All about the healthy way of life and the greek food

Given the geography and history of Greece, this style of cookery is typical of Mediterranean cuisine, with strong influences from Italy, Middle East and, to a lesser extent, from the Balkans. Important vegetables include tomato, aubergine, potato, green beans, okra, and onions.

The terrain has tended to favour the production of goats and sheep over cattle, and thus beef dishes tend to be a rarity by comparison. Fish dishes are also common, especially in coastal regions and the islands.

Olive oil, produced from the trees prominent throughout the region, adds to the distinctive taste of Greek food. Traditionally, Greek dishes are served warm rather than hot.

Meze
A rich collection of more than 10 appetizers and savouries. Speak to your waiter who will advise you on your selection.

Tzatziki
Fresh yoghurt, cucumber and garlic dip.

Tyropita
Cheese pie made with filo pastry

Taromasalata
A pink coloured dip made from fish roe.

Stifado
A stew of beef or rabbit, cooked with wine, vinegar, tomatoes, onions and spices.

Moussaka
Layers of minced meat (usually lamb), aubergines and sometimes potatoes, covered in a creamy béchamel sauce.

Souvlaki
Chunks of meat on a skewer, grilled over charcoal

Kleftedes
Spicy meatballs, sometimes in a tomato sauce.

Kalimari Squid, usually cut into rings and fried.

Greek coffee
The water boiled up with the grounds in tiny individual pots and served in tiny cups. The coffee is thick and usually sweet. Metrio / or medium is the normal degree of sweetness. Sketo means "no sugar", glyko very sweet. Tavernas seldom serve coffee, and some establishments serve only Nescafe. In the days before tourism, the proper place for a greek man to take coffee was the kafeneion, often a small and dusty little room with upright, wicker/bottomed chairs and old men reading newspapers. Women were not particularly welcome. Some traditional kafeneia still survive, even in tourist areas, but foreign women are now treated as honorary men. There are also cafeterias of a more obviously european type.

Alcoholic drinks
There are no amazingly high quality wines but some of the labelled Cretan brands are increasingly good an "loose" village wines, sold by the kilo (ena kilo is one kilo, miso is half / about the same as one litre or half litre) can be satisfactorily soothing. You can choose between red, white, rose and resin-tasting retsina (originally from Attica). Light continental beer is locally produced and widely drunk, and foreign beers are now also brewed under licence. The best known Greek aperitif is Ouzo, a colourless, aniseed-flavoured drink which turns white when water is added. Cretans drink home-made tsikoudia, also known as raki. This is a grape based distilled liquor, equivalent to French marc or Italian grappa, very strong and for some tastes much preferable to ouzo.