Melitzanosalata, though it may sound like a rare form of civilization threatening virus, is actually one of the best Greek eggplant spreads I have ever eaten. Most eggplant spreads I've had tend to be slimy—choking them down triggers the gag reflex due to the fact that I imagine this is what the leftover guts of a Gremlin melted in the sun might taste like. The Melitzanosalata at Taxim, Chicago’s new gourmet Greek spot (by gourmet I mean they don’t serve 1,000 covers a night nor get most of their ingredients delivered via multiple Sysco Tractor Trailers), a charcoal-grilled eggplant purée larded with tahini and studded with crunchy and creamy toasted pine nuts, is more like the kind of velvety purée... More

Will the real spanikopita please stand up. Whoever's running the spanikopita marketing campaign really deserves a raise. I was in Greece for almost a week before I realized that what I thought was spanikopita—layers of crispy phyllo dough stuffed with a cheesy, leafy green mess of joy—actually wasn't. It was hortopita, a savory pie cousin that contains horta, or edible wild greens such as dandelions, chard, kale, and lamb's quarters. Horta directly translates as "grass" in Greek, but refers to about 80 different greens (step aside, spinach) growing all over the country—alongside highways, in fields, and many other places with dirt. It's delicious alone (sauteed with lemon and olive oil) but obviously a few hundred times better when feta... More

A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle shade of figs. While Greece is great for the salty fiends (olives, feta, and Santorini capers), there are plenty of opportunities to get cavities there too. Syrup-submerged fruits and nuts known as spoon sweets are common to eat alone or with cheese, and for years have symbolized sweet hospitality. A couple we visited wouldn't let us leave with a net-zero calorie intake, so they pulled out the coffee and little plates for spoon sweets. It was something like the Greek answer to British teatime.... More

"It seems to spark an obsessive quality in people." As a Fage enthusiast, I was pretty excited to visit the yogurt's motherland. Within the first few hours of arriving in Greece, I wandered into a corner convenience store and zeroed in on the fridge section. There it was in Greek letters: ΦΑΓΈ (pronounced fah-yehhh). Greeks eat yogurt around the clock: at breakfast (even though they're not big breakfast people), as a snack, and definitely for dessert. To counter the tartness, they pour on the honey. Greeks have a lot of pride in their honey, especially thyme honey, claiming it's some of the best golden sticky stuff in the world. Because of the country's long sunshine periods, the Greek bees can... More

Photograph from steve.wilde on Flickr I'm headed to Greece tomorrow, and was curious what I'd be eating for breakfast over the course of ten mornings. A little research proved that Greeks don't really do breakfast given the late lunching (between 3 and 4 p.m.) and dinnering (after 9 p.m.). Coffee sweetened with honey and a cigarette seems pretty standard, and if food has to be involved, then maybe a piece of pita or bowl of yogurt. This photographer went for DIY pita sandwiches, one with honey, and the other with ham and cheese, when on the Greek isle of Rhodes. Anything else I should look forward to? Related Greek Yogurt - Recommendations? [Talk] Greek Lamb and Olive Burgers with... More

fageusa.com The Serious Eats community has always loved the tart Greek yogurt Fage (pronounced FA-yay). What other creamy fluffiness can triple as a Kashi sidekick, an alternative to mayo or crème fraîche and catalyst for a 12-step yogurt addiction plan. Searching "fage" yields a whole seven pages of fodder on our site, and apparently the rest of the world digs it too. This weekend, the New York Times Magazine explores the Greek yogurt with some history and recipes, as well as a snapshot of the stuff in a bizarre iceberg-esque blob shape that seems to be made of wet molding clay, not yogurt. That would definitely give us the pucker face, just like the acidic yogurt usually does, but not... More

Photograph from Only Alice on Flickr No, not that kind of grilled cheese. We’re talking about cheese that can be cooked directly on a grill. Of course, you wouldn’t want to try this with just any cheese. Tossing a wheel of Brie on the barbecue might be a fun party trick, but grilling up slices of halloumi, a fresh, white cheese from Cyprus, is real summer magic. Traditionally made from the mixed milks of goat and sheep, halloumi is somewhat of a cross between the flavor of feta and the texture of mozzarella, although it differs from the latter, and of course from most other cheeses, in that it doesn’t melt when cooked. You may have come across halloumi... More