Dining in Athens

Dining in Athens

Greeks are more concerned about the quality and freshness of the food
than the appearance of the restaurant. The old travel adage, “Seek out
the place crowded with local families having a good time,” definitely
holds true in Athens. Lots of eateries look like dives but serve food fit
for the gods on Mount Olympus. The dinner hour is rather late, starting
anywhere from 9 to 11 p.m., so be sure to drop by a taverna (a Greek
cafe) in the early evening to tide you over.

A key part of the Greek diet are mezédes, appetizers served before the
meal or on their own (similar to Spain’s tapas). Greeks eat mezédes with
wine at a laid-back taverna or with ouzo (a popular anise-flavored hard
drink) at an ouzerie (a cafe where you find ouzo, wine, and mezédes).
The tastiest are tzatzíki (a yogurt, cucumber, garlic, and mint dip),
melitzanosaláta (eggplant salad), grilled kalamarákia (squid), oktapódi
(octopus), and loukánika (sausage).

Other outstanding dishes served either as mezédes or as entrees are
dolmádes (grape leaves stuffed with rice, pine nuts, and currants), souvlaki
(shish kebabs of pork or lamb), keftédes (coriander- and cuminspiced
fried meatballs), spanokópita (spinach and feta pie), moussaká
(an eggplant, potato, and minced meat casserole with a melted cheese
crust), and other dishes of arní (lamb), kotópoulo (chicken), or choirinó
(pork).

Greek giaoúrti (yogurt) is the creamiest and most delicious I’ve ever
tasted. My favorite Greek meal is apple slices dipped in thick, plain
yogurt. The ancient Greeks liked méli (honey) mixed with nectar so much they called it ambrosia, “food of the gods.” You may feel the same
way after drizzling some over your yogurt for dessert. Baklavá is flaky,
thin pastry dough called phyllo layered with nuts and soaked in honey.
S;ka Mavrodáfni is figs baked in red wine and served in a spice, orangewater,
and honey sauce.

The quality of the seafood isn’t always what you would expect it to be in
Athens; overfishing and the resulting restrictions have led to high prices
and freshness concerns. The port city of Piraeus boasts the best seafood
restaurants in the area.

Wine may have been invented by the Greeks, but you wouldn’t know it
from the turpentine-flavored retsina, which is flavored with pine resin
and has mysteriously become Greece’s most famous wine. Un-resined
krasí may be more palatable to your tastes. Although most Greeks prefer
whiskey these days, the national alcoholic beverage is ouzo, a clear,
anise-flavored liqueur that turns milky white when you add water.
For lunch on the run, gobble a gyro — a pocket of pita bread filled with
strips of roasted spiced meat — there are countless gyro joints everywhere
around town. Otherwise, you can stop by any taverna for a nourishing
round of mezédes.