Have you tried any of these Greek dishes? What are some of your favorites? If you enjoy this video you may enjoy: Trying Greek Snacks & Candy: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xg58Ru3QLSY.html Our First Time on Crete, Greece!: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-znvXdiBxy7Q.html Greek Restaurant in Germany!: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MprDHHcKG5c.html
i've tried virtually every Greek dish there is! gawd i love octopus! & dolmades & moussaka & spanokopita & gyro & saganaki (did you try saganaki?) & so much more!!! although never been Greece, have had many authentic experiences, even extended time w/Greek restaurant families in NYC/Va Bch) some musician friends of mine, a couple, own a small tavern on a Greek island, where they play music every night... thumbs up of course, as always, #373, this vid is fun
@@DeanaandPhil some restaurants that they don't they are considered to be low quality restaurants actually from greek people because of the hospitality which in those places is very low (there are no much of those thankfully - i am greek btw😁 much love from Greece)
Having travelled to over 20 countries, I have found nice food in most. The thing is normally a small percentage of meals are great. In Greece pretty much EVERYTHING is great. Ridiculous. 😊
" In Greece pretty much EVERYTHING is great !" After about 5,000 years of history, we have perfected the culinary art ! If we could do the same in some other domains like finance ... we could be in better shape!
Italian and Greek cuisine are so similar that it's impossible to say one is better than the other, also in Italy we eat octopus and snails but, apparently nobody knows 😁
Certain Greek islands were at some stage in history part of the Venetian empire, and Kerkyra (Corfu) in the Adriatic Sea for example retain a strong Italian connection. Hence, to witness this beautiful fusion, next time you visit Corfu, try finding a traditional restaurant that makes a dish called 'Pastitsada'. And also try the 'Sofrito'. There are many others and if you speak to the locals they would be more than happy to guide you as they are immensely proud of their island and culture (and so they should be). They make an amazing pistacchio gelato, too, but these days you can find a decent gelato pretty much everywhere. What you won't find everywhere is those beautiful welcoming Greek islands.
btw the Mediterranean diet is basically the Cretan diet and was the base for everybody even italians, spanish etc. So yeah, Greeks eat like this for 2500 years or more.
As a Greek, I'm so sorry you had to discover it the hard way. Even though, the combination with MILKO(cholocate milk) instead of coffee has much more destructive results :P
My first holiday was Corfu in 1986. People were so friendly. The food was just stunning. I didn't like tomatoes but a tomato salad became a firm favourite. Corfu pizzas!!! Just so tasty. A few years later went to Skiathos. Found a little side street café where no language barrier existed, just gestures and amazing hospitality. We were the only tourists in the cafe, and the locals made us feel so very welcome. Such good memories.
Greek food is highly under rated I love their fish dishes flavored simply but delicious! Grilled Branzini with olive oil and lemon drizzled on it. Lamb Chops, grilled meats, calamari, everything! Just simply dipping warm pita in tzatziki is heavenly!
Greek cuisine while being INDEED underrated has a tight fighting spot for the number 1 and 2 best cuisines in the world on the World Taste Atlas 2022 out of the world's 50 best cuisines. Leaving any other country from number 3 downwards with a much lower score. So despite Greek cuisine is underrated it's in the top 2 best cuisines in the world. But it is for me number 1 for sure as it blows Italian cuisine out of the water when we talk about flavors and depth of flavors. I have been many times to both countries. No. Italian cuisine still has 1 advantage over the Greek one. And that is that Italian cuisine has had MUCH more coverage than the Greek one. But the Greek one is completely dominating by mouth to mouth advertisement from the many millions of travelers going to Greece. Also the same World taste Atlas 2022 ranked the worlds 50 best cheeses. Greece dominated with 13 cheeses, Italy with 11 and France with 6. While Italian and French cuisine are at their max in terms of advertisement (It literally cannot get more than all the tv coverage, commercials, magazines, etc, etc), Greek cuisine despite dominating the list of cuisines, Greek cuisine still has a lot of room to grow. Most people don't know even 1% of the Greek cuisine
@@Ptolemy336VV While i agree that Greek cuisine is amongst the best in the world. That site puts USA cuisine on spot 8, above French, Indonesian, Korean, Thai and Chinese cuisines.. Sorry but that site can absolutely not be taken seriously :D
My Mother visited Greece about 45 yrs ago, from USA. She brought back a bunch of baklava since she fell in love with it. Maybe because of it being an exotic memory, but I have never found one as good as those! They were so crispy despite being drenched in honey and pistachios!
