| Eating
out in Greece is a national pastime and a leisurely pleasure. Whether dining
at a local taverna or an elegant restaurant, Greeks take their time over
food. The native cuisine is delightfully uncomplicated and quite different
from what's found in Greek restaurants abroad. Much of the cooking
relies on simple seasonings and fresh meat and vegetables.
Excellent
grilled
meat and chicken are served at the popular shops of the coast. Also
you will find small family run taverns and basement pastry shops offer
a delicious variety of famous Macedonian specialties: Tripe, served
in various sauces, "peinirli" (seasoned bread topped and baked with cheese,
bacon, ham, eggs etc.), seafood (try fried mussels or mussels cooked with
rice), grilled chicken and "soutzoukakia" (spicy
meat balls with garlic fried and cooked in tomato sauce).
In the city center
and the areas around Athonos Square, and Ladadika, one can
find plenty taverns, where one can taste different specialties of meats,
fish and other sea-foods.
In the old city,
one can also find plenty taverns with a fantastic view of the new
city and the sea.
The areas Nea krini
one could find plenty Fish Taverns, where one can enjoy seafood,
at the waterfront.
The sweet delicacies from
Thessaloniki are just as famous as its food specialties, to name some of
them, the “Trigona Panoramatos”
The famous “Sousamenio Koulouri
Thessaloniki’s” and the various “Bougatsa Pies”, are well known all over
Greece.
The
cost of dinner for one, not including drinks, start 7 Euro
Ouzeries
As
can be gathered from the name, ouzeries are places specializing in ouzo
and the mezedes that go with them. One need not, however, drink ouzo--or
any kind of alcoholic beverage--to enjoy the marvelous variety of foods
they offer: octopus, meatballs, shrimp, squid, taramosalata (fish roe pur?ed
with oil and bread), tzatziki (cucumber, yogurt, and garlic), melitzanosalata
(eggplant pur?e), cheeses, and potato, beet, and bean salads. Go with your
waiter to look at the offerings and point out what you want.
Recipes:
Soutzoukakia
-
2 lbs
ground beef
-
1 cup
bread crumbs
-
Cumin
-
2 cloves
garlic (pressed)
-
Salt &
pepper
-
4 ripe
tomatoes
-
A pinch
of sugar
-
Olive
oil
Preparation
Mix
the ground beef with the bread crumbs (slightly moist), garlic, cumin,
and salt & pepper. Knead into elongated meat balls (see photo) and
fry in olive oil. Drain most of the oil, saving ~1/2 a cup. Use it in a
clean pan to fry the tomatoes, peeled and grated. Add the sugar a bit of
salt & pepper and simmer for ~10 minutes. Place the meat balls in the
pan and simmer for a while longer before serving.
Also
Visit: Travelthessaloniki.com |
