Cuisine of Evvoia Island for gourmets. Places for dinner - best restaurants

The Greek cuisine is world-famous for being diverse, filling, and healthy. Vegetables, meat, and fish are equally important here. In almost every dish, the Greeks traditionally add olive oil, which is probably one of the country’s symbols. Unlike in other Mediterranean cuisines, the chefs in Greece use a lot of herbs and spices. Oregano, mint, bay leaf, thyme, clove, saffron – all of these you will find in most Greek dishes. However, the spices do not cover up the flavor of the ingredients but complement it.

The travelers can be advised to get acquainted with the traditions of Evvoia cuisine not in the cafes or restaurants, but in taverns. A tavern for a Greek is not just a place to eat. The regulars come here to discuss news with the owner and talk to each other, have a pleasant evening in a nice company with some local music. That is why in taverns they use the traditional recipes as the previous generations on the island did. In those places, they only serve traditional Greek dishes.

The diversity of the culinary traditions of the island will allow you to try something new every day. Don’t miss an opportunity to try moussaka, which is a puff pastry from eggplants, mincemeat, and potato with béchamel sauce. They also use this sauce for pasta with mincemeat, calling this dish pastizio. You should definitely try tzatziki, yoghurt sauce with cucumber and garlic. Try a real Greek salad from Feta cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes and olives. The taste of this dish will differ from the one you have tried at home. Try melidzano, a very tasty dish from baked eggplants, and kolokifobureko – a zucchini pie. By the way, the word “speciality” in the menu means the dishes from Ancient Greece and the ones, borrowed from Asia Minor. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Do you like fish? Then you should go to psarotaverna, the places, which are specialized in fish courses. They are usually located close to the sea, as they prepare only the freshest haul. Try garides saganaki – shrimps backed in tomato sauce. However, even if you don’t like shrimps, you will find a dish to your taste in psarotaverna. They prepare hundreds of sea animals in various ways – boiled, fried, streamed, and backed. And not just fish, but octopuses, clams, and oysters as well. A gourmet will like taramosalata, an appetizer, which main component is cod roe paste.

On Evvoia they do not only cook well fish, but meat as well. Definitely try kouneli stifado, a backed rabbit. They also have pork chops, called brizola, and cutlets grilled on charcoal – bifteki, and chicken called kotopoulo, and lamb chops called paidakia. Do you want to have a quick bite? Then go to souvlatzidiko, aka a kebab-house. Here they will offer you a kebab – souvlaki, covered in Greek tortilla – pita. This is the local fast food. If you want to try good appetizers, go to ouzeri, which can be considered a pub. Here they will offer you ouzo – anise vodka, and traditional appetizers – mezedes.

Certainly try different types of local cheese. Goat, cow, and sheep’s milk cheese – they all have a unique taste and consistency, and you won’t find them anywhere else in the world, as Greece almost doesn’t export its products, keeping it for internal consumption. For a dessert, you can have local yoghurts with honey and nuts, which are usually served as a separate dish. On Evvoia you will also find many flour pastries, the most famous of which is baklava and lukumades.

Among beverages the Greeks prefer coffee, which they make in different ways, and freshes. Unfortunately, those, who prefer tea, will have to look for it only at the drug store, as the Greeks drink it for treating a cold. If you want an alcohol drink, try raki, traditional vodka with quite a bitter taste. Also pay attention to the Greek wines, which variety on the island is just amazing. Retsina, Assyrtiko, Muscat, Robola, Savatiano, Moschofilero, Agiorgitiko, Mandilaria – all of them are worth trying. If you had too much to drink, the next morning a special patsas soup will help you. This is not a touristic dish, and it is cooked in special places called patsatzidiko, which work 24-hours a day.