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C8034 M0 Y20EUROPE K0 Europe 35

The Best Places to Eat Dolmades

Aristotelous moderate

THESSALONIKI This classic ouzeri is a throwback to another era. C0 M40 Y70 K0 Middle East & Africa Situated in a plant-fi lled arcade decorated with THESSALONIKI GREECE chequerboard tiles and retro posters of Greece, it off ers calm respite from the hustle of . Writers and artists, lawyers and lovers squeeze around the marble-topped Dolmades in Thessaloniki tables while genteel waiters ply them with a parade of little dishes. You must, of , try C40 M60 Y20 K0 Asia & Australisia the dolmades. But it’s also a good place to dip As a rule, Greek is for purists and traditionalists, but Thessaloniki, the capital of , into the vast repertoire of dishes – red peppers stuff ed with spicy , prawns sautéed is an exhilarating exception to the rule. Bridging East and West, Greece’s second city has adapted Above The streets of Thessaloniki are lined with high-quality restaurants and tempting ouzeri with and , squid oozing to its cosmopolitan population over the centuries to develop a fusion of Middle Eastern and Balkan and lightly battered courgettes. With live Left Thessaloniki, also known as Salonica, sits Greek music most evenings, the experience is as . Its signature dishes – such as dolmades (stuffed vine leaves) – are full of surprises. around a spacious harbour built by the Romans C60 M10 Y50 K0 North America much about the atmosphere as the food. Tourists have discovered its charms, so you Lying on the ancient trade route linking encompasses most of modern-day Turkey). Convivial often have to queue for a table and prices are a the Adriatic with Istanbul, consist of a succession of small dishes designed little steep. Yet the appeal of this former Turkish coff eehouse, which miraculously survived the Thessaloniki has long been a to be shared, usually accompanied by a glass of or great fi re that ravaged Thessaloniki in 1917, is confl uence of cultures. Echoes of , spirits distilled from the vine. leaves are C30 M90 Y50 K0 South America as enduring as ever. its former occupants crop up all also used to make one of the city’s most popular meze Aristotelous 8, Thessaloniki; open 10am–2am over the city, in Roman ruins, Ottoman baths, dish, dolmades, whose name reveals its origin: is Mon–Sat, 11am–6pm Sun; +30 2310 233195 crumbling synagogues and Byzantine chapels. The the Turkish word for “stuff ed”. These glossy little city’s eclectic cuisine also bears the hallmarks of all parcels are also known as yaprakia, from the Turkish Also in Thessaloniki its past residents. But the most pervasive fl avours are yaprak, or leaf. The cooks of Thessaloniki have access to Aglaia’s (inexpensive; +30 2310 those left by the , whose rule of tender vine leaves from the fertile mountains of 280044) is a tiny restaurant with a menu Macedonia extended to 1913, almost a century after Macedonia, the source of northern Greece’s robust red straight out of Asia Minor, situated in the heart the rest of Greece was liberated. . The leaves are picked in late spring, blanched of the fl ower market. Dishes of the day depend on what Aglaia fi nds in nearby Modiano market, Centuries of Ottoman occupation are most obvious and preserved in brine, then rolled by hand. but if you’re lucky the day’s menu will include today in the ramshackle Turkish quarter of Kastra, Eating a dolma is like opening a gift – you never her legendary sarmadakia, smothered in which is a 19th-century time warp. Minarets poke out quite know what’s inside until the fi rst bite. Tightly . The sophisticated bistro B among apartment blocks, and former hammams wrapped into dainty bundles, they might be fi lled with (moderate; www.brestaurant.gr) is also (Turkish baths) are now cultural centres, cinemas, or minced lamb, currants and pine nuts, spiced with known as Vyzantino, after its location in the fl ower stalls. Even the city’s most prominent landmark, , or , speckled with