Greek Food and Wine Guide
Greek Appetizers (mezedes) or Starters (orektika) and Salads (salates)
How to Order Greek Food
Dealing with the Greek waiter you wont need to know Greek in order to order food in a restaurant. Often, depending on the type of restaurant available to you, In a magerio for example, a lot of the dishes are prepared a bit earlier in anticipation of clientele and held warm. You may indicate your choice by pointing directly at it. When you are hungry this is the fastest way to get food. Often mageria will also have, fish on ice, or meat in a refrigerated case, which will be cooked for you 'to order' or ths ores. In which case you'll have to wait for it to be cooked. These types of restaurants are sometimes also known as tavernas.
Menus are often printed in Greek on one side of the page and English one the other, or ask for an English only translation menu. Hipper places catering to foreigners will have them.
Mezedes are a type of appetizers and can often be ordered in conjunction with the famous Greek aperitifs Ouzo, which is made from grape stems and flavored with aniseed or tsipouro which is double distilled as above. In Crete you'll be more likely to be drinking Raki which is similar to Tsipouro.
Types of eateries that specialize in this type of light fare are called Mezedopoulia, ouzopolea and tsipoudadika respectively. Snacking in one is a often a prelude to eating a bigger dinner somewhere else later, say at a taverna. These are potent drinks so do eat while drinking!
A meze, served on small plates may be anything available ranging from pieces of tomato, cheese, fish, octopus, eel or olives or a mixture. You'll come across Mezedopoulia on islands and in mainland villages where some sort of 'in season' local delicacy will hopefully be on offer. In Lesvos (right) its wonderful sardines. In Santorini its small tomatoes. In Aegina its pistachio nuts. Mezedes vary with the locality and season of the year.
The one 'must have' Greek meze experience you absolutely have to have is grilled octopus or octopodi ths skaras and its best eaten outside by the sea to enjoy it fully. Calamarakia or fried squid rings are a close second but you can get those all over the world frozen. I far prefer grilled octopus, when I can get it, to stewed octopus, which is far easier to find, as it can come out of a can. Some restaurants may have both mezedes and full dinner dishes. Most wont. You'll need a taverna or magerio for more sustaining fare!
OREKTIKA are appetizers which you will come across again and again in tavernas, with some slight variation, all over Greece. In Greek, OREXI means 'appetite'. Orexi may also be used in general conversation as in: I am not in the mood, or I have no appetite for: Den eho orixi or as a toast Kali Orexi; "I wish you good appetite".
Some other Greek dining phrases you may want to impress your friends with include:
- Den Pee-naou: I am not hungry
- Pee-naou: I am hungry
- Diep-Sao: I am thirsty
- Stin ee yia sas: to your health as a toast
- Pame na faa-me: lets go eat
DIFFERENT TYPES OF GREEK SALADS
Horiatiki Salata
~ Village Salad
There are a variety of different salads available depending on the season. Romaine is the most common type of lettuce with Bib or Boston lettuce and Roka only available at supermarkets or farmers markets. Nouvelle cuisine restaurants will have salads with more exotic and expensive ingredients such as these. Nutritionally void iceberg lettuce is unknown in Greece in contrast to the United States where you cant get a Greek salad without it. Green and red cabbage is also a very healthy and popular alternative to lettuce salads and quite common. Salads may be ordered without either as in the popular Village Salad pictured left. The mainstay salad of Greece is the Village salad or "Hor-ia-ti-kee Sa-la-ta" and comprised of Feta, tomatoes, cucumber, green peppers, olives, oregano, some times capers (ca-pa-ri).
Oil and Vinegar Dressing ~ no French, Blue Cheese or Vinaigrette
Generally your Horiatiki Salata will not already be dressed for you with oil and vinegar.You can dress it yourself (left). Oft times, lemon/ "Le-mo-Ni" is used instead of vinegar and goes particularly well with a shredded cabbage (La-ha-No) salad!
There are no other kinds of salad dressings in a typical traditional taverna. Olive oil is the best vegetable oil for you anyway so go for it. It is fattening however. Not to put too fin a point on it but if you know how you can order all types of salads provided the ingredients are available. A mixed salad is called "A-na-meek-Ti" with lettuce, carrots and cabbage (no tomato/no feta).
If its in season, you can order lettuce with any type of salad (Ma-rou-lee),
pic left, bottom center, or one could order a plain lettuce salad. "Salata
Maroulee" or any available combination.
