It was midway through my dessert when I realized that I might have made a mistake. A soft and pillowy custard topped with honey was resting on a base that seemed far too wheatlike for my stomach’s tastes, a deliciously dense and textured bottom layer that had absorbed the sticky honey and become soft and pliable. I had shown the restaurant’s owner my gluten-free travel card and had explained that ingestion of any wheat would make me sick. I also quietly threw in that it would mean a few days of joint pain and other fun problems. He assured me that the dessert had no wheat or flour in it at all, that it was full of honey and dairy products and “beyond delicious.” On the latter front, I completely agreed. On the former, not so much — that night was one where I communed heavily with the toilet in my tiny bedroom.
Since the restaurant was near where I was staying, I returned the next day to ask about ingredients. He listed them off, wheat-free. I asked what the base of the dessert was made of.
“Pastry dough!”
“Wait,” I said, “pastry dough? Made from wheat flour?”
Sheepish recognition slowly dawned on his face.
“Ah, yes. But you didn’t say pastry dough? You said wheat flour…”
That explained everything.
Athens in miniature from the Parthenon
For celiacs, eating out can be incredibly stressful. It’s not merely a strong stomach ache, or a dash to the toilet. It’s that for many of us, the next morning you find that you cannot bend your joints in your hands, or you are lethargic and weary for days. There are varying levels of people affected by the disease, but I realize when travelling to foreign places that my stomach’s restrictions are an imposition on cultures that are not as sensitive to allergies or auto-immune diseases as my own.
That said, despite being a relatively new phenomenon in Greek society, Greek restaurants were extremely helpful. Like Italy, Greece loves its food, and wants people to enjoy the act of eating. The possibility of not participating in a full and satisfying meal gave many a heart-clutching heart palpitation, and more than one place was excited to learn that I enjoyed a modified meal made by them.
In the case of my Greek dessert, this was not the chef or owner’s fault. Yes, I was sick because of a mistranslation, but there was no point in getting upset at him as he was merely trying to help and to ensure I tried all of the foods that I could in his beloved city. I did explain that pastry dough was made with wheat flour, in the event another celiac came through. But more importantly, I wanted to provide a better gluten-free card, with specific translations and a longer list of items that we, as celiacs, could eat.
A Tailored Gluten-Free Card for Greece
To do this, I availed myself of a contact with Helen from Discover Greece, a private sector-led tourism organisation. She happily connected me with several people who made the rest of my Athens trip wheat-free, including the lovely Despina from Culinary Backstreets. I first heard of Culinary Backstreets when I was visiting Turkey, as their Istanbul Eats guidebook remains one of my favourite food guides in any city. Remember my beloved chicken pudding? I found it through them.
Despina was kind enough to not only sit down and talk about gluten-free eating in Greece, but also offered to have me test out an Athens food tour tailored to celiacs, which included buckwheat bread (see below for bakery info), perfect for mopping up fava and feta.
Most importantly, however, she helped translate a more detailed gluten-free card for those looking to visit, so others can hopefully avoid their own Great Pastry Dough Mishap. The card includes exclusions like pastry dough or meatballs or bread crumbs, but also makes it clear that we can eat buckwheat, yoghurt, rice, and more.
A photo of the card is below, but you can also download it here.
My tailored gluten-free card for travels in Greece.
Menu Options for Gluten-Free Foods
For the most part, the following suggestions include restaurants that are not specifically gluten-free, but rather include menus or dishes that are safe to try. As a result, I thought it would be helpful to include things that are not safe to try, because this country likes to use bread crumbs and/or flour to thicken unexpected things. Like parsley dip.
Fresh vegetables
Fresh boiled vegetables in Athens
Even when not on the menu, most restaurants will have a simple dish of steamed vegetables served with lemon. In the event you cannot find a side dish that works for your stomach, the chef will almost always oblige. Type of vegetables will vary wildly depending on the season.
Grilled Chicken or Meat
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LUNCH BREAK. A deserved meal after all those stairs. Slow roasted lamb, potatoes, no gravy, just the meat’s own juice. Delicious and simple, cooked in the oven. View on Instagram
Wander around near a subway station or market and you will inevitably find (and smell) a rotisserie or souvlaki joint offering gyros, or grilled chicken, or the classic souvlaki. The platters of meat or chicken are often the most expensive as they are still served with bread, but with double the portions of meat. I found that asking for a regular gyro but without the bread resulted in confusion but also exactly what I needed — a small portion of meat with some vegetables. I ordered the platter when I was sharing with friends.