mint, or Byzantine Museum. It serves tasty dolmades the White Tower (which isn’t white at all) was built by , or bursting at the seams with , with minted yoghurt, and you can enjoy a the Ottomans as a fortress, before becoming a and . Yalantzi (Turkish for “fake”) are meatless tour of the museum’s frescoes, mosaics and icons as a marvellous digestif. notorious prison. The tower is an evocative monument dolma; sarmadakia uses pickled cabbage leaves to the city’s diversity, and has a fascinating virtual tour stuff ed with minced lamb and smothered in Also in Greece of its culinary history on the top fl oor. avgolemono, a tangy egg and sauce that is Above Dolmades are cigar-shaped, stuff ed vine The far-fl ung isle of in the is Thessaloniki’s thriving meze culture owes much almost as tricky to perfect as mayonnaise. The leaves bursting with fl avour; a subtle scent of renowned for its tiny dolmades (or dourmaes, lemon tantalizes the tastebuds to the infl uence of Asia Minor (the area that now variations are endless, and delicious. as they are called in the local dialect). The best place to try them is Emborios (inexpensive; The Modiano Market www.emborios.com), a lively, family-run , which serves moreish mezedes A Day in Thessaloniki Essentials The glass-domed Modiano, built in 1922, is accompanied by fantastically fresh fi sh and Layers of history intersect in Thessaloniki, Greece’s most alluring city. With its high GETTING THERE Thessaloniki’s best and biggest food improvised singalongs to a and lute. density of museums, waterfront bars, restaurants and hip hotels, Thessaloniki also Fly to Macedonia International Airport, then market. It’s a celebration of the city’s culinary diversity: stalls are heaped with has a vibrant modern identity. take Bus 78 into town. Trains from Thessaloniki Around the World Station run to cities throughout Europe. glistening , sticky pastries, delicate MORNING Visit the Archaeological Museum: a thrilling modernist building with an rosebuds, pickled peppers, fragrant mounds Melbourne, Australia, has the largest Greek WHERE TO STAY extraordinary collection of artifacts. Then wander along the boardwalk to the of saff ron and briny buckets of vine leaves. community outside Greece, so it’s not surprising The Met (inexpensive) is a glossy newcomer Photography and Cinema museums, formerly shipping warehouses. Head to There are several places to sample mezedes that it has several excellent Greek restaurants. with destination Asian restaurant, spa and Art 02 in the Teloglion Foundation of Art, a museum in a hilltop park with a great café. inside the market, which echoes day and Philhellene (moderate; www.philhellene.com. rooftop pool. www.themethotel.gr night with the banter of bargain hunters and au) is like eating at home with the garrulous AFTERNOON Get lost in the twisting alleys of Ano Poli, the old Turkish Quarter Excelsior (moderate) is a restored 1920s bon viveurs. Gypsy minstrels weave among ringed by Byzantine walls. Old-time ouzeri (meze bars) with overgrown courtyards are property with a fun bistro. www.excelsiorhotel.gr Rerakis family, whose and cumin dolmades tightly packed tables, where punters tuck Daios (expensive) off ers modern minimalism are wrapped in silverbeet leaves grown in their tucked among the timber-framed houses. Meals here are often accompanied by into tiny plates of grilled sardines or smoky on the waterfront. www.daioshotels.com own garden. Don’t miss their wonderful stuff ed spontaneous renditions of rembetika – the Greek blues. aubergine puree. The beauty of these shared courgette fl owers, only featured when in season. EVENING The party gets started around midnight; follow the crowds outside the bars TOURIST INFORMATION feasts is their spontaneity – and the fact 136 ; www.saloniki.org on Valaoritou Street and around the splendid Malakopi arcade. that they can go on indefi nitely. C8062 M0 Y20EUROPE K0 Europe GREECE 63

The Best Places to Eat Fava

