Greek Food
Greek cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine. Contemporary Greek cookery makes wide use of vegetables, olive oil, grains, fish, wine, and meat. Other important ingredients include olives, pasta, cheese, lemon juice, herbs, bread and yoghurt. The most commonly used grain is wheat; barley is also used. Common dessert ingredients include nuts, honey, fruits, and filo pastries. It is strongly influenced by Ottoman cuisine and thus, especially cuisine of Anatolian Greeks shares foods such as baklava, tzatziki, gyro, moussaka, dolmades, and keftethes with the neighboring countries. To an even greater extent it is influenced by Italian cuisine and cuisines from other neighboring south European countries.
Local specialties in Ithaka are the freshfish and seafood.
Other wonderful dishes to sample are Moussaka, Kalamari, Greek salads plus all the usual amazing tastes. Taramasalata, tzatziki and the grilled meats which no one does better than the Greeks.
Wine & Drinks
A famous Greek drink is ouzo, this is served in small bottles and is normally drunk with water, together with Meze, Another popular drink is retsina, which is a resonated wine and which is not to everyone’s taste. Most bars serve a brand of retsina known as Kourtaki, which is the most popular brand, though connoisseurs prefer Liokari or Melamatina.
Another well know Greek drink is Metaxa brandy, it comes in 3* 5* and 7*, the 3* is obviously the cheapest and tastes as such. It’s commonly thought that the 5* in best.
There are also lots of excellent Greek vineyards, Papaioannou, Lazaride and Gerovassiliou.
Which are more expensive wines but well worth it and there is always the option of homemade wine served by the kilo for a cheaper alternative.
However on a hot day much better to stick with a bottle of water which can be bought from kiosks, mini markets or shops and is thirst quenching and cheap.
A good alternative on a hot day is a fresh juice, fruit picked from the tree there and then !