May
1
Eating out
Filed Under eating out | Comments Off
Greek menus tend to offer various English spellings of their dishes, but you will get an idea of what to order from the following.
STARTERS – ΟΡΕΚΤΙΚΑ
Taramosalata – Taραμοσαλάτα A fish roe dip made with garlic, onion, breadcrumbs, oil and lemon juice.
Tzatziki - Τζατζίκι A wonderful garlic dip, traditionally made with yoghurt and cucumber.
Melitzanosalata - Μελιτζανοσαλάτα An aubergine dip made with garlic, onions, lemon juice, fresh herbs and sometimes, mayonnaise.
Feta - Φέτα Delicious milky cheese.
Dolmades - Ντολμάδες Stuffed vine leaves often served with egg and lemon sauce.
Tiropitta - Τυρόπιτα Cheese pie made with filo pastry.
Spanakopitta - Σπανακόπιτα Spinach and feta cheese pie made with filo pastry .
Saganaki - Σαγανάκι Deep fried cheese served with a wedge of lemon.
Scorthalia - Σκορδαλιά Another garlic dip made with mashed potato, served cold as an accompaniment to fish or as a salad.
Gigantes - Γίγαντες Butter beans cooked in seasoned tomato, onion and garlic sauce.
MAIN COURSE - MEAT
Mousaka - Μουσακάς Layers of aubergine and minced meat, topped with bechamel sauce.
Papoutsakia - Παπουτσάκια Baked aubergines filled with mince, topped with cheese.
Keftethes - Κεφτέδες Deep fried meatballs flavoured with garlic and herbs.
Stifatho - Στιφάδο Meat stew flavoured with red wine, garlic, bay
leaves, onions and tomato.
Kotopoulo - Κοτόπουλο Chicken can be served in a number of ways, ask the
waiter or see the menu for details.
Loukaniko - Λουκάνικο Spicy sausages.
Katsiki - Κατσίκι Roast kid, specially served at Easter.
Yemista - Γεμιστά Stuffed vegetables, mostly tomatoes or peppers and
occasionally courgettes. Sometimes the filling
includes mince but not always, so if you are a
vegetarian check before you order.
VEGETARIAN FOOD
For those of you that do not eat meat you are lucky that a wide range of vegetables are available in Greece but these are mostly dependent on the season. Salads are also widely available, as are dishes involving beans like fasolakia or gigantes. You may like to order a selection of starters as your main course as this is totally acceptable in Greece, in fact it is the Greek way!
Generally in Greece but mostly in the villages the idea of vegetarianism is still somewhat foreign and you will often be encouraged to eat something that has “just a little bit of meat” in it! Persevere and explain that eating meat is like going against your religion it will work eventually.
FISH - ΨΑΡΙ
Garithes - Γαρίδες Prawns, usually king size and cooked in garlic.
Astakos - Αστακός Lobster.
Kalamarakia - Καλαμαράκια Baby squid, deep-fried in batter.
Barbounia - Μπαρμπούνια Red Mullet, pan fried or grilled, served with oil and
lemon.
Chtapothi - Χταπόδι Octopus, boiled and served with oil and vinegar or
grilled.
Ksifias - Ξιφίας Swordfish - meaty, dense and filling.
Kakavia - Κακαβιά Greek fish soup.
Atherina - Αθερίνα Whitebait.
Marithes - Μαρίδες A larger, sardine size, whitebait. Very nice.
Kollios - Κολιός Mackerel, usually grilled.
SALADS - ΣΑΛΑΤΕΣ
There is a wide variety of salads served at the eating establishments in Greece. These are perfect for a light lunch, or as an accompaniment to your main meal.
Choriatiki - Χωριάτικη Greek salad, fresh tomatoes, onions, cucumber, olives and feta cheese. Usually doused in olive oil and sprinkled with herbs.
Lachano - Λάχανο Freshly grated cabbage, which needs a generous dose
of olive oil and lemon. Sometimes served sprinkled
with grated carrot.
Fasolakia - Φασολάκια String beans in a tomato and herb sauce.
Tuna salad - Τονοσαλάτα Served either as a dip with mayonnaise or as a full
size salad with the tuna resting on a bed of lettuce,
onions and cucumber and topped with mayonnaise.
Chef’s salad - Σαλάτα του Σεφ Carrot, cabbage, lettuce, onions, cucumber, cheese
and ham, topped with garlic mayonnaise.
Chorta - Χόρτα Boiled greens similar to spinach. Served with oil and
lemon.
DESSERTS - ΓΛΥΚΟ
The tavernas in Greece do not, as a rule, serve desserts or coffee. Fruit is more usual and often more refreshing. A visit to one of the cafes or to a zacharoplasteion may be necessary if you would like to indulge and where you might like to try one of these:
Baclava - Μπακλαβάς Filo pastry with chopped walnuts and cinnamon, topped with honey syrup.
Kadaifi - Κανταίφι Something resembling shredded wheat filled with
almonds and cinnamon and topped with honey.
Galactoboureko - Γαλατομπούρεκο Milk custard pie enclosed in filo pastry and topped with honey syrup.
Chalva - Χαλβάς A very traditional sweet made with wheat, olive
oil and almonds.