Greek food is one of my top five cuisines. I'm actually making a Greek dish tonight for dinner. My husband loves moussaka. I would say it's sister to the Sheppards pie.
We often go to the Greek for dinner. You can eat what you want there. You never get disappointed. I think in Greece itself it is certainly even better and, above all, even more diverse :-) I love greek
Thanks so much for your kind words! 🤗💜 Yeah we find it interesting to learn about different cultures, food and history. Definitely a lot of deep history as well.
The greek plate which is similar to lasagne is 'PASTITSIO' which is penne pasta, beef and pork mixed mince and tomato sauce. On the top, it has béchamel cream which is the same on mousaka! I born in the big Greek island of Evoia
@@Lapaggel Pasta no.2, also known as bucatini (not spaghetti). Also, in my family we've always used minced beef for meat sauces, so it's up to one's preference.
@@kindnessasgreatasthesea1158 of course! But here in Greece we dont call them bucatini, if you are greek you will know that all of them are macaroni for us 🤣
My favourite Greek food is Tzigerosarmas, which comes from Macedonia, in northern Greece. My lovely aunt bakes them every time I visit Thessaloniki. It's kind of like haggis like they have in Scotland. For breakfast, I love the Bougatsa!
I don't think you can go wrong with any food from the Mediterranian. Italian, Spanish, French, Greek, North African you name it. There are all kinds of gems. Mousaka is one of my favourites as well. Unfortunately I don't get it too often, because it is rarer than, let's say Gyros. But I always get it, when my favourite Greek Imbiss has it on the menue. Also: I first had it on the island of Crete, an impossibly beautiful place of earth!
@@user-nq5fh3bt1w this is true dont be a fanatic we take somethings from you (my favorite street food kokoreç have greek origin for example) and you take somethings from us how can on earth yogurt,gyros(doner) and baklava can be orginally greek,are you really believe that?
@@poseidonl3249 interestingly, they are both. Moussaka is of course a Turkish word, and it is a delicious aubergine with tomato sauce dish in Turkey. However, the Greek-style moussaka is a recipe developed by the legendary Sifniot (from the island of Sifnos) chef Tselementes back in the 1920s. Tselementes had studies gastronomy in Paris and introduced French ideas and recipes into traditional Greek food. So, practically, he took the existing moussaka dish and transformed it into a French-styled, layered dish with bechamel sauce on top. He is also the creator of "pastitsio", the famous Greek lasagne-style dish. Having said all that, I think it is fair to say that all countries in the Eastern Mediterranean share a common culinary culture which goes way back in the past, long before modern states such Turkey and Greece were founded. So there is nothing "Greek" or "Turkish" about these dishes, and these arguments, commonly found on RU-vid and Facebook, are completely baseless.
The best thing about this video is that you guys actually tried traditional Greek food and didn't try to find the items closest to the food you're used to!
I lived in Greece back in 1974 to 1980. I never seen french fries. The snails my grandma made, were tomato based sauce. Much better than the ones you had. I miss Greece. My favorite was called Stifado, it was a meat stew. And Spanakopita, spinach pie.
Only in Athens they call gyros souvlaki and souvlaki kalamaki and kalamaki pourfan and they don`t include french fries! in the rest of Greece they calle it Pita Gyros and it includes french fries In North Greece also include ketchup and mustard and Tzatziki is added as an extra! Malakes Athinaioi
The raki ain't so bad. I was in a restaurant owned by a Turkish Bulgarian one new years and we drank enough to sink the navy, that night. Sadly he is gone now, it was a long time ago.
