Can't Miss Food Athens/Islands
Jan 27th, 2009, 02:03 PM
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Can't Miss Food Athens/Islands
My husband and I LOVE food. It is usually a highlight of every vacation for us... We enjoy everything from 4 star fine dining to dubious appearing holes-in-the-wall with great food. What are your "can't miss" places? We are flying in and out of Athens April 21-30. We are happy to use restaurants to help guide what Greek Islands we visit. (price is no object, but it should be "worth" it -- eg The French Laundry and Daniel were worth it to me, and so is a $6 tongue burrito from our local taqueria)
Thanks!
Thanks!
Jan 27th, 2009, 03:29 PM
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Interesting topic. I have been trying to think of some Greek dish that really rings my bell --- and cannot. Some of the meats on a spit are nice, and some of the things in a Mezze are tasty. Cool Retsina on a hot day goes good --- but nothing else comes to mind.
Well, I take that back. We were on a sailboat in the harbor of Corfu, and wandered into the town to get some bread at the bakery. It was around lunchtime, and the smell when I walked in the door nearly floored me. Talk about Pavlovian reflex; my mouth was watering, things smelled so delicious.
The counters were covered with a number of baking pans filled with the most delectable looking baked food I had ever seen. I immediately asked to have some of this, and some of that --- only to be told it was impossible. They were all "private".
It seems that on fuel short Greek islands, some bakeries keep their ovens hot after the bread is baked in the early morning, and the neighbors bring their skillfully prepared mid-day meals for the family to the bakery, where they are communally baked in time for lunch. Each family seems to vie with the others to see how artfully they can arrange food on the baking pans so they look simply wonderful.
Unfortunately, that is as close as I ever came to anything in Greece that even bordered on a gastronomic delight.
I hope you have better luck.
Well, I take that back. We were on a sailboat in the harbor of Corfu, and wandered into the town to get some bread at the bakery. It was around lunchtime, and the smell when I walked in the door nearly floored me. Talk about Pavlovian reflex; my mouth was watering, things smelled so delicious.
The counters were covered with a number of baking pans filled with the most delectable looking baked food I had ever seen. I immediately asked to have some of this, and some of that --- only to be told it was impossible. They were all "private".
It seems that on fuel short Greek islands, some bakeries keep their ovens hot after the bread is baked in the early morning, and the neighbors bring their skillfully prepared mid-day meals for the family to the bakery, where they are communally baked in time for lunch. Each family seems to vie with the others to see how artfully they can arrange food on the baking pans so they look simply wonderful.
Unfortunately, that is as close as I ever came to anything in Greece that even bordered on a gastronomic delight.
I hope you have better luck.
Jan 27th, 2009, 04:09 PM
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I was very surprised because I don't think hotels have the best restaurants but the one on the 8th floor of the Grande Bretagne Hotel in Athens was surprisingly excellent. I only recommend this as "price is no object."
BTW, how did you get reservations at The French Laundry??????
Lulu
BTW, how did you get reservations at The French Laundry??????
Lulu
Jan 28th, 2009, 04:35 AM
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Kalimera,
Dolmades. Wherever the matriach of the family is in the kitchen, or in the back alley, making dolmades (stuffed vine leaves). Also stuffed zucchini flowers. Grilled lamb chops in the Lefka Ori.
JQ
Dolmades. Wherever the matriach of the family is in the kitchen, or in the back alley, making dolmades (stuffed vine leaves). Also stuffed zucchini flowers. Grilled lamb chops in the Lefka Ori.
JQ
Jan 28th, 2009, 04:54 AM
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Robin - we're food freaks as well and I don't think we had a bad meal in Greece. The listing of "can't misses" could go on forever. The Greeks use very little processed foods and most menus will have an asterisk by the few items which may contain some ingredients which were previously frozen.
And yes the bakeries are incredible. The Greeks don't take second place to anyone in that department (including Paris and Vienna).
Our daughter spent this past semester studying in Athens and she's fairly sophisticated when it comes to food. She took us to some very good places. I did a fairly detailed trip report last month which included places where we ate, what we ate and the costs, which included places in Athens, Santorini and Nafplio. If you'll click on my name, you should be able to find it pretty easily.
Hope this helps.
And yes the bakeries are incredible. The Greeks don't take second place to anyone in that department (including Paris and Vienna).
Our daughter spent this past semester studying in Athens and she's fairly sophisticated when it comes to food. She took us to some very good places. I did a fairly detailed trip report last month which included places where we ate, what we ate and the costs, which included places in Athens, Santorini and Nafplio. If you'll click on my name, you should be able to find it pretty easily.
Hope this helps.
