Eating and Drinking in Greece

This is an ongoing entry about my experiences with food and drink in Greece, including the many things I have been happily surprised by and the handful I have been disappointed with. And, while I like Greek food, I know that the handful of things I am familiar with represent just a small part of what the country has to offer and am endeavoring to try as many other things as possible. Tavernas are the Greek counterparts to German gasthauses and French cafes and are the ideal places to get great food at affordable prices. Bakeries and grocery stores are also good places to purchase local delicacies, to reduce the number of meals you end up eating out, and to allow you to do some picnicking. 

* How much to tip is often not clear but apparently 10% is appropriate in Greece and at the high end of what people tend to give (although less does seem to be the norm in some areas, such as Crete). 

* Think twice about tavernas and other establishments that cater to a specific non-Greek ethnic or linguistic group if you are not part of it! Places that specialize in the needs of German customers, for example, are so enamored with serving what they clearly consider to be a superior people that they are notoriously indifferent to the needs of other patrons. This phenomena is almost certainly what caused us to have negative experiences at Arkhado Restaurant in Rethymno, Crete, on Day 6 of our journey and at Naoussa Restaurant in Fira, Santorini. 

* Supermarkets or open-air markets in villages, towns, and cities can be great places to pick up olives, cheese, produce, bread, wine, beer, and other items to eat wherever you are staying or in some idyllic spot you are visiting. 

* Check out bakeries for local delicacies of various sorts, especially for breakfast items or meals on the go. "Ask for kaltsounia," my friend Dimitri Kremmydas told me. "And see if they have local pies. Koulouri with sousami is also great with some cheese in the morning. Pies, especially with greens are big in Crete."

* It is traditional for tavernas to provide complimentary desert at the end of a meal, almost always watermelon and/or other fruit, but sometimes ice cream or yogurt, and about half the time raki, a local distilled liquor. The most sumptuous bonus spread of this sort I have thus far had was at Zisi's in Rethymno, Crete, and appears below; it included a flask with three shots of raki, yogurt with candied pumpkin, honeydew melon, and watermelon. 

* If you are planning on eating gyros, look at the meat on the rotating spit to see how full it is! If it is slim then you may get smaller, drier pieces of meat then is optimum. 

* Get a male waiter if you can! Yes, I know, what a terrible and sexist thing thing for me to say. Professional table service is more traditionally performed by men in Greece, however, and young female waitresses are much more likely to be dull-witted younger daughters who are at loose ends for the summer and being put to work at their family's establishments.