Dimitris Kotsaris was more proselytizer than baker. Rather than a flour-dusted apron, this mild-mannered gentleman would wear elegant suits to meet with journalists, bearing two or three kilos of his famous whole-wheat bread as a gift. He was an ardent believer in the medicinal qualities of bread and preached widely that good bread promoted good health, once even taking his case to Harvard, where he delivered a talk about the role of well-made loaves in healthy diets. In 1981 Kotsaris opened Pnyka, the pulpit from which he spread his yeasty gospel, and gave the bakery the Greek name for the hill downtown where, in the golden years of Ancient Greece, Athenians gathered for the general assemblies that played such a formative part in the creation of democracy. It is quite fitting then that the first Pnyka shop opened in Syntagma (“Constitution”) Square. The bakery has since added two more shops in the city, in Exarchia and in Pagrati, the headquarters of the operation, and its following is such that last year a third was established in Vienna. Kotsaris passed away last year but his vision lives on through his son George, who has taken over the business.

Editor’s note: This guest review by Nicolas Nicolaides, an Istanbul-born Greek and Ph.D. student in history who moved to Athens as a child, explores a refugee community’s past and present and finds one of Athens' best kebabs. "Despite the fact the Armenian quarter of Athens had been created out of the rubbish heap there was more charm and character to this little village than one usually finds in a modern city… In the midst of the most terrible poverty and suffering there nevertheless emanated a glow which was holy; the surprise of finding a cow or a sheep in the same room with a mother and a child gave way instantly to a feeling of reverence."

Dear Culinary Backstreets, My family is traveling to Athens in October. Some of our friends have told us that Athens is not very child-friendly and that the only places that cater to children are international fast food chains. Is this true? Are there any other options for those of us who do not want to eat American-style fast food?

To Triantafilo tis Nostimias restaurant would be impossible to find if someone didn’t tell you it was there. Although just a five-minute walk from busy Syntagma Square, it is hidden in an arcade on the rather unappealing Lekka Street. Despite the central location, the downtown Athens standout remains largely unknown and is not even included in most Athenian food guides. You truly have to be a local to come here.

The blackboard hanging outside Dexameni’s cramped kitchen reads, “Kindergarten-Bar-Nursing Home,” the title jokingly bestowed upon the café by the eminent novelist and poet Alexandros Papadiamantis. He was among the literati who made Dexameni their regular hangout shortly after it opened in the early 1900s – so regular that the place ended up serving as a home-away-from-home for all stages of life.

It’s a long drive from Athens to Perama, the westernmost terminal of the port town of Piraeus, and the payoff is, at first sight, minimal. To the left is the port’s industrial zone – a forest of blue and orange cranes that tower over the sea. To the right is a stretch of industrial wasteland: old electricity plants, derelict factories, walls with enormous graffiti celebrating Piraeus’s very successful team, Olympiacos, and then a jumble of recently built high-rise buildings on a rocky hill. First populated in the 1920s by immigrants from Asia Minor, Istanbul and the Pontus (Black Sea) region, this suburb of Piraeus now has about 25,000 residents, most of whose livelihoods depend on the dockyards that have been here since the 1930s. Perama remains a proud, working-class neighborhood, and it is no accident that the early Greek hip-hop of the ’90s and the so-called Low Bap hip-hop genre and movement started here.

Piraeus holds the distinction of being Greece’s biggest port, as well as the largest passenger port in Europe. Although it is a mere 20-minute train ride from downtown Athens, most Athenians think of Piraeus with a reverence reserved for a foreign country. There is just something almost mythic about this ancient port, which has been in existence since the 5th century B.C. – the famous opening line of Plato’s Republic is, after all, “I went down to the Piraeus yesterday.” In the modern period, the greater Piraeus area – home to a population of about half a million in Piraeus proper, along with a number of suburbs – has witnessed dizzying highs and lows, especially over the past century. The area has been a major destination for immigrants from elsewhere in Greece, including the islands and the Peloponnese. One of the biggest population expansions came after 1922, when vast numbers of Greek refugees fleeing Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) migrated to the area and established new working-class neighborhoods, including Nikaia, Keratsini, Drapetsona and Korydallos.