Jan 28th, 2009, 10:51 AM
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When in Greece that early in the year, don't think just of going to the islands - most of the best restaurants and tavernas will still be closed. Some will open for Greek Easter, which is April 19th this year, but many will not open until May or June. You may enjoy concentrating on Athens, with a side trip to Nafplio, for example.
Some restaurateurs have two establisments - one in Athens, open throughout the winter, and another on the islands, open just in the summer.
Some restaurateurs have two establisments - one in Athens, open throughout the winter, and another on the islands, open just in the summer.
Jan 28th, 2009, 01:20 PM
#10
We enjoyed fresh grilled fish right out of the sea served with olive oil and lemon, fresh delicious Greek salads, mezes for lunch every day, calamari salad, and aromatic simmered lamb dishes. We had these dishes over and over and they always were delicious. Two special restaurants I remember were Christos in Nauossa on Paros and Katrin's in Mykonos. Otherwise, we mostly ate the dishes I described in small local tavernas, often by the sea.We count the food we ate in Greece among our favorites in Europe.
Jan 28th, 2009, 02:21 PM
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Without wanting to spoil or doubt anybody's fond memories... Greece, in general, is definitely the wrong country for foodies. Greek cuisine is a derivate of Turkish/Arab cuisine, which sounds fine of course; but it's a derivate like instant coffee is of Italian espresso.
That said, eating in Greece requires much planning to make this an enjoyable trip for foodies like you (and me). After doing the necessary research, though, I was very happy with food, far happier than I could ever imagine. Here are my six top recommendations:
1. Just sweeties, but memorable ones: the justly famous loukoumia of Syros island (loukoumia, if you don't know yet, is the same as Arab rahat, kind of a sugar jelly flavoured with various fruits, or roses, or chocolate - you usually take a cube with your Greek=Turkish coffee). On Syros, there are exclusively small manufacturers producing tiny quantities, making it difficult to find their produce outside the island. Try Denaxa, Ethnikis Antistasis 52, in Ermoupolis (Syros' capital).
2. Perhaps more tempting, a restaurant on Rhodes island, in Rhodes town: Indigo, Nea Agora 105-106. An excellent mezes restaurant (meaning that you're ordering more - small - dishes than usual to make a full meal of it, kind of a menu composed of many starters courses, and washed down with ouzo, which can be surprisingly fine in places like this, as well - and I happen to hate "standard", i.e. industrial ouzo). Indigo is good enough that it would have my recommendation even if it were in Turkey! Don't be put off by the super-touristy surroundings - this is the dubious appearing place you were referring to!
3. Athens, for the sweet tooth again: Pagotomania in the Psirri district (on the corner of Taki and Aisopou lanes, address reads Aisopou 21) has the best gelato anywhere outside Italy, and actually better than many, even famous, Italian gelaterie.
4. Very very interesting for serious foodies (and also very good, but perhaps even more interesting than that) is Archaion, www.archaion.gr - a place trying to reconstruct recipes from classical Greek antiquity. Highly unusual!
5. For the adventurous: Epeiros restaurant in the central market of Athens (no precise address, but easy to find inside the covered market that's not that big). Very cheap, very unusual soups and hotpots, many involving entrails - great fun for serious eaters.
6. My best recommendation is coming last; it's difficult to reach yet worth the effort, and truly a memorable place that will linger in your memory longer than you would have expected from Greek cuisine: O Vagios. This is another ouzadiko (i.e. a mezes & ouzo restaurant), though they are also doing main courses here, and it's a must to leave room for a main course, i.e. not to overdo the starters, delicious as they are. This is a fish restaurant, and one of the best I know anywhere in the world. Prices are enormous for Greek standards, but Greek standards are incredibly low as far as restaurant prices. This is a definitely non-touristy environment, but the cook-and-owner speaks good English, and is very helpful. His showcase is lobster, and you should really try it - he's exclusively preparing European lobster, which is a different species than the common American one, and a hundred times more delicious (and ten thousand times rarer). Be prepared for quite a journey: O Vagios is in Keratsini, a suburb of Athens' suburb Piraeus, and exactly in Platonos 89. No public transport; you need a taxi. I didn't take one from Athens center (pretty distant!) but went to Piraeus by metro and took the taxi from there. Reportedly, Mr. Vagios can also arrange a pick-up if you call him ahead at 210-4009507 (I didn't try).
