Athens Food Tour

For today, we scheduled another Culinary Backstreet food tour.  We really enjoyed the one in Barcelona, and this one did not disappoint!  We walked about 15 minutes to the meeting place and met our guide, Constantine, and another couple (from Oklahoma City).  

First, we got to try a sesame seed encrusted, slightly sweet bread that we’d seen and wondered about. It was tasty plain and also dipped in Greek coffee later in the tour.  

Our meeting spot 

Constantine, our guide, with the sesame bread rings

Our next stop was at a bakery specializing in phyllo dough.  We managed a photo of the man stretching and folding the dough, but not of the spanakopita or the custard-filled sweet pastry. 


Constantine pointed out some local graffiti.



Next, we walked through the meat and fish markets.  The meat market, especially, almost convinced me to become a vegetarian.  





Then we went to another part of the market where parakeets were for sale (as pets, our guide assured us!). Just down the way we got to try several kinds of the 70 olive varieties native to Greece, and our guide gave us some vacuum-packed to take home.



Our next stop was at a shop that has sold one item for over 100 years.  The balls of dough were double-fried and soaked in a honey syrup.  They were delicious !



Next, we stopped at a Greek yogurt shop and tried three dishes.  The one in the parfait glass was delicious, pillowy and creamy. It was Charlie’s favorite dish of the tour, and he’s usually not big on sweets—or yogurt, for that matter!



The next dish was tangier, topped with honey and walnuts.  Also delicious.


The last one was pastry-like and I liked it a lot.


Our last stop was for a full meal, and we got to try a lot of different dishes.



Dolmades—so good !

Sautéed salad greens

Fava mash with onions and parsley 

Smoked mackerel 

“Married” grilled sardines 

Zucchini patties 

Everything was tasty, even the sardines, usually a “no thanks” for me. It was quite an experience, and we’re now sold on Culinary Backstreet tours. 

We capped off the day with a serendipitous meetup with old friends Todd and Kirsten (Rice friends of the Kimbros) for drinks on the rooftop of our hotel.  They just happened to be in Athens! We enjoyed catching up with them!



Comments

  1. RachelApril 9, 2026 at 1:09 PM

    I just can’t get over the coincidence! I’m sure y’all had fun. Love all the food tour photos - how fun to try so many things! We will check out those tours when we travel.

    ReplyDelete

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