My favorite food

            Coming to Greece, I had never tried Greek food before. Yes, I had had hummus and all types of seafood, but I had never tried a gyro, a traditional Greek salad, or many other of the traditional Greek foods. Honestly, I wasn’t exactly sure what Greek food besides the food I just listed. Luckily, there were many other students here that were in the same boat as me. And luckily again, I have found all of the food to be extremely delicious.

            I tend to eat most of my meals out. I have a kitchen in my apartment and there is a grocery down the street, but the restaurants are typically inexpensive and so convenient. Obviously, there are many more options at restaurants too. In my neighborhood, I can get traditional Greek food, classic American comfort food, Italian, sushi, and all sorts of other food. Since there are so many restaurants in my area, there is always somewhere new to try. However, my friends and I tend to stick to the same restaurants that we like so much.

            It is very difficult to pick a favorite food from Greece. My favorite traditional Greek dish is probably the sesame honey feta. Sesame honey feta is a rectangular chunk of feta cheese that is covered in filo pastry before it is oven baked. It is then coated in honey and sesame so there is a thick, crispy, sweet layer surrounding the entire piece of cheese. It sits in an excess honey and it lightly coated in sesame seeds.

Whenever it is served at a restaurant, all of my friends and I go silent as we make the first cut into the cheese. If you listen, there is a crunch as the honey covered filo dough breaks. The louder the crunch, the better prepared the dish is. Then as we eat it, we typically dip in the remaining honey laying on the plate. I did not like honey at all back in America, but the honey in Greece tastes so fresh and sweet that it seems impossible not to like.

It is eaten as an appetizer in traditional Greek restaurants and is so delicious. I first tried it at a Loyola sponsored trip to the island Aegina. We sat at two long tables that were placed on the sand. It was a very beautiful atmosphere since it was dark but lit with torches and we could hear the waves crashing up on the shore next to us. When it came out, we had no idea what it was but were extremely eager to find out. The moment we began trying it, every single person let out an exclamation about how delicious it was. Not a single plate had a crumb of leftovers from the honey feta.

Since then, my friends and I have tried it at a few local restaurants. I haven’t found one that is as good, but we have found a restaurant that makes one almost as good. Since then, we have gone back a few times to have it again. The other food there is also delicious, such as their souvlaki and Greek salads. Also, they always give us free dessert at the end of the meal, which is a fun plus.

My parents visited this past week. Last Thursday, they came up to Agia Paraskevi from Athens to see my neighborhood. I was in class until 8:30, so they found a restaurant for drinks and an appetizer. They were recommended to get the honey feta, but apparently the waiter called it by its traditional Greek name and did not explain what it was. They still decided to get it and according to my mom, when my dad saw what it was his entire face lit up. Side note: he loves cheese. So, the happily finished the appetizer and drink and then came to meet me.

The three of us then went to get dinner. But, my dad wanted another appetizer and ordered the honey feta again! Once again, he thought it was mouthwateringly amazing. Early the next morning, the three of us flew to Crete for the weekend. My dad shamelessly ordered at least one fried honey feta appetizer for every lunch and dinner. Then, they spent the week in Santorini where I am sure much more was consumed. I saw them the next Saturday night since they were leaving out of Athens the next day. Lo and behold, we ordered the feta again. However, this one was with sunflower seeds instead of sesame seeds and honestly, I think this surpassed the first one I had ever had.

            I am glad that I enjoy Greek food, since I had no idea what the food would be like. I assumed it was be all seafood, olives, and gyros, and while this would still be good, I am happily surprised by what I found. Not just the fried sesame honey and gyros, but other traditional dishes like souvlaki, moussaka, and even the way the make their coffee. I like that I have also been able to try “weird” food like octopus, anchovies, and rooster. Ultimately, I find the food here in Greece great and plentiful. To put things in perspective, a girl in my Greek class shouted out in class to the teacher the first week here wondering, “Why aren’t Greek people fat since you all eat so much delicious good?” The teacher just laughed and said exercise is a big part of the culture. Her rather hilarious question emphasizes my point that the food is delicious and the portions are always more than enough.