@@frantz48_ It is their dialect.There lots of dialects in Greece and even if we cannot speak like them we totally understand them.My favourite is the Cretian i wish i could speak like this 🥰🥰.Also in Crete are the best and most hospitable people in Greece along with Macedonia(i am from Thessaloniki).We love them 🥰🥰
Greek food is one of my favorite types of food, I love gyros or döner, spanakopita, baklava, and the stuffed grape leaves. These videos made me want to visit Greece so much!
Yes we do that every time here and they don't charge the dessert, but some may don't, so if you get to Greece don't be surprised if they don't give you.
My husband LOVE Mizithra, found a recipe for Kalitsounia, will be making soon. And Dolmades with Greek Yogurt? I never knew! I love both but never combined. I usually have Greek Yogurt with honey and granola or berries. Hoping to get to Greece soon, as we love Gyros, Spanikopita, Bakalava.... With love from Southern California!
This is a different kind of yogurt called Tzatziki and is used as an appetizer not desert. It is comprised of yogurt mixed with mashed cucumbers and garlic cloves. It can also have finely chopped anise. It is very good if you like garlic, but not recommended for social meetings or first dates lol. The Tzatziki served in most restaurants however, is usually very light on the garlic part.
Actually the side with the dolmas dish was greek yogurt. In Crete they serve dolmas like that. Tzatziki is not a different kind of yogurt, is greek yogurt with grated cucumber, garlic (optional carrot), dill and salt,olive oil and vinegar. You can find also greek yogurt instead of tzatziki in pita gyros (most often in Crete again!)
Greeks are renowned for their philoxenia (hospitality). As for the complementary dessert, it is customary throughout Greece with most restaurants. Also, if you go to a bar and order alcohol, you usually get complementary some snacks, like olives, cucumbers, peanuts, etc. Things are not perfect, but every country has their own unwritten customs that are nice to see.
Greeks are renowned for their hospitality only if you're a tourist and you got money to spend. They're also renowned for their abuse of locals and immigrants that have to work for a shitty pay in their shitty tourist business.
The term eggplant comes originally from the white Aubergines which were very "en vogue" in the US and Australia in the 18th century and when they were small and not fully grown they literally looked like eggs...that´s were the name has its origin. We in Austria call Aubergines like the Italians "Melanzani" by the way. And Moussaka is my favourite Greek food all time...and Gyros is my second choice. By the way "Gyros" means in turkish "Döner" = both means "rotate" refering to the rotating spit over the grill..and "Gyros" is "the original" of both ...whole Anatolia/Turkey was greek for over 1000 years before the Turks took over and they didn´t just take over the land but also the cuisine for the most part with a bit adaptation of course..that´s also the reason why "Raki" is common in both areas as well.
Thanks for the comment, people often forget that the Ottoman Empire was established by nomadic Turks from central Asia which, as a nomadic people didn't have their own culture so they combined arabic, persian and greek elements to every aspect of their culture. This mixture of cultural elements was already happening through the Byzantine era, this is why many Turkish dishes resemble Greek and other Middle East and Mediterranean cultures. Mpaklava and in general syrupy treats, meat on a spit and other similar foods were firstly reported in ancient greek texts, paintings and other findings. The grape liquoers and distillates like raki, tsipouro, tsikoudia, grapa and ouzo can be found in most Mediterranean countries, even in Italy, each having their own variations.
@Star Collider Nah its more an Australian thing, if you watch any sports with an Aussie in it you will hear that chant. Its always a good time for an ouzo!
As a Greek living in Greece, I can tell you that you can find amazing food almost everywhere... just go to the places that you see mostly Greek people eating...avoid the tourist traps at any cost. They 're there just to take your money. I know it's the oldest trick, but it still works in my country 😉
I love Greek Food so tasty..Where I live there is a place called Athens Pizza and the specialty of the house is Ladopsomo a type of Salad with pita and greek cheese oh so good. You can never go wrong with greek food.
Greek food and Mediterranean cuisine are very much based on freshness for flavor. If you've noticed it rarely has very heavy spices/herbs. The flavor of the dish heavily relies on the quality and freshness of the meat/fish/vegetables. Greeks in general heavily look down on eating out of season, grown in greenhouses vegetables, because they're not nearly as flavorlful as when they are in season. As a greek person who loves eating fish and lives in the US currently, I SUFFER lol.
