Greek-American cuisine

Greek-American taverna

The taverna and estiatorio are widespread in the major US cities, serving Greek-American cooking. A typical menu for a taverna would usually include many if not all of the following items:

• Bread, usually loaf bread, sometimes flat bread, used to make sandwiches such as the gyro;
• Salads, such as Greek salad;
• Appetizers or entrées like tzatziki (yogurt, garlic, cucumber dip), melitzanosalata (eggplant dip), tirokafteri (whipped feta cheese, with hot peppers and olive oil dip), spanakopita and dolmades or dolmadakia – (rice mixture with fresh herbs such as mint and parsley and sometimes pine nuts-and in some regions minced meat is added-tightly wrapped with tender grape leaves and served with a thick and creamy, lemony sauce)
• Soups like fasolada (bean soup)
• Pasta such as spaghetti napolitano; pastitsio baked layers of thick pasta (Greek pastitsio noodles) and minced meat mixture topped with a thick béchamel sauce)
• Gyro sandwich in pita bread or plated
• Fish and seafood dishes such as baked fresh fish, fried salt cod served with skordalia (garlic sauce); fried squid and baby octopus
• Baked dishes (magirefta) such as a wide variety of seasonal Vegetable dishes); moussaka (eggplant or zucchini, minced meat, béchamel sauce)
• Grilled dishes such as souvlaki
• Wine including retsina, mavrodafni and other Greek red/white wine varieties
• Beer
• Spirits such as ouzo, tsipouro and Metaxa brandy
• Fruit