Selene expensive A mentor to many of Greece’s fi nest chefs, C0 M40 Y70 K0 Middle East & Africa SANTORINI Selene’s Yiorgos Hatziyannakis was one of the SANTORINI GREECE fi rst restaurateurs to put indigenous dishes such as fava on the menu. But there’s nothing rustic about his refi ned reinterpretation of classic Greek dishes. Since opening Selene in 1986, Golden Fava on Santorini he has created more than 20 variations of fava: mashed with the crystallized sap of the C40 M60 Y20 K0 Asia & Australisia tree and served with smoked mackerel and A magnet for honeymooners, Santorini has more five-star hotels and fancy restaurants than any fl akes; fava fritters stuff ed with tomato other Greek island. Yet its signature dish, fava, is a humble staple food. This golden purée and confi t; fava with grilled sea bass; and even fava ice cream garnished with owes its rich, nutty flavour to Santorini’s volcanic terrain. An eruption blew out the heart of the caper leaves as an intriguing amuse bouche. island 3,500 years ago, and this natural disaster proved an unexpected blessing for fava farmers. Other local ingredients are showcased to C60 M10 Y50 K0 North America equally startling eff ect in dishes such as white aubergine with octopus carpaccio and Above Selene restaurant in Pyrgos is world- mille feuille with cherry tomato marmalade. Its red cliff s frosted with whitewashed Primarily a Lenten food, fava is eaten year round on renowned for its authentic and hamlets and fringed with black sand Santorini and always served warm. Simmered gently imaginative use of local ingredients. An informal bar below the restaurant serves less experimental but equally sophisticated beaches, Santorini has a savage beauty. until it dissolves into a smooth paste, fava remains a Left The whitewashed church of Agios Gerasimos Greek cuisine at half the price. The restaurant The volcanic eruption that created the popular foil for seafood – it forms a pillowy bed for in Firostefani (“The Crown of Thira”) is dramatically C30 M90 Y50 K0 South America perched on the cliff s of the volcanic caldera. also holds cookery classes once a week. fl ooded caldera, or basin, in 1500 BC octopus stewed in sweet wine, salty sardines or Pyrgos Village, Santorini; open 7pm–midnight, also buried the island’s biggest crunchy calamari rings. Amazingly versatile, it might daily, mid-Apr–mid-Oct; www.selene.gr settlement at Akrotiri. This Bronze Age city was be topped with raw onions, doused in lemon, or discovered barely 30 years ago, buried beneath 10 m fl ecked with dill. Fava pandremeni (“married fava”) is a Also in Santorini (33 ft) of ash. Recreations of the stunning frescoes lyrical euphemism for leftover fava, jazzed up with There are also many less expensive places to try unearthed at Akrotiri are on display in the island’s fried onions, and a swirl of tomato paste. The fava in Santorini. At To Psaraki (The Little Fish) capital, Fira, which can be reached by a thrilling less evocative fava tis grias (“crone’s fava”) is a winter (www.topsaraki.gr; moderate), award-winning cable-car ride from the port of Gialos. variation with smoked . As it cools, a well is made Thanasis Sfougaris has gone back to basics. His fava pandremeni, topped with caramelized The dramatic landscape makes for wondrous in the fava and fi lled with oil; hence the Greek onions, is divine, and phenomenally good value. sunsets, but made it diffi cult for locals to eke out a expression “there’s a hole in the fava”, which loosely Ta Dichtia (www.tadichtia.gr; moderate) sits living until the advent of tourism. Only a few crops can translates as “there’s something fi shy going on”. on a pretty terrace on Perivolos beach, serving be coaxed from the island’s arid soil – succulent Once a peasant food, fava is now an expensive lemony fava, cuttlefi sh and bulgar , and , sweet white aubergines, cherry tomatoes product cultivated by fewer than 200 farmers. baked grouper. Kyra Roza (+30 22860 24378; bursting with fl avour, piquant capers, and the resilient Most producers focus