Im from Greece and i am so happy that you came in my country to try foods that i am eating my hole life . I really hope you had a great time and you gonna visit us again 😀
Moussaka is layers of seasoned ground beef, eggplant, and potatoes. The thick top layer is a bechamel. If you want a lasagna type dish you need to have pastitsio. It has a bottom layer of pasta topped with seasoned beef and again topped with bechamel. Both are baked to set. We usually make a large tray on special occasions. Dolmathes are my favorite and can be with meat or meatless. Some places also cook them in tomato sauce. Octopus is so delicious but needs to be tenderized well to not be so chewy. I'm half Greek and half Puerto Rican and love the cuisine from both.
Greek person here, nice to see you liked our food! For me, moussaka is a favorite, as are many of our plant-based dishes, like briam (basically an oven-baked ratatouille), imam (baked eggplants with minced tomatoes, onions and spices), horta, lentil soup, bean soup, fava bean puree, dolmas and stuffed tomatoes/bellpeppers. BTW we also make dolmas with cabbage, filled with rice and minced meat, typically topped with egglemon sauce, these are also great but typically harder to find in restaurants (and they're more of a winter dish). As for street foods you can't go wrong with pies (your safest bet is usually some version of a tyropita, and especially in northern greece you gotta go for the bougatsa, both sweet and savory) and, obviously, gyros (when in doubt about the quality of meat chicken gyros is a safer bet, and if you don't feel like having tzatziki you can just substitute it with some other sauce).
Next time you will visit Greece it is worth it to include Thessaloniki and try Bugatsa one pie with sweet cream inside and powder sugar and kanela at the top
Raki has many variations (Tsipouro ,Grappa etc.) try also the version without anise. Northern Greece tends to have bigger portions in foods like gyros and also bougatsa.
There is a yearly Greek Festival near where I live. I love Spanakopita and always have some Loukoumades and the best thing ever ...Baklava sundaes! If Phil wants Greek lasagna he needs to try Pastitsio. Also can I mention the fact that Phil is shoveling honey on his Loukoumades while saying he doesn't like honey. lol Now the pastry chef side of me will tell you that the light flaky pastries you love are all made with filo dough. They are sheets of paper thin dough that you lay down and coat with mellted butter and repeat until you get the lovely crunchy, flaky layers. Not sure if it's readily available in Germany but you can buy a box in the frozen isle here in the US to make your own spanakopita or baklava. That is a video I would love to see, Deana and Phil make Greek pastries! Almost forgot. I had snails once but it was at a French restaurant so they were prepared differently but I have never been able to come up with an accurate description of that texture. I was definitely not a fan of them.
In Greece especially during summer the restaurants serve ice cream. Also a traditional "dessert" is mellon and watermellon. Oh and its all free for you to have a sweet after taste or as we say in Greece για να γλυκαθείς!
That was awesome! For the snails, a little tip, you might want to remove their tail, that little thing that's sticking out, that's where the "poo" is, so we remove them, but its impossible for the cooker to remove it since he will have to ruin the shell, so its up to the consumer to remove that part him/her self! Also the shell should be licked for the consumer to taste that extra flavors... Its very important to also lick the shell before taking the snail out!
I love snails but I never considered to remove the poopshack. I have read on some recipies that prior to cooking you have to put the snails on hay so they can defecate (?) , and then cook them. But I am not sure if this really works or not !
There is one dish you didn't try and it is the Greek equivalent to lasagna, called Pastitsio. The difference is that it is made with macaroni. It's a square piece at the bottom you get macaroni then it's topped with mince and right on the top the same thick white sauce as you tasted on the moussaka. That's one of my favourite dishes. Greetings from Greece 🇬🇷
Yes everywhere you go in Greece they will give you a free desert or fruit as an appreciation for going to their restaurant taverna etc... Actually the Pastitsio it's closer to lasagna then mousaka since it has pasta with meat sauce and beshamel sauce. I love that you ended the video with another gyro(πιτογυρο)👌👌👌 Its my favorite Greek food 🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷💙💙💙
deanna is the luckiest woman on earth to get a trip to crete for her birthday! that food looked wonderful, especially the moussaka. btw if you haven't been to turkey yet, you should go - since phil loves döner and deanna loves eggplant/aubergine, you'll absolutely love the food there.
