Flavors of the Trip (So Far)

1. Saganaki, which is basically fried cheese, which we have had nearly every day. It's kind of like mozzarella sticks, except that it usually comes in a big flat rectangle and doesn't have breading. (Everywhere)
2. Keftedes, which are also fried and come in several varieties. Our favorite so far were tomato keftedes with some kind of herb that we still can't identify. (Everywhere, but the best were on Santorini)
3. Fish Salad, something I never thought I would eat. The proprietor of an unremarkable-looking but guidebook-recommended taverna talked us into ordering this dish. It was a skate-like Greek fish that had been marinated for a week, then poached in the skin, then cooked a second time without the skin, then shredded and served hot, dressed in olive oil, dill, a little dried mustard, and some chopped raw onion. So good we went back and had it again two nights later. (Naxos)
4. Sweets from that same taverna, brought with glasses of ouzo over ice, along with our check. A second unexpected pleasure after a delightful meal. Chilled balls of something like raw cookie dough (or halvah, according to Zach), but even more delicious. Rolled in chocolate sprinkles for extra goodness. And generously portioned, almost the size of a golf ball. The lovely proprietor professed not to know what they were called. He told us his sister made them according to a recipe from Crete. Wish we could detour there for a little culinary detective work. (Naxos)
5. Summer Salad, an intriguing mix of shredded iceberg lettuce, fresh quartered strawberries, fresh mango slices, balsamic vinaigrette, and shaved pecorino. It was supposed to include honey as well, which we think was in the dressing. Absolutely scrumptious and completely refreshing. Definitely one to try at home. (Mykonos)
6. Ice Cream, my favorite food and a great picker-upper after lots of walking or sailing in the sun. The best so far: a dense, chewy banana with a little of Zach's chocolate for contrast. (Mykonos)
7. Naxian Liqueur, another flavor for which we don't know the name. There is a distillery on Naxos that makes a special liqueur called kitron (from the leaves of a fruit of the same name), currently sold only on the island. We toured the distillery and tasted not only the kitron and the house ouzo but also a special brandy-like liqueur made with sour cherries and cinnamon. We are bringing all of the above home with us, very carefully. (Naxos)
8. Gyros and Souvlaki, classic Greek street food. The best we had were at a stand called Poldo, where we got Greek lessons along with our meals. In addition to meat (pork, chicken, or lamb), the warm, tasty pitas had several de riguer fillings: tomatoes, shredded lettuce, thinly sliced onions, tzatziki, and . . . French fries. Weird but truly yummy. Three nights on the island, three lunches at Poldo. (Santorini)
9. Pork Meatballs in Tomato Sauce, but more like meatcylinders, really. These huge, oddly shaped protein-delivery systems were tender and perfectly seasoned, although they were served, inexplicably, between a stack of third-rate fries and a pile of so-so rice. (Naxos)
10. Really Local Wine, poured for us -- over and over -- by a charming albeit chain-smoking artist we befriended on our first day in Greece. I'm not sure which made it taste better: the fact that his father had made it or that he served it to us from a racy carafe he had created in his pottery studio. One spout was carved into the face of a man, with the cork serving as almost a top hat. The pour spout, festooned with two delicate testes, looked like a very different part of the anatomy. (Santorini)