instead on the island’s wines, inexpensive) is off the beaten track at fava bean. More prized (and much pricier) than fava following a tradition as old as Akrotiri. Vaulted wine Vourvoulos, but attracts off -duty chefs with its grown elsewhere in Greece, this plain little bean has cellars and humble cave dwellings have been converted creamy fava, crispy red mullet, and mint-fl ecked domatokeftedes (tomato fritters). been cultivated on Santorini since the Bronze Age, its into glamorous hotels teetering on the brink of the fl at plants able to absorb moisture from the porous volcano, with infi nity pools suspended between sky Also in Greece pumice stone. After harvesting, the are left to and sea. It’s an ideal vantage point from which to Above A favourite in Greek cuisine, octopus are Santorini locals mourned when Chrysanthos hung out to dry to tenderize them before grilling. dry then stripped of their brown husks to reveal ponder whether the fl ooded crater does indeed conceal Karamolegos, one of Greece’s most inventive Seared and crisp on the outside, and tender in the chefs, moved from the island to Halkidiki. His yellow grains, bright as jewels. the lost city of Atlantis. middle, they make a great simple . restaurant Tomata (www.sani-resort.com; expensive) features fava in unusual ways, such Santorini Wines Three Days on Santorini Essentials as paired with sea bass in ouzo vinaigrette, or Santorini’s mineral-rich terroir yields some with feta croquettes with watermelon coulis. His For all its black-sand beaches and wealth of antiquities, Santorini’s main attraction is GETTING THERE of the most delicate and distinctive wines in Athenian outpost, Apla (+30 21062 03102; the spellbinding volcanic caldera.Boats trips to and around the islets are a must. Santorini is a Greek island. There are direct Greece. Around 40 indigenous grape expensive) is also outstanding. fl ights to from Europe, and DAY ONE Sailing into the caldera is like fl oating into an open-air geological museum. Santorini Airport varieties have been cultivated on the island regular fl ights from . A high-speed ferry Sizzling in the centre is the crater of Nea Kameni, which you can climb if you dare. for centuries. The bone-dry and Around the World from Athens takes about 5 hours. Wallow in the hot springs of Palea Kameni, then shin up the Islet of Thirassia to potent Vinsanto (unique to Santorini) are Greek-American chef Michael Psilakis has WHERE TO STAY Manolas, a cliff top time-warp with astonishing views of the archipelago. world-class. Wineries all over Santorini single-handedly elevated Greek cuisine Zannos Melathron (moderate) is a grand off er tours and tastings. Savour the sunset several notches. He has moved on from the DAY TWO Hike the daredevil path running along the rim of the caldera from Fira to manor house in Pyrgos. www.zannos.gr with oaky Oia Vareli and stuff ed vine leaves Michelin-starred Anthos in New York, but Oia, the quintessential Cycladic village. Zigzag down the red cliff s for just-caught fi sh Kapari (moderate) has spectacular caldera straight from the surrounding vineyards you can sample his innovative fava with sea and iced ouzo at Ammoudi, a fi shing port with half a dozen good . views and snug rooms. www.kaparisantorini.gr at the peaceful Sigalas Winery (www. urchin sashimi as part of the post-modern DAY THREE Admire reproductions of the frescoes unearthed at Akrotiri at the Petros Perivolas (expensive) Laidback luxury on the sigalas-wine.com) in Baxedes. Or drink outskirts of Oia. www.perivolas.gr in the 360° views with a glass of crisp meze at Eos at the Viceroy Hotel, Miami Nomikos Foundation in Fira. Travel south from Fira to Vothonos, where you can buy Nyxteri from the Santo Cooperative’s (www.viceroymiami.com; expensive). top-quality fava beans to take home at the Yiannis Nomikos Estate. Continue FURTHER INFORMATION www.santorini.net Oenotourism Centre (www.santowines.gr) onwards to Pyrgos, a beautifully preserved village built around a medieval castle. . C80142 M0 Y20EUROPE K0 Europe GREECE 143