Ice Cream - Παγωτό Available in many, many varieties and often made
with full cream.
Tira Misu - Τιραμισού Allowing for the influx of Italian tourists and the
strong Italian influence in the country it is not
surprising that this is widely available.
Yoghurt - Γιαούρτι Very frequently you will be offered yoghurt as a
dessert usually topped with honey and walnuts.
Occasionally the waiter will not tell you about all the different sweets on offer and they may not be on the menu either, so it’s a good idea to ask in case they have something nice stashed away!
DRINKS -ΠΟΤΑ
Ordering drinks could not be easier - most of them are the same as at home. Maybe if your feeling adventurous you could try one of the following.
Metaxa - Μεταξά 3, 5 and 7 star, the famous Greek brandy is wonderful
after a meal.
Ouzo - Ούζο Made from grape skins, stems and pips and tasting of
aniseed. Can be drunk neat or with anything else you
choose to mix it with. Rumour has it that if you were
drunk on ouzo the night before and drink a glass of
water the next day the process starts all over again.
Retsina - Ρετσίνα Wine matured in pine barrels allowing the resin to seep into the wine that gives it its particular flavour. A great accompaniment to a light lunch.
Local Wine - Κρασί Χύμα Served by the kilo or half kilo in whatever containers
are available. The taste varies tremendously and local
wines can be red, white or rose.
Beer - Μπύρα For Beer think lager! Imported lagers are widely
available; for a Greek lager try Mythos.
Greek Coffee - Ελληνικός Καφές Strong and thick, an acquired taste but worth trying
at least once. Drink it with the same amount of sugar
you would your normal coffee. Sketo - no sugar, Metrio - one sugar, and Glyko - two sugars.
Nescafe Frappe - Καφές Φραπέ Ice cold instant frothy coffee served as you like it.
The best hangover cure yet invented!
This area of Greece (especially Volos) is famous for an anise based alcohol drink called tsipouro. Tsipouro is a bit stronger and clearer than ouzo, mainly due to the distilling process that is followed for its production. Skopelos (and the Sporades generally) are also serving this local drink in places named “ouzeri” or “tsipouradika” that serve this local drink or ouzo with the accompaniment of “meze” (small plates with snacks, something equivalent to the Spanish tapas). One such ouzeri is situated on the paralia (waterfront) near to Thalpos Agency and a cafι bar called ‘Anemos’; usually just older men are sitting out and around this shop. However as the summer starts up properly both men and women will be enjoying an ouzo or tsipouro and mezedes snack.
Skopelos is mostly famous for its cheese pies, prunes and plums; but you will find some specialities to individual tavernas.
Any vegetarians reading these pages could try “Μπριάμι” (Briami), a vegetable stew cooked in tomato sauce and olive oil with courgettes, peppers, aubergines, potatoes and onions; or simply order some plates from the starters section of the menu only. Such as Μελιζτανα τιυανιτες (Fried Aubergine) with τσατσικι (tsatsiki) on the side, some τιροσαλατα (cheese salad - a sort of spiced paste type consistency) Πεπεριες (fried peppers, sometimes stuffed with cheese), some Ελιες (olives) and a χοριατικι (Greek salad ), or the ποτατοσαλατα, (Greek style potato salad) is very tastey!
This area (specifically Volos and that area of the mainland) is well known for its sweets or deserts, such as the famous “μπακλαβά”, “κανταίφι” and “γαλακτομπούρεκο” (baklava, kantaifi and galaktobureko respectively). Most of the above dishes contain filo pastry, nuts, almonds and honey. Moreover, they are extremely tasty and sweet. One should not forget the absolute desert that everyone should try at least once when visiting this area of Greece. Its name is “καρυδόπιτα” (karidopita, walnut cake) and it tastes even better when its accompanied with “παγωτό βανίλια” (pagoto vanilia, vanilla ice cream). This is a definite must! You can find this on Skopelos waterfront, in one of the cafes with nice comfy seating under the trees - a lovely way to while away the hours of a morning or afternoon!
Greek wines are not very famous in Western Europe, but if you get to try them while you are in Greece you will realise that they are quite flavourful and of quite good quality. Skopelos is no longer known for its wine produce as it was in ancient times when the Minoans were cultivating good vine crops. However, it does stock other types of wine one of these is a wine that is local to the Volos area, “Saranti” is the name of the winery and it produces a very pleasant wine. Other wines, which have been sampled by many visitors to Greece, are the vintage Boutari; Naoussa, Makedonikon and Kretikos. Aegean Islands is also a nice wine, as are the Tsanstali wineries’ products.
As mentioned earlier, most of the restaurants and tavernas are situated on the waterfront of Skopelos town or on the way into town. A few are scattered up the road that circles the town known as the ‘ring road’ and some are dotted around on roads out towards Stafilos Beach and in Agnondas itself. Beach areas usually have one or two tavernas nearby too. Most restaurants open around 1pm and remain open until very late. It is best to bear in mind that they rarely serve food before 2pm and they reach their busiest time around 3pm for lunch and 10pmor 11pm for dinner. If you want to avoid the crowds the best time for lunch is around 2pm and around 9pm for dinner.