The most common herb in Greek cuisine is undoubtedly oregano . It is a key flavour forming ingredient of such staple dishes as Greek salad, chicken and lamb souvlaki or calamari . In Vancouver Greek Restaurant you will have an opportunity to explore other famous fragrances used in Greek cooking.
Try dolmades – marinated grape leaves parcels stuffed with mixture of browned onions, cooked long grain rice, ground beef , toasted pine nuts, ground pepper, lemon juice and dried mint . Use of this last two – lemon juice and dried mint gives your palate unique sensation of delicately acidly freshness of mint and that is what dolmades are all about. A treat really worth trying.
In Vancouver Greek Restaurant you can try another great, flavourful Greek dish – tzatziki sauce, a perfect combination of yogurt, garlic olive oil, cucumbers, fresh dill and seasoning. This dish, traditionally served as a dip with slices of grilled pita bread or as side dish with souvlaki skewers, is so unique that I can not find any comparison to it . It simply has to be tried .
Well Known Greek Dishes!
Greek Roasted Potatoes by Vancouver Greek Restaurant
For all of you who love fragrant food, the world of Greek dishes is a wonderful experience.
You can try them in Vancouver Greek Restaurant or copy them in your own kitchen. It is up to you to copy the whole dish, or incorporate to the meal you will be creating just part of typical Greek dish.
One of the best examples are potatoes. Instead of traditionally baking them in tinfoil resulting with potatoes so bland that without topping of chives, dollop of sour cream , bacon bits and seasoning, they would almost not have any taste at all.
Try roasted Greek potatoes in Vancouver Greek Restaurant.
This quick and simple recipe calls for a mixture of minced garlic, ground black pepper, dried rosemary and dried thyme plus lemon juice and olive oil. Just pour this mixture over quartered peeled potatoes on roasting pan and put it in the oven. The result will surprise you. Instead of bland potato requiring all this fatty toppings,
You will have wonderfully fragrant chunks of potatoes crispy on the edges and flavourful soft centers . It will go equally well with roasted chicken, pork roast and practically any meat dish. Enjoy.
Greek Seafood Dishes!
Traditional seafood appetizers for Vancouver Greek Restaurant are grilled or fried kalamari, fried anchovies, a fish roe salad , smelt and baked sardines with garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and oregano.
Lakerda, another popular appetizer, fish from the tuna family is marinated for several days before serving, in lemon and olive oil, and served as half inch steaks.
Psarosoupa, or fish soup is another popular Greek dish. This tasty egg and lemon broth soup is commonly served with potatoes, carrots and onions in the broth and the fish on the side, though you can get it in the soup. It’s not only healthy but tastes delicious. Fish dishes are often light in flavour, and are part of that famed Mediterranean diet consisting mostly of seafood and vegetables, though meats such as lamb are also common. Grilled fish is often served with fresh vegetables and rice, with olive oil, lemon and herbs like oregano and parsley.
Most seafood dishes are served dressed with olive oil and lemon or vinegar.
If you’re in a traditional Greek tavern you may have the opportunity of choosing particular fish you would like to have cooked for you and your guests. This is part of the memorable experience of dining out Greek style.
If you like shellfish, then you’ll be happy to find mussels and clams on menus in Vancouver Greek restaurants. They’re often steamed or cooked in saganaki batter with feta and tomato sauce. Shrimps are often done this way as well.
Try splurging for lobster. While the lobster around Greece may not be as good as that found in the Atlantic, it’s always a treat. Lobster in Greece is most commonly steamed. In Vancouver Greek Restaurant you can be assured that your lobster will be from Atlantic ocean.
Enjoy any of these fine Greek seafood dishes with ouzo or a glass of Greek wine and enjoy the tastes brought fresh from the sea. More adventurous diners may try Retsina, dry Greek wine with infusion of balsamic tree resins – the method to preserve wine for transport in warm climate more than 2000 years old. You can really enjoy the flavours when they’re not covered in rich sauces or buried in condiments. A little olive oil and lemon is all you need to enjoy something this good
Being in Vancouver, right on Pacific coast, with direct access to fresh seafood sources, in Vancouver Greek Restaurant you can enjoy freshness of Greek food without traveling half world around.
Fresh Flavours by Vancouver Greek Restaurant!
Vancouver Greek Restaurant provides food that is exploding with fresh flavours and first-class nutrition. Keeping in good Greek tradition, cuisine consisting of fresh vegetables, a wide variety of meats such as lamb, chicken and pork. Perfect use of herbs and spices gives Greek food well-defined flavours, which are intensified with the generous use of olives, garlic and lemons .
