Will Travel, Must Eat: Greek style

 Travel is always a little nerve wracking for those of us with food allergies. And I was definitely nervous going to Greece for a wedding in June. I was going with friends to spend a week in Athens, and a few days in Chalkida, and then 4 days in Milos (a Greek Island). But it turned out to be the easiest experience I’ve ever had eating in a new place.

In general, the food in Greece is really simple and fresh (which I love). The oil used for cooking was either olive oil (“regular oil”) or sunflower oil (those of us with soy allergies know how hard it is to avoid soy in the USA, as most restaurants seem to cook in soy oil). I think it would be difficult to be a vegan or vegetarian in Greece, but for me the food was excellent. While my friends and I were in Athens and Chalkida, I ate mostly lamb, chicken, or seafood with lots of tomato and cucumber salads (which is my new favorite summer salad).

I don’t want to paint too broad of a picture, but I think I can safely say that the Greek people love food. When we went out with our Greek friends the food was always served family style, so that everyone got to taste a little bit of everything. While that was initially totally nerve wracking (I had to make sure that the food got to me before anyone dipped bread in the sauce). It was also strangely relaxing eating with everyone. Maybe it was because mealtimes were never just about eating. They were really about being with each other, and most wonderfully of all, I felt included at every meal. Our Greek hosts made sure all of the food was safe for me, and I trusted them. Or maybe it was because the food was simple and fresh. And everywhere we went people seemed to take a real and sincere pride in their food. I don’t know. All I do know is that the ball of anxiety in my gut that I’ve lived with for so long, so long that I don’t even notice it anymore, actually started to relax. Everywhere we went, I knew I would be able to eat something. I knew that I would be taken care of and included. And for the first time in years, I worried less about my food and was able to enjoy it more.

So it really wasn’t that hard eating in Athens since we had Greek friends to translate and make sure that the food was safe for me. But soon I would be going to the Greek island, Milos, with no one to translate for me and double and triple check in Greek that the food was safe for me to eat. I was super nervous. I really didn’t know how it was going to go. How was I going to eat?

As it turns out, I was going to eat extremely well.

In Milos I stayed in a small hotel, Hotel Delfini in Adamas. The owner (who spoke english) allowed me the use of their kitchen every morning to make myself breakfast. It really made things easier to have at least one meal that I didn’t have to think about. So every morning I made scrambled eggs with tomatoes (cooked in olive oil) that I bought at the market down the road.

For lunch and dinner I only ended up going to two different restaurants since I tend to find a place I feel safe eating at and then become a repeat, repeat customer. At both places, the waiters spoke english (as well as a few other languages) and the food was delicious.

At the Restaurant Marianna in Adamas, the waiter, Adonis, didn’t bat an eye hearing about my allergies. He immediately took me back into the kitchen, showed me all the food that they had, and talked me through all of the ingredients in each dish that I could eat. They only use olive oil and sunflower oil and they fry their french fries in a designated fryer. I didn’t have tons of options, but the options that I had were good. My favorite meal from them was total comfort food. Lemon chicken with potatoes and a tomato and cucumber salad.

In Pollonia, the headwaiter, and owner, also named Adonis at The Armenaki Fish Tavern Restaurant took amazing care of me. I felt very safe eating his food. The only oil he uses is olive oil and almost all the vegetables he serves at his restaurant, he grows. The french fries are fried in olive oil in a designated fryer and they were so fantastic that we ate there 4 times. The food was really fresh and satisfying. This restaurant can be little more expensive so I pretty much kept to mussels cooked in white wine and garlic, a tomato and cucumber salad (yum) and french fries. It was delicious and extremely reasonable.

Milos is small, and uncrowded (it’s definitely not a party island). But if you’re looking for a quiet place to walk slowly and swim at the varied and beautiful beaches on an island that feels wild and untouched in the mountains (I saw wild goats!) and sweet and calm in the towns, then you should go. I would like to go again.

Lovelillian

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