Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
House or barrel wine varies dramatically in quality (white is the safer bet), and is
ordered by the kilo/carafe. Few places serve wine by the glass.
Greek dessert wines include excellent muscats from Samos, Limnos and
Rhodes, Santorini's Vinsanto, Mavrodafne wine (often used in cooking) and
Monemvasia's Malmsey sweet wine.
Retsina, the resin-flavoured wine that became popular in the 1960s, retains a
largely folkloric significance with foreigners. It does go well with strongly flavoured
food (especially seafood) and some winemakers make a modern version.
Vegetarian-Friendly
While vegetarians are an oddity in Greece, they are well catered for, as vegetables feature
prominently in Greek cooking - a legacy of lean times and the Orthodox faith's fasting
traditions.
Look for popular vegetable dishes, such
fasolakia yiahni
(braised green beans),
bamies
(okra),
briam
(oven-baked vegetable casserole) and vine-leaf dolmadhes. Of the nutri-
tious wild greens,
vlita
(amaranth) are the sweetest, but other common varieties include
wild radish, dandelion, stinging nettle and sorrel.
For an online feast of Greek recipes and food and travel snippets go to
www.gourmed.com
. You'll also find a large collection of Greek recipes at
www.greek-re-
cipe.com
.
Eating with Kids
Greeks love children and tavernas are very family-friendly, You may find children's
menus in some tourist areas, but the Greek way of sharing dishes is a good way to feed
the kids. Most tavernas will accommodate variations for children.
