tour busses automatically unload their passengers at such restaurants before or after a visit to a major archaeological site. The prices vary but as a rule they are high, although they are often included in the tour price for a substantial discount.

A little further wandering around the narrow streets of most cities will reveal the places that the locals frequent. Although there is no written rule that establishes such restaurants as better than others, a little exploration might reward the visitor with a restaurant that offers great Greek food at great prices, and in an authentic local atmosphere. An option worth checking out if you are budget conscious, or if you plan to stay in one place for a long time.There are also restaurants that cater mostly to tourists away from archaeological sites. They are located in the busiest parts of town, such as the waterfront of most coastal towns and islands. They also exhibit exceptional service, delicious food, and moderate to high prices. In fact, the closer you get to the waterfront, the higher the prices seem to climb. But there is no price too high to pay for a late dinner right next to the slithering reflections of the moon over the gentle waves.
Restaurants are most often referred to as "Tavernas" of "Fish Tavernas" (Psarotaverna) if the main focus on the menu is seafood.

What's on the Menu

Every restaurant in Greece is obligated by law to exhibit the menu with prices by the entrance. This way you can stroll down a street, and browse at all the menus and prices before you make a decision to enter a certain restaurant. Often, there is a waiter by the door that will politely (and sometimes insistently) try to entice you to enter their restaurant.
While the menus exhibit all the current prices, you might notice next to certain items the notation "current market value" instead of a price. Items such as fresh seafood are almost impossible to determine a set price for the menu. Once inside the restaurant the waiter will make sure that you are informed of all the available fresh fish varieties , and will display the fish for you to make a choice. It is wise to make sure that you are at least verbally informed of the price of the fish you choose before it is cooked. (Read more about prices in Greece.)
Most everything on a Greek taverna menu is straight forward. You may choose from a great variety of Greek delicacies like Pasticcio, Mousaka, or giuvetsi, or from a variety of pasta dishes. Greeks often ignore menu items when ordering and instead they custom order their own plates and most often order much more food than is possible to consume!

The Taverna Atmosphere

Greek dinner starts sometime around 10:00 PM and ends sometime after 1:00 or two AM!
The atmosphere of most tavernas (especially the ones the locals frequent) is most festive into the wee hours of the morning with loud conversations which relegate the greek music to a background role, children running everywhere, cigarette smoke mixed with the aromas of tasty dishes, small cats under tables in search of scraps, and much beer and wine flowing happily from glass to mouth.
It is amazing to see that on most nights, every taverna in every Greek town is packed with people! Greeks don't wait for the weekend to go out, and after a good meal they enjoy a few more hours of conversation and drinks at the table, or at a nearby cafeteria, or bar. It goes without saying that there is no closing hour established for restaurants, bars, cafeterias and night clubs. About ten years ago the government almost toppled when they tried to establish a 4:00 AM closing time for night clubs! No government has since attempted the same feat.

What to Eat when in Greece

Greek salad with every meal ("horiatiki salata" = village salad, is best)
Fresh Fish of any kind (you can ask to see the fish before it is cooked)
Kalamari= squid (fried or sautéed with onions and red wine)
Gyros (gee'ros.) As you will find out not all gyros are created equal, ask the locals for the best restaurant.
Octopus grilled on charcoal with lemon.
Spinach Pie (spanakopita)
Cheese Pie (Tyropita)
On the rural roads in Greece you will see little kiosks where the farmers sell produce and fresh fruits. My family and I get the juiciest fresh peaches and other seasonal fruit from these vendors and we eat half of it before we reach our destination. Don't miss out on the opportunity if you pass one.

The Water in Greece

The water in Greece is safe to drink out of the tap. My family often drinks the water out of the tap, but we just as often buy bottled water which comes in many sizes and is very inexpensive.