The Best Places to Eat Greek Lamb

Ta Isternia inexpensive It’s extremely hard to have a bad meal on Tinos, TINOS C0 M40 Y70 K0 Middle East & Africa but some tavernas are quietly but consistently TINOS GREECE sensational. This unassuming local haunt is one of them. While two (admittedly excellent) rival restaurants – Thalassaki and Naftilos – battle it out on the waterfront at Isternia bay, those in the An Feast on Tinos know escape the crowds and head up the treacherous, winding road to the village of Isternia C40 M60 Y20 K0 Asia & Australisia Above Oven roast lamb proper. Tucked away on a back street near the Easter is the biggest event of the year in Greece – and nowhere is it celebrated with greater aplomb Left Triandaros village on parking lot, this is the only taverna in town. Despite the lack of competition, its owners Nikos than on the island of Tinos in the . The solemnity of a midnight mass is fi nally broken by tiered hillside, Tinos, Above Arnisio – lamb – is marinated Greece in lemon juice, and , and and Anna maintain very high standards. They fi recrackers; the congregation embraces and departs in a candlelit procession that shimmers through slow-cooked for melt-in-the-mouth tenderness serve traditional Greek food with a Tinian twist: the alleys, descending on the tavernas to break the 40-day Lenten fast with 24 hours of feasting. caper croquettes, garlic and dip, black-eyed C60 M10 Y50 K0 North America Left Easter Sunday is the most festive day in beans with sun-dried tomatoes. The traditional Greece, as families and friends gather to eat, Easter feast is cooked exactly as it should be: drink, talk and dance in celebration Every year, thousands of lamb’s liver, lungs, head and intestines, avgolemono tender lamb that falls off the bone, lemony in search of salvation fl ock to the (egg and lemon) sauce, and seasoned with spring potatoes that fall apart in your mouth and crisp lettuce salad. The small terrace has a handful of miracle-working church of onions and dill. This pungent broth prepares the tables with ravishing views of the Aegean. Panagia Evangelistria, on a hill stomach for the meat spree to follow – a kind of C30 M90 Y50 K0 South America Isternia, Tinos; open 1pm–midnight Easter–Sep; above Tinos town (also known as digestive purgatory after 40 days of Lenten fasting. +30 22830 31005 Chora), the island’s capital. But Tinos is also a Mecca The ordeal is sweetened with slices of , a for epicures and artists, seeking solace in the braided brioche fl avoured with the resinous sap of Also on Tinos whitewashed villages lodged in the folds of - the mastic tree, and lychnarakia, sweet cheese pies Douar (+30 22830 41231; inexpensive) in the scented hills. Ancient footpaths crisscross the shaped like miniature toques. village of Steni is a hasapotaverna (a butcher terraced valleys, and a rambler’s sole companions are Traditionally, the Easter lamb is marinated in and no-frills restaurant) that is strictly for inquisitive and indiff erent . olive oil, lemon and oregano, then roasted whole on a carnivores. Gruff service and cramped tables Traditions run deep on Tinos, an island saved from spit. This laborious process is an essential part of the don’t deter the regulars, who come from miles away to gnaw on the addictive lamb chops. overdevelopment by the all-powerful Greek Orthodox culinary ritual: a pit must be dug, a fi re built, then church. Apprentices still chip away at the marble everyone must take a turn at the spit (secretly tearing Also in Greece sculpture school in Pyrgos. Old men thread baskets by off bits of crispy skin). It takes several hours for the The tradition of roasting whole lambs on a spit hand in Volax, a hamlet built around a mysterious lamb to cook; meanwhile, hard-boiled eggs, dyed red comes from Roumeli, a region in . cluster of boulders like giant bowling balls. Kids play to represent the blood of Christ, are cracked open, On Easter Sunday, residents