Vancouver Greek Restaurant recipes will customarily include some of their most loved ingredients, classic in old recipes, to create the scrumptious flavours linked to Greek food.
Pita bread is applied within many meals as it is so versatile. It is used for a variety of Greek-style sandwiches and as a side for many main meals. Pita breads are conventionally used with dips such as tzatzyki, olive oil and balsamic vinegar or lemon. Due to their practicality, it can be used as part of a main meal or a quick snack.
Lemons and olives are incorporated into a vast majority of Vancouver Greek Restaurant meals. Olive oil being a dominant ingredient within dishes from salads to main dishes and dipping sauces. The use of lemons in our dishes helps to create fresh and zesty flavours.
Highly regarded meat is lamb which is usually roasted and included into a numerous meals from casseroles to Greek-style sandwiches and wraps. A very common meal is Souvlaki which could combines chicken, pork, beef or fish with a mixture of vegetables .
Vancouver Greek Restaurant main meals incorporate selected meats with a wide range of fresh vegetables in dishes such as Moussaka which is a popular casserole style dish consisting of eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, onions. It can also be enjoyed as a vegetarian meal.
Greek meals blend a number of vegetables. Depending on which vegetables are in season will determine those which are used within each recipe. Many flavoured dishes will appear with delicious fresh salads such as well known classic - Greek Salad. This dish combines olives, tomatoes and feta cheese with dribbling of olive oil , seasoning and drizzle of dried oregano, although some Greek salads could also contain almonds to add crunchy element. Vancouver Greek Restaurant use of always the freshest produce is a guaranty of explosions of flavours.
Afternoon in Vancouver Greek Restaurant time well spend!
If you’d like casual atmosphere, with the ability to either eat traditional fare or be little inquisitive with new foods, Vancouver Greek Restaurant is always a great choice. If you’d like some noise, it is a right place to be. Traditional Greek restaurant suppose to be noisy. Flaming appetizers are always very popular, every time a flambe is lit, the servers
suppose to yell “Opa!”. It doesn’t really mean anything. It’s an exclamation of joy, like “whoopee” or “hooray.” Greeks will shout out “Opa” when any dishes are broken as well. It happens in Vancouver Greek Restaurant accidentally, however every time that happens burst of laughter will fill up the place.
Tzatziki (cucumber/yogurt dip) lovers can have their feast with wedges of pita bread .
The Spanakopita (spinach and feta cheese pie) is a good alternative, for small entry before large main dishes. Do not hesitate to share with other person your Lamb Souvlaki, Gyro Dinner and Pastitsio. Greek Restaurants serve large portions with potatoes and rice. If you are on a diet stay away from them.
The sweets with Greek coffee are must at the end of good dinner. The baklava pastry has to be thick, crispy and flaky. If you have moderate craving for sweetness, caramel pudding will be a winner.
Overall afternoon in traditional Vancouver Greek Restaurant is time well spend.
Greek Food by Vancouver Greek Restaurant!
Welcome to our Guide to Traditional Greek Food!
Most Vancouver Greek Restaurants serve similar versions of these dishes,
however you will have to require your own taste for them.
Visit us to find our version.
Traditional Appetizers in Greek Restaurant:
DOLMADES – vine leaves rolled with rice well seasoned, vegetables or meat. Served warm.
SAGANAKI – pan-seared cheese, served on frying pan it is cooked in.
SPANAKOPITA – spinach mixed with feta cheese, herbs, onions, olive oil, wrapped in well glazed with butter phyllo pastry and baked.
TZATZIKI - mixture of chilled yogurt, cucumber and garlic, served as dip on its own or with pita.
TlROPITES - triangles of buttered phyllo pastry filled with Greek feta cheese and served piping hot.
Traditional Greek Main Course in Vancouver Greek Restaurant:
MOUSSAKA - baked dish prepared with sliced eggplant, ground beef, tomatoes, cheese, onions, butter, eggs, milk, and seasonings.
GYRO – thin slices of barbecued of rotisserie meat very well seasoned with herbs and spices, served with tomatoes and onions on pita bread, and topped with tzatziki.
PASTITSIO - Greek “lasagna” combining pasta, cheese, ground meat, covered with béchamel sauce.
PILAFI - fluffy rice simmered in butter, spices and rich chicken stock. Excellent with all main dishes.
ROAST LAMB - Lamb prepared in the traditional Greek way with garlic and oregano.