Please do show your celiac card at the same time, as the reasons for your pickiness are medical, not finicky. It goes a long way toward getting you a plate but doing so respectfully. For those with bigger appetites, the platters will be great — just be sure to keep asking for no pita because inevitably the platter has two thick, warm slices throw atop the meat and salad when served.
Where: In Athens, I enjoyed my most delicious and succulent grilled chicken at Gyro Gyro Ouli, located at 28 Sina Street. Map here.
For souvlaki, I also loved the cheap food and really fun outdoor ambience at Gyristroula, located at 9 Agion Asomaton Square, corner of Adrianou street, across from the Thissio subway station.
Eggplant with Feta or Meat with Feta
(Note, this is not moussaka — moussaka does have flour in it; this is a much more simple eggplant, tomato and feta dish.)
Eggplant, feta, and tomatoes – one of my favourites.
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Eggplant was in season during my Greece visit, and Greeks know precisely how to use it in their food. Baked with pillows of feta and chunks of lamb, or roasted like an open-faced sandwich, toppings piled high, or tucked into tomato sauce and topped with fresh herbs. You name it, and it tasted delicious. With the exception of moussaka or fried eggplant dishes, I had great success with any baked eggplant on the menu.
Where: I ate the first dish pictured above at a place called Gougoumeze, conveniently located close to the gyro place above at 10 Sina Street, also in Kolonaki.
Feta
Fresh feta in barrels near Athens’ central market
“For the Greeks, cheese is not a food supplement, it is food.” – TED Case Study on Feta.
Growing up in North America, I associated feta with any white cheese that was in brick form and could be placed on a salad. This was a mistake. Feta is, much like other products of specific origin, the subject of considerable controversy. Cornell has a long piece on ‘the Feta wars‘, but essentially Feta was affording a status of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), meaning that a cheese cannot be called “Feta” without it satisfying certain conditions. Namely, (a) The cheese must be produced and matured in a specific geographical region, (b) the use of chemical substances for the maturing and colouring of the cheese is prohibited, (c) the milk must not contain any antibiotics, and (d) it must be produced in the traditional manner.
Since a 2005 judgement from the European Court of Justice, white soft cheeses that resemble feta but not fulfilling the requirements above must be labelled differently. In any event, the Feta I tried in Greece was like no other. Some brinier than versions I have tried in Canada, some soft, some merely crumbling under the weight of my fork. I would urge anyone travelling to Athens to go to Athens’ big central market, and try as many as you can.
Greek salads
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Freshly picked mint leaves, plump tomatoes, feta, olive oil, salt & pepper. Simple dinner, so delicious. View on Instagram
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After months in Southeast Asia, I was craving salad like nobody’s business, and nothing prepared me for just how glorious these salads could be in Greece. From chunks of feta over a simple cucumber, olive oil, tomato, and onion salad (I removed the olives, of course), to tomatoes, mint, and Feta, the herbs fresh from the garden. When I did not see salad on the menu I merely asked for what was available. Without fail, I received a bowl of fresh and flavourful vegetables and fruit for the eating.
For those with celiac disease, these salads are a lifesaver if you are at a quick restaurant with little non-wheat options.
Grilled Fish or Squid
Fish heads at the market in Athens
Grilled squid with lemon and herbs. SO GOOD.
A simple safe meal, I often opted for grilled fish or meat prepared with herbs and served with a generous half or quarter of a lemon. Again, for those times where fried fish in batter was on the menu, it was an easy request after proffering my GF card to see if a special grilled version could be made on my behalf. Restaurants were happy to oblige with a batter-free protein option, and the grilling meant that I was not worried about cross-contamination with oil used for breaded dishes.
Fava Dip and Tzatziki
Fava dip, often made with yellow split peas (λαθούρι) is a purée seasoned with onions, olive oil, and fresh parsley. It is ordered as a meze, eaten at room temperature or slightly warmed, scooped up with huge chunks of bread. I was able to pick up my own bread in Athens made from 100% buckwheat from Pnyka, thanks to Despina calling ahead to order it for me.
You will see fava dip on the menu just about everywhere if visiting in the spring/summer. I have tried many versions of split peas, fava bean hummus, and other bean dishes but I still find myself craving the creamy yellow dip from Athens, especially soaked in fresh lemon juice.
Fava dip in Athens
Tzatziki is a dish many of us are familiar with, a yoghurt dip with cucumber and often some fresh mint. None of the restaurants I frequented used flour in their tzatziki.
Apaki
The photo below is from a more artisanal version of apaki, a Cretan smoked pork dish where the pork is sliced in strips and then marinated in vinegar and spices for days, then seasoned further and smoked under a slow heat. The point, whether it is a beautifully-presented version or otherwise, is that it is delicious — and gluten-free.