in its towns of hopscotch among the fl owerpots on the main street of wine is drunk, songs are sung and cigarettes are Livadia, Amfi klia and Amfi ssa set up Agapi – a village endearingly called “Love”. smoked. Squeamish cooks and lazy restaurateurs makeshift barbecues on the streets and off er hunks of roast lamb and (skewered Easter is the main event on the island, and the often slow-roast a leg of lamb in the oven instead – innards encased in intestines) to all passers-by. centrepiece of the Orthodox Easter feast is spring but the result is almost as good. Potato wedges lamb, naturally fl avoured with the wild herbs on drenched in lemon and garlic are tucked into the Around the World which the animals graze. None of the sacrifi cial lamb dish, and a simple green salad with a zingy Above A Greek Orthodox priest prays over the George Calombaris is one of Australia’s most goes to waste. Once mass is over, the midnight feast lemon dressing is all that’s required on the side. It epitaphios, a sacred cloth carrying an image of infl uential chefs. The Press Club (www. Christ, taken into the sea at Tinos on Good Friday begins with a bowl of , made from would be almost sacrilegious to serve anything else. thepressclub.com.au; expensive), his fl ash but accessible fl agship restaurant in Melbourne, is Local Produce an exemplary showcase for food. Dramatically presented, deceptively simple Lamb is often stewed with artichokes here: Three Days on Tinos Essentials dishes include roast loin of lamb with beetroot it’s one of the few crops that thrive on the The travel writer Lawrence Durrell dubbed Tinos “the Lourdes of modern Greece”. But GETTING THERE horiatiki (a salad with feta cheese) and almond wind-whipped island. Locals battle it out with spectacular vernacular architecture, a thriving crafts industry and scores of sandy There is no airport; ferries from Athens take (a thick, garlicky purée). Greeks eat for the best recipe at the beaches, there’s much more than churches to explore. 3–5 hours. You’ll need to hire a car to explore. Artichoke Festival in the village of Komi in May. Buy marinated leftover lamb sandwiches for days after Easter, WHERE TO STAY DAY ONE There are around 50 villages on Tinos – each one lovelier than the last. Buy artichoke hearts (aginares) and other Tinian and you can recreate the experience in Palo Tinion (inexpensive) in Tinos town is a shabby baskets in Volax, where cottages crouch beneath colossal boulders. Visit the Museum delicacies straight from the source at the Alto, California, at Evvia Estiatorio (www. but charming pension. www.tinionhotel.gr of Marble Crafts in Pyrgos, where every doorway bristles with sculpted marble birds, daily farmers’ market by Tinos port: thyme evvia.net; moderate). This upmarket Greek Vega Apartments (moderate) in Agios Markos boats and hearts; the village is also famous for , sticky custard pie. thick as treacle, slabs of cured pork restaurant in Silicon Valley serves roasted-lamb off ers self-catering in sleek Cycladic style. (louza), cheese, and necklaces pitta sandwiches with , tomato DAY TWO Admire some of the island’s 800 carved, decorated dovecotes, found www.vegaapartments.gr of sun-dried tomatoes. Many of these fi nd everywhere. Visit the Venetian fortress at craggy Exobourgo; return to TInos town Anthia (expensive) is a family-friendly hotel and seasonal greens. their way into fourtalia, the delicious frittata with a pool and restaurant, close to Agios Fokas and light a candle at Panagia Evangelistria before visiting the neighbouring bazaar. of the Cyclades. The ultimate beach near Tinos town. www.anthia.gr DAY THREE Aeolos, god of the winds, allegedly resides on Mount Tsiknias, the is fourtalia with fennel-seed sausage at island’s highest peak. Make the most of winds at the surf school on Kolimbithra FURTHER INFORMATION To Agnandi (+30 22830 21095), a quaint www.tinos.gr beach, or head for a sandy cove such as Livada, Apigania or Pachia Ammos. ouzeri-cum-grocery in Ktikados.