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- Tzatziki: Greek yogurt with finely chopped cucumber, garlic and olive oil. Ideal to eat with fresh Greek bread, fried potatoes or fried meatballs. - Saganaki: Fried cheese. Different sorts of cheese can be found in saganaki. Excellent with a zest of lemon. - Keftedakia: Fried meatballs of beef, garlic and bread. Excellent dish. - Spanakopitakia: Small spinach pies with crushed feta cheese. - Tiropitakia: Small cheese pies, usually made of feta or kasseri cheese. - Horta: Boiled wild greens with olive oil, salt and lemon. - Briam: Mix of roast potatoes, eggplants, onions, garlic, tomato sauce and olive oil. - Dolmadakia: Grape leaves filled with rice and onions and sometimes minced beef. - Kalamarakia: Small pieces of fried squid with lemon juice. - Htapodi: Small pieces of octopus served either fried with lemon juice or boiled, with olive oil, vinegar and oregano. - Feta cheese: The famous Greek cheese can also be eaten alone, as a meze, with olive oil and oregano.  SALADS Of course, the most famous is the Greek salad, or else Horiatiki (Village Salad), but there are also many other types of salads and dip sauces.  - Horiatiki Salata: Also know as "Greek salad", the horiatiki is a mix of fresh tomatoes, olives, cucumber, onions, green pepper, feta cheese, olive oil and oregano. - Melitzanosalata: An eggplant puree with finely chopped garlic and olive oil. It is succulent with fresh bread. - Taramosalata: Crushed fish eggs.  MAIN DISHES Greeks have a lot of excellent main dishes and meat is their favourite ingredient. - Moussaka: This famous Greek dish has a base made of potatoes topped with eggplants onions, minced beef and bechamel creme. - Pastitsio: This is another well-known Greek dish reminding of the Italian Lasagnas. It consists of spaggeti No 2 topped with minced beef, onions, tomato sauce and bechamel sauce. - Paidakia: Grilled lamb's ribs served with lemon. - Kokoretsi: This is one of the favorite dishes of Greeks. They mostly eat it during Easter. It consists of wrapped and roasted entrails of lamb, served with lemon.  SOUPS Greek soups are succulent and Greeks usually have soups in winter. - Kotossoupa: Chicken soup usually with avgolemono (sauce made with eggs and lemon). - Psarossoupa: Fish soup with parsley, potatoes and carrots. - Fassolada: White bean soup with parsley and, sometimes, tomato sauce. - Fakies: Lentil soup with tomato sauce. - Magiritsa: Easter soup made of the inside of lamb, dill and the avgolemono sauce (egg and lemon). - Patsa: Tripe soup, considered by Greeks as a very good remedy to hangovers.  HERBS & SPICES Greece is famous for its unique herbs and spices which they use in every dish to add an extra taste and delight the senses. The excellent quality of Greek spices and herbs is due to the long sunshine periods, making the Greek flora particularly rich, producing an incredible variety of the best herbs and spices in the world. Famous herbs of great quality and easy to find in Greece are the chamomile, the mountain tea, sage, basil, mint, parsley, tilio (lime leaves used as an infusion) and much more. Supreme Greek spices are the sesame (white sesame also), the cumin, the machlepi and the valuable red saffron.  WINES OF GREECE AND ALCOHOL BEVERAGES Greece is a big producer of wines and local alcohols. - Tsipouro: This really strong alcohol looks a bit like ouzo but with a stronger taste of anis. Greeks drink it with ice and sometimes add a bit of water. It is always accompanied with mezedes and good friends. In different parts of Greece, such as Crete, some islands and the northern Greece, people make their own home made Tsipouro, also called Raki (depending of the region) which is really strong. - Ouzo: This is the most famous Greek alcohol beverage, the trade mark of the country. It is a strong alcohol, drinkable straight with ice or with a bit of water. It is ideal to drink with all kinds of mezedes. The best ouzo is made in Lesvos and the most famous trades are Ouzo Plomariou and Barbayanni. - Mavrodafni: This sweet wine is made in Patras Peloponnese. It is really thick and dark (almost black) and can be compared to the Portuguese Porto. This strong wine is used for the Holy Communion in the Greek Orthodox Church. - Retsina: The famous Retsina is a Greek white wine with a particular resin taste. This taste is due to the way of production of this wine: they put the grapes in new cask which have still the wood resin on, giving to the whine that special taste. - Wines of Greece: There is a huge diversity of Greek wines: red, white and rose, sweet or dry.