GREEK SALAD - tomato and cucumber salad seasoned with onion, olive oil, vinegar, feta cheese and oregano.
Visit our Vancouver Greek Restaurant to test our version of Greek food.
Greek Meze Table!
Literally translated, the word meze means a taste or a bite.
It describes small plates of pleasant, tasty snacks that are served as a compliment to drinks. In Greece there are many different types of mezethes and the menu will very according to local traditions.
The meze table it is gathering place: warm, inviting, and always casual. Tables are pushed together to accommodate newcomers and more plates and drinks are ordered. It is an atmosphere where the plates are traditional, the conversation is spirited, and the pace is leisurely. This style of entertaining inspire people to come and join the party.
Vancouver Greek Restaurant meze table will contain a mixture of hot and cold snacks. Starting with small plate of crisp sliced cucumber and some olives will buildup you appetite for more. Choose small pieces of Feta cheese or another great cheese like kasseri and tomato wedges drizzled with olive oil , sprinkled with dried oregano and sea salt. A dip like the delicious carp roe spread called taramosalata with pita bread for dipping, is also a great addition.
Meze tables can be simple or developed in great details. In Vancouver Greek Restaurant you will find small plates of grilled octopus or fried smelts called marithes . Small meatballs or keftedakia are served along with some fried potatoes drizzled with lemon. Savory phyllo filled with cheese or tiropites are also served as well as a skillet-fried cheese dish known as saganaki .
Another great meze to serve, are rice-stuffed grape leaves called dolmathakia . These small packages of rice flavoured with lemon, dill, and pine nuts can be made vegetarian-style as well called yialantzi or with ground beef or lamb.
Visit our Vancouver Greek Restaurant to experience traditional meze taste.
Baklava, Greek most popular pastries!
Baklava, despite it’s origin, is still recognized as the most popular Greek pastries. Vancouver Greek Restaurant has baklava in dessert menu.
It is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey.
It is widely believed , that the Assyrians at around 8th century B.C. were the first people who put together a few layers of very thin bread dough, with chopped nuts in between those layers, added some honey and baked it in their primitive wood burning ovens.
This earliest known version of baklava was baked only on special occasions.
Historically baklava was considered a food for the wealthy until mid-19th century.
The Greek seamen and merchants traveling east to Mesopotamia discovered the delights of Baklava. It pleased their taste buds. They brought the recipe to Athens. The Greeks’ major contribution to the development of this pastry is the creation of a dough technique that made it possible to roll it as thin as a leaf, compared to the rough, bread-like texture of the Assyrian dough.
The name “Phyllo” was coined by Greeks, which means “leaf” in the Greek language.
In a relatively short time, in every kitchen of wealthy households in the region, trays of baklava were being baked for all kinds of special occasions from the 3rd Century B.C. onwards. The Armenians, as their Kingdom was located on ancient Spice and Silk Routes, integrated for the first time the cinnamon and cloves into the texture of baklava. The Arabs introduced the rose-water and cardamom. The taste changed in subtle nuances as the recipe started crossing borders.
Assyrian, Greek, Persian, Armenian, Egyptian, occasionally Hungarian and Serbian, or even French chefs were brought to Constantinople, to be employed at the kitchens of the wealthy. These chefs contributed enormously to the interaction and to the distinction of the art of cooking and pastry-making of an Ottoman Empire in 19th Century. Empire included Greece, the Balkans, Bulgaria, Armenia, Yugoslavia, Persia, Palestine, Iraq, Mesopotamia, Egypt, North Africa, the Mediterranean and Aegean islands. Towards the end of 19th Century, small pastry-shops appeared in Constantinople and in Provincial capitals, to cater the middle class, but the Ottoman Palace have always remained the top culinary “academy” of the Empire, until its end in 1923.
From 18th century on, there was nothing much to add to baklava’s already perfected taste and texture.
There were however, some small cosmetic changes in shaping and in the presentation of baklava on a baking tray called Sini.
The phyllo dough which was traditionally layered and cut into squares or triangles, were given a “French touch” in late 18th century. Vancouver Greek Restaurant serves delicious baklava with traditional layered style.
Greek Meal Customs!
Vancouver Greek Restaurant tells a little about Greek food traditions.
With its long coastline, Greece relies heavily on fish and seafood. Meat tends to play a less important role. It is often used as an ingredient in vegetable dishes instead of as a main dish. The inland regions use more meat and cheese in their cooking. Fresh fruits and vegetables play a large role in the Greek food traditions.
