Most eating establishments in Greece are taverns, known as "tavernas", that serve classic Greek fare. Greeks have a very long food tradition, that reaches back to antiquity and beyond, and they tend to stick to what they know and like. Given that what has come to be known as Mediterranean diet is recognized today as the answer to battling heart disease and achieving longevity, Greeks' relative culinary conservatism is not entirely a bad thing. Having said that, in the last 20 years, new tastes have been introduced to the country and, slowly but surely, Greeks have taken to new dining experiences with gusto. As an example, the number of sushi bars went from zero to more than 20 in the last 6-7 years. Nobu of New York opened a new restaurant in Mykonos in the summer of 2003. The waiting lines for a seat at the new Yo! Sushi outlet in Athens could be up to 10-15 minutes. So, things change. Still, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Mamaca's, one of the best and most successful restaurants in Athens in the last few years, in the trendy neighborhood of Gazi, offers classic Greek homemade fare, using extra fresh ingredients and back-to-basics recipes handed from Greek mothers. Mamaca's means "mommy's", after all. The hottest restaurant to arrive to the Athens scene in the winter of 2003-04, 48 The Restaurant, features creative versions of staples of the Greek diet or new uses for traditional Greek ingredients. So, the country's restaurant and food scene, for the first time in anyone's memory, is fermenting. There are signs that a new Greek cuisine is about to emerge, making a more modern and creative use of traditional ingredients and combinations, fusing clean Mediterranean tastes with the best of the international culinary experience. The traditional meal in a Greek tavern is almost always appetizers and entrees, or just a series of appetizers, washed down with beer or wine. The appetizers are called "mezedes", the plural of "meze", the Turkish word for appetizer. You can think of mezedes as the Greek equivalent of the Spanish tapas or the Italian antipasti. A necessary part of the meal is the salad; sometimes more than one. The classic Greek salad is the "horiatyki" ("country style"), or just Greek salad. It consists of tomatoes cut in eighths, cucumber, onions, green peppers, olives, feta cheese, some oregano, and olive oil. This is as healthy and Mediterranean diet-like as you can get. Many Greek and Mediterranean restaurants around the world serve "Greek salad" but don't kid yourself: that's nothing like the real thing, and not because they cut the tomatoes the wrong way, or the cucumbers are not as thick as they are in Greece.The reason has entirely to do with taste. The sun and the climate of Greece make tomatoes and every other vegetable taste better than in northern climates, where vegetables tend to be bland and hard. For example, tomatoes in Greece are sweeter. Greek olives are smaller and juicier. Feta cheese crumbles and smells like goat milk as opposed to the more sour and made-with-cow milk version of feta cheese that is usually available outside the country. Other salads that are usually on the menu and should be sampled by the traveller, not only for being light and healthy but also because they can be very tasty, are the boiled zucchini with lemon, olive oil, and oregano ("kolokythakia vrasta") and also the boiled wild greens with olive oil and lemon ("horta vrasta"). Mezedes are hot and cold. Hot mezedes in most taverns are fried or grilled, and usually served in small plates, like tapas. Typical hot mezedes include fried zucchini ("kolokythakia tyganyta"), grilled or fried country-style sausage ("choryatiko loukaniko"), french fries ("patates tyganytes"), fried eggplant ("melytzanes tyganytes"), different types of small fried Aegean fish like "marydes", "sardeles" (sardines), and "gavros", and fried or grilled crustaceans like shrimp ("garides"), squid ("kalamarakia"), and crayfish ("karavydes"). Small fried fish is good for you. In the best taverns it is fried in a combination of olive and vegetable oil that is changed often in the frying pan and is not allowed to become stale. They are a great source of protein, iodine, and almost every other significant nutrient in the book. Plus, they are delicious. Cold mezedes include the world-famous "tzatziki" (yogurt with olive oil, crushed garlic, salt, and dill) and "skordalya" (potato