Ta 2 Rou meze restaurant listed

Ta 2 Rou (in Greek “Τα 2 Ρου”) is one of the most authentic, affordable and hospitable eateries to enjoy true Cretan cuisine with locally sourced and seasonal ingredients. Eating there is a culinary experience; the menu changes depending on what is available both in terms of the season (vegetables, wild mushrooms, bitter greens, cheese, meat) and also on the daily catch when it comes to seafood. In addition, the ambience is special, as the walls are covered by antique photos of life in Rethymno (some of them century old), easily resembling a folklore museum. Ta 2 Rou is a Cretan casual eatery (“inomagirio“) and an authentic meze restaurant (“mezedopolio“). Apart from normal dishes, smaller dishes to share are also served which greatly accompany raki or wine. Either way, Ta 2 Rou is one of the top places for immersing yourself into the authentic Cretan cuisine. As a rule of thumb, not to be missed are the meat and seafood based casseroles and stews, such as cuttlefish in greens and their ink (“soupies me chorta“), octopus in wine (“chtapodi krasato“) and goat cooked in olive oil and wine (“rifi tsigariasto“). The vegan crowd will also be really satisfied as the eatery always has vegan dishes on offer, such as rich salads, vegetable stews and legumes. The offered dessert is sumptuous and is comprised of fresh seasonal fruits and some truly delicious mizithra cheese (kind of Cretan ricotta) pie rolls with sugar and cinnamon (“tzevremedes“).

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Fantastic meze dishes accompanying top quality raki or wine

Cretan Chickpea Soup recipe

Chickpeas (in Greek “revithia“) are legumes (which are always gluten free) with amazing health benefits widely consumed all year round in Crete and other southern Greek islands. Cretans prepare chickpeas in the form of a delicious and filling vegan soup that is exemplary of the Cretan vegan diet. Unlike most Cretan dishes that are based on tomato juice, adding a sweetness to their taste, chickpea soup is based on lemon juice giving it some acidity which brings out the great starchy taste of chickpeas. This slight acidity could be masterfully balanced out to some extent with the addition of a tiny bit of flour which also thickens the soup (this is optional as it takes away the gluten free character of the dish). When I try to motivate people to include legumes in their diet, I always use this great dish as an example!

Read the recipe and article here!

Delicious Cretan chickpea soup acting also as a health booster

Taverna Zisis is listed

Taverna Zisis (in Greek “Ταβέρνα Ζήσης”) is an all time classic eatery in Rethymno where one can enjoy all facets of Cretan cuisine. The taverna is the biggest in size and also one of the oldest eateries in Rethymno. It offers a great multitude of Cretan dishes including traditional vegan Cretan cuisine, snails, pies, meat, Cretan barbecue and seafood. These can be ordered as mains or meze dishes to share (as most Cretans do). If you wish to quickly gain an understanding of Cretan food, this should be your fist stop! The taverna has a fixed a la carte menu and a large range of daily specials. Customers have the option to choose what to eat from the purpose-made food showcase of the taverna. As the taverna offers a great range of dishes, you need to visit it at least a few times to get a good impression of its cuisine. As regulars of the place, we usually start our meal with seasonal bitter greens which are nicely boiled and accompany well most Cretan dishes. As starters, we usually order some of the classic highlights of Taverna Zisis. We choose the juicy and soft stuffed vine leaves (“dolmadakia“), which are tender vine leaves stuffed with rice and herbs, accompanied with Cretan yoghurt. We also order the signature dish of pan fried and oven baked aubergine in tomato sauce (“melitzanes imam“), topped with grated cheese; easily one of the best executions of this really balanced dish. As mains various meat cuts and Cretan hamburgers on the barbecue are highly recommended. Same applies to meat or vegetable stews and casseroles. As dessert, the taverna brings delicious (although usually cold) doughnuts (“loukoumades“) topped with sesame and honey.

Read the full review and article here!

A truly delicious and hard to make dish perfectly executed; juicy stuffed vine leaves (“dolmadakia”) accompanied with Greek yoghurt

Cretan green beans recipe

Green beans (in Greek “fasolakia prasina“) are the pods of unripe beans which are considered vegetables although technically are legumes. The pods of green beans are tender and the beans contained are tiny, so the pods prevail in quantity and taste. Green beans cooked in fresh tomato juice (what else!) together with potatoes is the most typical Cretan summery dish. Of course the dish contains generous amounts of extra virgin olive oil. There is no summer in Crete that does not involve regular (almost on a weekly basis!) eating of green beans. Green beans is a casual dish that is ideal for the high temperatures of the Cretan summer, as it is light and refreshing. This dish is one of the cornerstones of the extremely rich Cretan vegan cuisine.

The health benefits of Cretan green beans and recipe are found here!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is fasolakia_served.jpg — *One of the cornerstones of vegan Cretan diet: green beans with potatoes in tomato and extra virgin olive oil*

Delicious Cretan Squash Pie

Squash (in Greek “kolokitha“) is a summer vegetable looking like something between a courgette and a big watermelon (note that there are several varieties of squash like the butternut squash or the pumpkin). The Cretan squash grows throughout summer and ends up huge (weighs several kilograms) in autumn when it is harvested (usually between end of September and October). It is consumed either pan fried (sliced and sprinkled with flour) or as the main ingredient of pies. There are two types of squash pies, one is savoury (eaten as main dish or starter) and the other is sweet (eaten as dessert or snack). Here we will talk about the savoury version of the pie. Squash has a natural sweetness which matches perfectly with the saltiness of the feta and graviera cheese added in the pie. This is wrapped between delicious filo pastry to produce an unforgettable Cretan pie that anyone would crave for. Every time we visit a Cretan vegetable garden (there are always squashes growing!) we become apprehensive of the time when the squashes we see become delicious pies. We provide below a great recipe for a squash pie that evokes happ

See the article with the recipe here!