In the picture left, see the village salad with lettuce and feta cheese? This salad will be served to you along with any appetizers you may order and stay on the table until finished. Also pictured left, the pink dish in the photo is called "Ta-ra-mo Salata" and is fish roe made into a slightly salty dip to be eaten with bread. Usually mullet roe or salmon combined with oil, potatoes or bread to make a puree. These vary by chef and the color varies with the roe used. Its easy enough to make yourself at home too! You can add olive oil to it at the table also. I use to think this was a dish produced from the roe of local fish but have discovered that the roe is imported from Norway. Some folks love "tarama" and you have to at least try it once! You can buy it in the U.S.A. too, it usually comes as a paste in a tube and isn't as good as the real thing.
That white sauce next to it is called Tzatiki and is one of my favorites but not good on a date because it has tons of garlic in it usually, but that can vary. Tzatiki, as you can tell from the name, is Turkish in origin and consists of strained yogurt and grated de-seeded cucumber. I have made Tzatziki in the US but had to strain the yogurt to get half of the water out, then you de-seed the cucumber and chop it. Throw in as much chopped or pressed garlic as you like and there you go. Let it sit over night and its better, serve room temperature.
Since Greece produces a lot of yogurt as part of the Mediterranean diet they offer several varieties for sale and the yogurt you'd make Tzatziki with has most of the water pressed out of it. It also hasn't been processed to extremes to sit on your shelf 3 months before going bad. You'll really notice a difference. Put some on your bread next time you go to a taverna.
Since we are talking about food, plain Yogurt can simply be purchased in grocery stores sfrageesto (pressed) or unpressed and with fruit in it and eaten plain with a spoon or with honey. Pressed yogurt has the consistency of sour cream and tastes just like it too, without all the calories. I use it in Fettuccini Alfredo white sauce pasta type dishes all the time at home.
Tzatziki also goes well with fried melitzanes (eggplant) or fried squash Kolo-kee-thakia. This ubiquitous white sauce also compliments assorted Kro-keftedes and often invokes a smile at restaurants as they are referred to as Balls on most Greek menus. These 'balls' may have tomato or squash fillings and parsley seasoning, are always floured and served golden brown. Order a plate or two!
Greek Appetizers or Starters
Bon-vivant's may fill up on appetizers alone, for a light lunch. Large groups of friends will invariably order a whole slew of orektika and side dishes from which to share by spooning from plates or onto the small individual plates
(pia-tak-ia) you often have to ask for and sometime never arrive.
There are many orektika to choose from and some restaurants will have the waiter bring a tray over to the table for you too choose from.
The dish below right is called "Horta"
and is an appetizer with a direct translation of "Greens". "Horto"
on the other hand is "weed" as in marijuana and its important not
to confuse the two.
It looks like spinach and will definitely satisfy your green leafy vegetable requirements (squeeze some lemon juice on it). Horta is a good choice when you are not too sure what to order because it won't upset anyone's stomach and will help your digestion. As an added plus, it also tastes good.
Left, we have Okra or "Bam-yess" which is another one of my favorites usually done in a tomato sauce. Right
is baked eggplant or "Meli-tzan-ess"
These are two examples of the type of Greek food called "La-ther-ra". "Lathie" is the Greek word for oil, the term describes the cooking technique of using oil. Nine times out of ten it will be Olive Oil, "Elle-e-O-Ladho".
Left is a really delicious fried head cheese kef-a-lo-tireeappetizer called saga-nakee and right a similar dish, baked feta or feta tis four-no.
Saghanakee can be made with various cheeses including feta and be baked or fried. In a Koutoukaki type restaurant its often it is served in a clay pot. Koutoukakia are a take off on a traditional taverna but were the chef lets their imagination run free and usually to the good. In a strange town, the koutokakia are the places to try and track down if you want a bit more variety. Kalamata has some great ones as does Athens and Hania, Crete!
Far right is a boiled octopus dish that can be quite good but It's even better grilled. The seafood dish near left
was one I never had tried before and I was very pleasantly surprised by it.
It's called Gavro-Xydato.
I just bought a book on Greek fish and Gavro isn't in it. Who cares...it tastes
great. What's nice about it is that its raw and been marinating in the fridge
for 3 days in vinegar ( xydie ). It's
a welcome change from fried fish and greece answer to sushi.
Far left , the remains of a side of feta
and olive oil. There are quite a few other appetizers I like too but don't have pictures of. Near left are Fried Balls
or "Crokiro Keftedes" as mentioned above; a puree of zucchini or eggplant battered and then deep fried to a delicious
golden brown.