Greeks are not known for eating big breakfasts. Typical breakfast foods include bread, cheese, fresh fruit and, for adults, coffee. In rural areas, the main meal of the day is eaten at around 1:00 or 2:00 in the afternoon. It is followed by a rest period when schools and businesses close, allowing people to stay home during the hottest part of the day. In the cities, however, many people do not have time to go home for a large lunch. Instead they eat a light meal at midday and a larger dinner later on.
In the late afternoon, many Greeks help themselves to light refreshments called mezethes (meze) . These may consist of bread, fresh vegetables, cheese, olives, dips, or soup. Mezethes are sometimes served as appetizers at the beginning of a big meal. Like many other Europeans, Greeks eat their evening meal late—sometimes as late as 10 P.M. In the city, dinner is the main meal. In rural areas where a big lunch is eaten, dinner is lighter. The most common dessert in Greece is fresh fruit, but the Greeks also love to eat sweets, either as a snack or dessert.
Since it is warm and sunny in Greece for so much of the year, eating outdoors is very popular.
Vancouver Greek Restaurant specializes in dishes from different parts of Greece.
Why Greek Olive Oil!!!
Vancouver Greek Restaurant serves only organic olive oil. Most of Greek olive oil could be considered organic even though it may not have the official seal, as many producers do very little by way of fertilization and spraying has been banned.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, the category mainly produced in Greece (75% of total Greek production) comes in four styles: Regular Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Organic Extra Virgin, Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) Extra Virgin and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI).
Olive oil imports in Greece are non existent. The only olive oil available in Greece is Greek olive oil, no danger of getting any other kind of origin of olive oil. There are no blends or mixtures of Greek and foreign olive oils, something that is common practice in other olive oil producing countries. When it says Greek olive oil it is nothing else but Greek olive oil.
There are 800 million olive trees in the world with 700 million of them in the Mediterranian area and 140 million of them in Greece. Olive oil is a very important part of Greek nutrition.The Greek consumer is very particular to the oil he uses in his diet. He has known it for years, has identified himself with it and will not accept anything less than the quality he is used to. Olive oil is considered a sacred food in Greece and no alterations or changes of any kind are allowed. Greece has laws that regulate the quality of olive oil and these laws are strictly enforced for the protection of the consumer. But more important than that, the Greek farmer takes a special pride in the production of olive oil. Extra care is taken at all stages of olive oil production and packaging and standards are kept very high indeed.
Greece is the world’s largest exporter of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The olive oil industry in the world is well aware of the superior quality and the excellent organoleptic properties of Greek olive oil. The exported Greek olive oil is blended with other local oils in order to grant its unparallelled taste and aroma to olive oil packaged and sold elsewhere.
Greek Olive Oil is mainly exported to the E.U., 90% of total olive oil exports (80% in bulk plus 10% Greek branded olive oil). There is a rise of exports though towards other non-European countries such as Canada, U.S.A., Australia, Japan and an opening for new markets such as China, Southeast Asia, Argentina and others. Vancouver Greek Restaurant serves only original Greek olive oil.
Ouzo – Vancouver Greek Restaurant most popular alcoholic drink!
Vancouver Greek Restaurant serves Ouzo neat, on ice, or with water. The water should be well cooled and served in a glass carafe, not a plastic bottle. A drink for all hours and all places whenever an aperitif is in order, always before the main meal, a fact that is sometimes forgotten. It is supposed to whet the appetite, awaken the senses and prepare you for the main meal.
Greeks would agree that ouzo is their national alcoholic drink. No other beverage is as closely linked to Greek culture as ouzo.
The island of Lesvos (Mytilini) it is The Place of ouzo production and is well known to have some of the best ouzo in Greece. Recipes for distilling ouzo vary slightly from region to region, however they are well kept family secrets.
Ouzo is an aromatic drink. Its aroma is half the pleasure, so avoid small glasses that don’t allow it to breathe. It has an alcohol content of about 40% (depending on the brand) but also a high sugar content that delays the release of the alcohol in to your system. It should be drunk in small sips, slowly, allowing time for conversation, jokes and flirting.
Clear and silky, with a distinct licorice flavour, ouzo is distilled from the must or remnants of grapes pressed for wine. It can be flavored with spices like anise, mint, mastic, and coriander.
Vancouver Greek Restaurant will use ouzo in many recipes from marinades to sweets. Ouzo is used in cooking to add a distinctive anise flavor to some dishes.
Greeks believe that ouzo (or more precisely its main flavouring ingredient – anise) has healing abilities and will use ouzo for indigestion and migraines.