Yoghurt Desserts
Even if the dessert menu tended to specialize in cakes, it was often possible to mention my disease and then receive a yoghurt and honey plate (or, if I was lucky, yoghurt and cherry compote) instead.
A safe dessert for celiacs: Greek yoghurt with walnuts and honey
If you want to try it in its best environment, you can eat at Stani, a dairy in downtown Athens where the house yoghurt is made out of sheep’s milk from dairy farms just outside Athens. Address and review from Culinary Backstreets here.
Some Dishes to Avoid
Saganaki Cheese – named after the pan in which it is made, cheese cooked saganaki style is pan-friend and coated in flour, served piping hot.
Parsley Dip (Maintonasalata – mαϊντανοσαλάτα) – this delicious parsley dip unfortunately includes bread crumbs, something I only realized late in the game. For those who are not gluten-free, a recipe is here. It’s delicious.
Fish roe Dip (Taramasalata – ταραμοσαλάτα) –
Meat Balls (Keftedes) – Perfectly fried balls of meat — and with bread crumbs included at no extra cost. Sigh.
Meatball meze in Athens
Patsitsio – a beef and pasta dish, which also has flour bechamel sauce on top.
Vegetable stews – important to ask about these at restaurants, since many are thickened with flour.
Spanokopita – a cheese and spinach pie.
A Brief Note about Greek Food
During my food walk, Despina chatted about the influence of both Asia Minor and Turkey on the current state of Greek food, reaching back into her own family’s history and further still to Greek mythology. From the basic staples in Greece – olive oil, pulses, wine, grains — to newer starches like potatoes, which were introduced by the government in the 1830s, she gave a great overview of diet in different parts of Greece. “Food is a form of joy and love,” she said. I can’t disagree.
When I visited the newly-opened Museum of Gastronomy in Athens, co-founder Konstantinos Matsourdelis echoed the trajectory of Despina’s culinary tales. He also made an interesting point about the financial crisis in Greece forcing the country refocus their diet inwards, with the government offering incentives to local farmers to grow crops. Instead of relying primarily on imports, Konstantinos said the devastating crisis had a silver lining: it reconnected the country to its agricultural roots, with new products based on these subsidies now hitting the market.
Learning about monastic cooking at the Museum of Gastronomy
Artisanal products for sale at the Museum of Gastronomy in Athens
I spent most of my time in Greece on the island of Syros, which I’ll be writing about soon. But the post-Syros days in Athens were a real wonder. It gave context to the history of Syros as a former shipping capital, and provided me with the broader snapshot of the many different cultures within the country of Greece. With Athens housing a huge concentration of people, it is no surprise that restaurants from Crete and other islands have found happy customers in the city. But coming from a tiny island first, the re-entry into the city and its food markets, spice shoppes, and cheese crawls was ideal: it brought my whole trip together in one morning.
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On my second day in Athens, I stumbled upon a tiny souvlaki joint with delicious french fries cut into tiny waffled circles. These were the fries of my youth, the same shape as from a local restaurant in Montreal called Bar-B-Barn, where my dad would take us for ribs as an occasional treat. Normally, fries are off limits as the act of frying them in oil used for breaded products is sufficient to contaminate them and make me sick. But it seemed that Greek people took their food very seriously. Maybe, just maybe, they fried their potatoes separately, to maintain the potato taste?
“Excuse me,” I said softly to the man gleefully shaving down a stack of meat into thin folded slivers. “I have a question about your potatoes.”
“Yes, ok?” he said, confused.
“Are they fried in the same oil as your croquettes?”
“What?!” he exclaimed, upset enough to put down his meat shaver. “Why would I do that?”
“Uh, well…” I stammered, “some people do that.”
“Ok, yes” he said. “Some people do that.” And then, clutching his chest and shaking his head, head continued, “BUT THEY ARE BAD PEOPLE. Then, the potatoes would not taste like potatoes!”
“Yes, ok” I giggled in reply “I wanted to make sure because I have an allergy. Thank you!”
And this is how I gained 10 pounds in Greece: because people care so much about the taste of potatoes that I was able to eat them everywhere.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN “FRY THEM IN THE SAME OIL AS OTHER THINGS”!
Celiacs, be warned: if you love fries as much as I do, you might need to factor in some workouts to your visit to Greece.
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Resources
The Greek Celiac Society
Celiac Greece
Culinary Backstreets Food Walks (Celiac Tours available)
Disclaimer: As per the notes in the post, Culinary Backstreets offered me the food walk for free, testing out a celiac version of their popular tours.
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