puree with crushed garlic). Sounds like too much garlic, doesn't it? Well, garlic is another Mediterranean diet ingredient that is good for your heart, your blood circulation, and everything else you can think of. Its smell goes away fast by munching on a sprig of parsley, plus, in any case, you shouldn't overdo it since garlic lowers blood pressure and too much of it acts like a sleeping pill. There are three main kinds of entrees in Greek taverns. Fish, meats, and cooked dishes. Fish is almost invariably grilled over an open pit, and is served with a dressing of lemon and olive oil. Most connoisseurs just squeeze lemon on the grilled fish. An excellent side dish that tends to bring out the taste in the fish and is light and delicious is a tomato cut in eighths sprinkled with oregano - no olive oil. Typical large fish that is available is "fagry", which is considered the King of Fish in Greece, "tsypoura", a smaller Mediterranean fish, "lythryni", ditto, and "lavraky", the Mediterranean version of sea bass. In most fish taverns you can go to the kitchen and pick your fish from the refrigerator. If you decide to do that, the test of freshness is clarity in the fish's eye and bright red gills. Meat is mostly grilled, either BBQ'd or on the spit, and sometimes cooked. The main meats used are lamb, pork, and baby goat, in order of frequency. Of course you can eat beef steaks and hamburgers, but the real treat here is the lamb on the spit ("psyto arny"), the kebobs, and the various grilled meats on the spit. "Kleftyko" is pieces of pork fillet grilled with spices and tomatoes, and is always a delicious treat. "Kokoretsy", a Middle Eastern delicacy not always appreciated by Westerners, is lamb livers and stomachs wrapped in lamb entrails and grilled to a crispy perfection on a spit. A few years back, in the middle of the latest mad cow disease scare in Europe, the European Commission caused a huge uproar here by recommending banning the consumption of lamb intestines and entrails throughout the EU for health reasons. Well, Greeks love their kokoretsy. You should try it. Cooked meats are usually veal, cooked in a tomato sauce ("moshary kokynysto") or a lemon sauce ("moshary lemonato"), and lamb, cooked in a tomato sauce ("arny kokynysto") or a lemon sauce ("arny lemonato"). Also, "fricasee", i.e. a leg of lamb cooked with a local variety of lettuce in an egg and lemon sauce. Finally, cooked foods, or "ladera", i.e. "in olive oil". These are traditional dishes that epitomize Mediterranean cooking, both in taste and in the healthy combination of ingredients. Most "ladera" recipes are the culinary legacy of the Greek diaspora of Asia Minor, i.e present day Turkey, and, in particular, Constantinople. The most typical of these is "moussaka"; accented on the last syllable. Moussaka is layers of round-cut, lightly-fried potatoes, eggplants, and ground beef cooked in a spicy tomato sauce, topped up with bechamel (a flour and milk sauce). Contrary to international perception, this is not Greece's national dish, and it is not a frequent feature on Greek tables anymore, mainly because it is a labor-intensive recipe that most Greek wives just don't have the time to make these days. Typical "ladera" dishes besides moussaka are "pastitsio", made from layers of pasta, ground beef, and bechamel and baked to a delight, "fassolakia", fresh string beans cooked in olive oil and tomatoes, and "gigantes", oversized lima beans in a tomato sauce or a lemon sauce. Another fairly typical dish is "giouvetsi" which is tender veal cooked in a sealed clay pot with pasta, cheese, and tomatoes, and is highly recommended. Mezedes or entrees, fish or meat, moussaka or lamb, Greek restaurant tables are certainly not boring. Food here is an integral part of the culture and a reminder of the country's history. The open pits at meat taverns are a direct link with the feasts of antiquity, when large animals were sacrificed to Apollo and Athena and then grilled over huge open pits for the enjoyment of all. The ladera dishes are a reminder of 3,000 years of Greek presence in Asia Minor and Constantinople, that ended abruptly in 1922. The use of olive oil and the enjoyment of wine are handed down by a long sea faring tradition of olive oil and wine trading that started with the Minoans and reached its apogee with Classical Athens. Even when it comes to eating, this country is heavy with history. |