Review of Fish Taverna Argonautis

Taverna Argonautis (in Greek “Ταβέρνα Αργοναύτης”) is one of the best fish tavernas of Rethymno, located on the seaside boulevard (quite far from the centre). It is owned by a fisherman and his family who often cook their catch of the day. You must try the different types of fried fish. Certainly not to be missed is the grilled or pan-fried Mediterranean moray fish (“smerna“) fish, if available, and the fried courgette sticks (both being signature dishes of the fish taverna). Other fish worth trying is the mixed fried fish platter (“tiganopsara“), basically containing the daily catch. The taverna also offers bigger fish upon availability, such as red porgy (“fagri“), white sea bream (“sargos“) or greater amberjack fish (“magiatiko“), which are ideal for chargrilling. In winter months expect nice homemade desserts as treats. Service is very friendly and prices are reasonable. In general, do not miss this place if you want to try Cretan fish.

Read the full review here!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is argonautis_garidomakaronada.jpg — Delicious shrimp linguini “garidomakaronada”

Handmade Cretan Healthy Bread

There is nothing more basic in a diet than bread. Therefore a healthy diet begins with healthy bread and Cretans eat a lot of it with every meal. The most traditional Cretan bread is the barley rusk (“dakos”) which is very difficult and time consuming to prepare at home. Apart from “dakos”, Cretans eat a great deal of whole grain bread. Our personal favourite whole grain bread, both in terms of flavour and its health benefits, is a combination of three kinds of wholemeal flour (“aleuri olikis”), namely spelt (“aleuri zeas”), rye (“aleuri sikalis”) and wheat flour (“starenio aleuri“). Below we provide a generic recipe for making bread in the traditional hand made way that can be executed with any kind of flour suitable for baking. Note that the provided flour types and quantities used correspond to our own favourite flour and seed combination.

See the full article with the recipe here!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is final_loaf.jpg

Cretan okra

Okra (“bamies”) is one of Crete’s favourite vegetable full of health benefits. Okra has a lot of devoted fans in Crete although in the rest of Greece less so. Okra is mainly found around the Mediterranean and is rare in other places. Cretans usually eat okra as a vegan dish cooked with tomato juice, although it can be also combined with chicken or fish. Okra has a sticky texture and fairly sweet taste which becomes delicious with tomato sauce. It is a very summery dish, light and refreshing. It evokes childhood memories of long and hot summers when we went for swimming in the turquoise Cretan seas. The usual question when we returned home was ‘what’s on for lunch’? When our mother’s or grandmother’s answer was’okra’ we always exclaimed with pleasure; what a perfect end to a Cretan summer experience!

Follow this link to see the recipe (Cretan okra)

Food review of Ouzeri Lola

Ouzeri Lola (in Greek “Ουζερί Λόλα”) is really authentic seafood restaurant in Thessaloniki, Greece, where one can enjoy traditional seafood meze dishes, such as mussels, smoked fish, squid and various dips as well as fresh fish, either grilled or pan fried. As a typical “ouzeri” restaurant, Lola features a great selection of ouzo or tsipouro to match the seafood and meet every expectation. We tried the really succulent and delicious grilled octopus tentacles (“chtapodi sti schara”) in olive oil and vinegar sauce. Also the grilled fresh squid (“kalamari sti schara”) was very good. Further highlights were Thessalonian mussels “saganaki” (pan cooked mussels in mustard sauce with peppers and feta cheese), a very balanced taste, and the grilled smoked mackerel (“skoumpri kapnisto”) with the delicious and strong characteristic taste. We also tried the rich “Lola salad”, made of red cabbage, rocket, tomato and Greek hard cheese topped with seeds and a special salad sauce. Last but not least, the “taramosalata” dip, a dip made of
salted and cured roe, was exceptional. A treat of a very nice homemade chocolate and cream dessert came at the end of our very fulfilling meal.

Read the full review by following this link (review of Ouzeri Lola).

Grilled smocked mackerel (“skoubri kapnisto”)

Thessalonian mussels “saganaki”: a dish you must try in Thessaloniki

Review of Taverna Galera

Taverna Galera (in Greek “Ταβέρνα Γαλέρα”) is an upscale taverna situated in one of the nicest seafront locations of the city of Rethymno. The taverna enjoys fabulous views of the city and the coast and is very pleasant both in winter and summer. We almost feel compelled to enjoy seafood at such great seafront location. The signature dish of Taverna Galera is the shrimp “kritharoto” (risoni pasta cooked in shrimp broth). The shrimp pasta (“garidomakaronada”) is also great. Cuttlefish with greens (“soupies me maratha”) is also a must try when available. Worth trying are also the smaller meze style dishes, such as wild green pies (“xortopites”) and the spicy feta dip (“tirokauteri”), which is a great accompaniment to seafood. In summary, this taverna is a great place to relax while enjoying a seafood or meat based Cretan style meal also offering wonderful views.

Read the full article here!