That said, eating in Greece requires much planning to make this an enjoyable trip for foodies like you (and me). After doing the necessary research, though, I was very happy with food, far happier than I could ever imagine. Here are my six top recommendations:
1. Just sweeties, but memorable ones: the justly famous loukoumia of Syros island (loukoumia, if you don't know yet, is the same as Arab rahat, kind of a sugar jelly flavoured with various fruits, or roses, or chocolate - you usually take a cube with your Greek=Turkish coffee). On Syros, there are exclusively small manufacturers producing tiny quantities, making it difficult to find their produce outside the island. Try Denaxa, Ethnikis Antistasis 52, in Ermoupolis (Syros' capital).
2. Perhaps more tempting, a restaurant on Rhodes island, in Rhodes town: Indigo, Nea Agora 105-106. An excellent mezes restaurant (meaning that you're ordering more - small - dishes than usual to make a full meal of it, kind of a menu composed of many starters courses, and washed down with ouzo, which can be surprisingly fine in places like this, as well - and I happen to hate "standard", i.e. industrial ouzo). Indigo is good enough that it would have my recommendation even if it were in Turkey! Don't be put off by the super-touristy surroundings - this is the dubious appearing place you were referring to!
3. Athens, for the sweet tooth again: Pagotomania in the Psirri district (on the corner of Taki and Aisopou lanes, address reads Aisopou 21) has the best gelato anywhere outside Italy, and actually better than many, even famous, Italian gelaterie.
4. Very very interesting for serious foodies (and also very good, but perhaps even more interesting than that) is Archaion, www.archaion.gr - a place trying to reconstruct recipes from classical Greek antiquity. Highly unusual!
5. For the adventurous: Epeiros restaurant in the central market of Athens (no precise address, but easy to find inside the covered market that's not that big). Very cheap, very unusual soups and hotpots, many involving entrails - great fun for serious eaters.
6. My best recommendation is coming last; it's difficult to reach yet worth the effort, and truly a memorable place that will linger in your memory longer than you would have expected from Greek cuisine: O Vagios. This is another ouzadiko (i.e. a mezes & ouzo restaurant), though they are also doing main courses here, and it's a must to leave room for a main course, i.e. not to overdo the starters, delicious as they are. This is a fish restaurant, and one of the best I know anywhere in the world. Prices are enormous for Greek standards, but Greek standards are incredibly low as far as restaurant prices. This is a definitely non-touristy environment, but the cook-and-owner speaks good English, and is very helpful. His showcase is lobster, and you should really try it - he's exclusively preparing European lobster, which is a different species than the common American one, and a hundred times more delicious (and ten thousand times rarer). Be prepared for quite a journey: O Vagios is in Keratsini, a suburb of Athens' suburb Piraeus, and exactly in Platonos 89. No public transport; you need a taxi. I didn't take one from Athens center (pretty distant!) but went to Piraeus by metro and took the taxi from there. Reportedly, Mr. Vagios can also arrange a pick-up if you call him ahead at 210-4009507 (I didn't try).
Jan 28th, 2009, 02:24 PM
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Sorry, I misspelled the Archaion website - writing it as it's spoken, while they are really transliterating it as written in Greek: www.arxaion.gr
Jan 28th, 2009, 03:10 PM
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Thank, thank you all!
We appreciate all of the recommendations.
Franco, thank you for all of the specific information. If you do not live near SF, and are in the area, I can try and pass along some of our favorites. Epeiros restaurant sounds like a can't miss!
I was not aware how late April is still "early" thanks for the heads up.
Lulu, the French Laundry: 2 months to the day that you wish to go, gather every phone (home, cell, sig other cell, etc), and start dialing on all of them as soon as the reservation window opens. When we last got reservations, this worked great, after about 5 minutes we got through: table for 2 on a Saturday night, yet sadly I was preggers, and became so morning sick we had to cancel.
We appreciate all of the recommendations.
Franco, thank you for all of the specific information. If you do not live near SF, and are in the area, I can try and pass along some of our favorites. Epeiros restaurant sounds like a can't miss!
I was not aware how late April is still "early" thanks for the heads up.
Lulu, the French Laundry: 2 months to the day that you wish to go, gather every phone (home, cell, sig other cell, etc), and start dialing on all of them as soon as the reservation window opens. When we last got reservations, this worked great, after about 5 minutes we got through: table for 2 on a Saturday night, yet sadly I was preggers, and became so morning sick we had to cancel.
Jan 29th, 2009, 04:21 AM
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Sorry, I have another minor correction to make - my Greek is non-existent, and I tend to make mistakes... starters are "mezedes", not "mezes".
Robin, thank you for your kind SF offer, I'll certainly make use of it when heading to your area. At the moment, though, no Californian dreams unfortunately!
Robin, thank you for your kind SF offer, I'll certainly make use of it when heading to your area. At the moment, though, no Californian dreams unfortunately!