Dear Culinary Backstreets, I keep hearing about the wonders of Cretan cuisine, but is it really any different from regular Greek cooking? And is there anywhere nice to try it in Athens?

Editor’s note: This is the third piece in our series uncovering the hidden gems in some of Athens’ most touristy neighborhoods. After checking out Psyri and Plaka, we now turn to Syntagma. The quiet neighborhood where Makalo is located, right between Syntagma and Plaka, is home to some good restaurants (such as old-fashioned Paradosiako) and even to a strip of ethnic joints located on bustling Apollonos Street. Considering the area’s proximity to some of the biggest hotels in Athens and to the ultra-touristy Plaka, however, it’s rather surprising that not many visitors have caught on to the charms of Makalo, a local hangout with a fun vibe and great Greek-style cocktails.

Editor’s note: This is the second piece in our series featuring the hidden gems in some of Athens’ most touristy neighborhoods. We previously explored Psyri; it is now time to take on the holy grail of Athenian tourism: Plaka. There’s a reason why this area of old Athens, just below the Acropolis, is the city’s most touristy neighborhood: it has a history of more than 6,000 years.

Editor’s note: We're sad to report that Pandeli is now closed. This guest review by Nicolas Nicolaides, an Istanbul-born Greek and Ph.D. student in history who moved to Athens as a child, offers a personal look at a famous Istanbul-Greek culinary landmark and its Athens outpost. The Istanbul Greeks (aka Constantinopolitans) have some obsessions when it comes to food, and my grandma was no exception in that regard. Like every Istanbulite transplanted to Athens, she would do her research, taking advice from family and friends in order to find food that would satisfy her high standards – i.e. the way it tasted in Istanbul. For example, Grandma was very fond of meringue cookies and she knew that the best in Athens were to be found at Varsos. She wouldn’t compromise on anything else, so even though Varsos was 12 miles from where we lived, Grandma and I would make an excursion two or three times a year from our largely Constantinopolitan neighborhood of Phaleron to Kifisia (aka Kephisia) to get her precious meringue cookies. I would be rewarded with a couple scoops of ice cream or a creamy rice pudding while Grandma took her coffee on the famous patisserie’s patio.

Editor’s note: This is the first piece in a series in which we explore the hidden gems in some of Athens’ most touristy neighborhoods. The streets of Psyri, Plaka, Gazi and other popular areas are full of restaurant signs trying to lure diners in, but which of them are truly worth your time and money? Culinary Backstreets is on the case.

Editor's note: We regret to report that Ideal has closed. There is just something special about Ideal, one of Athens’ oldest restaurants, which recently celebrated 90 years in business. Perhaps it’s the marble and glass Art Nouveau entrance with gold lettering, which makes the venue look right at home next to some of the city’s architectural gems, such as the 1930s-era, New York-influenced Rex Theater, which now houses the National Theater of Greece. Or maybe it’s the restaurant’s proximity to the imposing yet decrepit Majestic Hotel just across the street and long-suffering Omonia Square nearby. Taken together, all point towards an almost forgotten bourgeois Athenian identity.

Editor’s note: This is the fourth installment in our street food series this week, featuring dispatches on the best streetside eating in all the cities Culinary Backstreets covers. Before we get down to the business of discussing the best of Athens’ street food, a disclaimer: Athens is at a disadvantage when it comes to streetside eats. For one thing, a lot of venues – souvlaki joints, pizza parlors and even offal soup places – are open all night or even 24/7; they are just not serving on the street, though.

Painted in hues of pistachio green, the new Melilotos is now located in the heart of Athens’ traditional shopping district on Kalamiotou Street, in a neighborhood that is well known for shops selling all sorts of wonderful fabrics and textiles by the meter.