Oh wow! I'm drooling here guys! I love Greek food, alas my hubby does not. Never been to Greece, but lots of restaurants run by Greeks in Canada and the states. My favourites are dolmades, spanikopita, moussaka, lamb souvlaki. Those desserts looked amaze balls!
Believe me, if you get Greek food in Greece it will be a thousand times better. Because a big part of Greek cousine is the freshness of the ingredients, which I'd easy to get here
You must eat halva from Farsala, galaktompoureko, trigona from Panorama, karydopita, samali, revani, amygdalota, karioka, ekmek kataifi, glyko koutaliou nerantzi, diples, melomakarona, mpaklava with almonds, kourampiedes. Delicious sweets.
I just "died" a little ;-) Last time i was in Greece (Kreta) was in 1998 (i think). I miss all these little dishes like Dolmades etc. Even the original Raki ( near to Grappa) , not the "Anis-Thing".
We have had to cancel our trip to Athens Twice due to the pandemic ! So glad you all hit a chance to go! I can’t wait to go! Thanks for sharing this experience!!
Dolma/Dolmades are also called Sarma(another turkish word literally meaning wrapped) and both are typical in both Greece & Turkey and also the rest of the Balkans(both vine leaf and cabbage filled with a mixture of minced meat & rice)
in ancient times, in all the Mediterranean shores such as the ones of france and italy, Greeks had established major trading colonies way before the venetians. before ottomans too. Yes, nowadays we may have some buildings in Greece from Venetians and some from Ottomans, which are relatively new, but take a look at all the major ancient attractions of turkey. They all describe Greek ancient cities. Also in Italy there are regions where they speak Greek even today. Research for Grico, Griko, Greco-Bovese Or Greco-Calabro. So the influence goes way more back than you think.
Moussaka also has a layer of minced beef inside (hence the reference to lazania). Ps. Most traditional Greek dishes are supposed to be eaten at room temperature or from the fridge due to the heat (in the summer) but winter cuisine is very different
I use to live on the west coast of Florida, just down from Tarpon Springs. I got the taste for Greek food down there and now I make it at home as there are no Greek restaurants here in Casper Wyoming. I really miss the great gyro's I use to get at this one place in Clearwater, where all the yummy Greek guys spoke only Greek, except the guy taking the orders and money.
Nothing to do with it really. Shepherd's pie is covered with mashed potatoes moussaka has creamy custard made of butter flour milk eggs and cheese called bechamel sauce. And aubergines. The only common thing is the minced meat in the middle!
Oh, lucky you! You ate really well in Crete. I live in Greece and I am still droolling thinking about this delicious food. Moussakas is not one of my favorites though as it is kind of heavy for the stomach. Dolmadakia, spanakopita and gyros are the 👌 best! Another dish that is essential is beans Gigantes made in oven.
Omg, we went to Greece too! Omg, I’m so jealous! The foods look amazing and I love your vlog style. I’ll definitely stay tuned, keep up the great work. I just uploaded a food tour on my channel too!
So jealous here. Been to Greece twice, the people- top notch. Bring up food….I start salivating. Love you channel, keep exploring new foods! Cheers from Texas.😋
You have to try pita gyros in Northern Greece, especially in Thessaloniki. It's bigger, it's tastier and it's not full of French fries. It has some inside but it's most about the meat
Thank you guys for this wonderful video! Next time, please try, little fried fish, feta, horta( antives etc) and a good retsina wine! These all come together! 🤗🤗
As for the octopus, boiled one with vinegar sauce is so much better in my opinion. Always ask if the fish/octopus/squid dishes you see in the menu are made of fresh ones or frozen. It should be written in the menu if they are fresh or not and the waiter is obliged to tell, because even though frozen are tasty enough, the fresh ones are way tastier but also more expensive. Yes, the free dessert is common to every place in Greece and even if you are not obliged, you can tip the waiter if he/she is nice.
