| Americans of Greek ancestry have a long | | | | be prepared in a different location. The filo dough |
| tradition of running successful restaurants. | | | | may not be made on site. The feta cheese may |
| Decades ago, the restaurant business made | | | | not come from Greece. In some cases, they |
| sense for Greek immigrants with limited English | | | | may even cheap out on the olive oil. (This is a |
| skills. Everyone speaks the language of food, | | | | business, after all.) |
| after all. The Greek community developed a | | | | Here's how to tell if you're eating real Greek food |
| network of restaurants and restaurant suppliers | | | | or semi-real Greek food: |
| that persists to this day. | | | | |
| Most ethnic groups in America have done | | | | 1. They source their meat from a Greek butcher. |
| something similar but not on the same scale. The | | | | Yes, there is a difference. |
| reason for this is that Greeks started American | | | | 2. Their cheese is imported from Greece or at |
| restaurants, not just restaurants serving | | | | least made by a dairy that is owned by Greek |
| Mediterranean food. Other ethnicities started | | | | people who specialize in making Greek cheeses. |
| restaurants but they tended to stay within their | | | | 3. Their spanikopita is not made with filo dough |
| own areas of expertise; Italians started pizzerias | | | | out of a box -- they layer it from scratch. |
| and trattorias, Irish people started pubs, Koreans | | | | 4. They use Greek olive oil (obviously) |
| opened Korean BBQs, Mexicans opened Mexican | | | | 5. The menu is varied -- Greece is a peninusla |
| restaurants. | | | | with many islands. There is a wide variety of food |
| Greeks opened Greek restaurants but they also | | | | available from lamb grown in the mountains to |
| opened a ton of standard cafes and diners. As a | | | | kalamari harvested from the sea. Of course there |
| matter of fact, if you stop at just about any | | | | are Greek restaurants who specialize in, for |
| independently owned and operated diner in the | | | | example, seafood, but generally, a greek taverna |
| United States, there is a good chance that the | | | | should have a pretty wide array of menu choices |
| owners are of Greek descent. | | | | to reflect the rich food culture of the old country. |
| But this article is about Greek food, not diner | | | | Remember that just because the owners are |
| food. How do you find authentic Greek food? | | | | Greek does not mean that the restaurant serves |
| Sure, any Greek restaurant will have spanikopita, | | | | authentic Hellenic cuisine. |
| souvlaki, and baklava but is it really authentic? | | | | When you find a good Greek restaurant, make |
| Interestingly, the efficiency of the Greek | | | | sure to tell your friends about it. You'll want it to |
| restaurant supply network seems to say that, no, | | | | be there for a long time. |
| it is not really all that authentic. The baklava may | | | | |