<p>Thanasis Karagiorgos is the third generation of his family to run Stani, one of Athens' last surviving dairy bars. Founded by his grandfather Nikos in 1931, the family business has preserved a tradition once widespread across the city, when Athenians gathered at dairy shops for fresh milk, yogurt, and sweets. Today, Stani is a stop on our <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#781e2a] underline" href="https://culinarybackstreets.com/food-tours/athens/culinary-secrets-of-downtown-athens">"Culinary Secrets of Downtown Athens" food tour,</a> where the specialty remains thick, house-made sheep's milk yogurt served with honey and walnuts. The menu also includes honey-drenched <em>loukoumades</em>, rice pudding, and <em>galaktoboureko</em>, all prepared according to recipes passed down through the generations.</p>

Read more

<p>When Meriko Gubeladze opened Shavi Lomi in Tbilisi in 2011, she helped usher in a new era of Georgian cooking. Rather than simply reproducing familiar recipes, she began playing with ingredients, techniques, and regional specialties, creating dishes that could surprise even Georgians, and why we take travelers here on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#781e2a] underline" href="https://culinarybackstreets.com/trips/tbilisi/harvest-time-in-the-cradle-of-wine">our trip to Georgia</a>. Her signature <em>ghobi</em>, an enormous wooden platter piled with cheeses, pickles, vegetable spreads, beans, and cornbread, turns the traditional Georgian feast into a communal centerpiece. A self-taught chef who learned to cook at home and during her years abroad, Meriko has become one of the country's most influential culinary figures, showing that Georgian food can evolve without losing its identity.</p>

Read more

<p>Barba Mitsos (Dimitris Koliolios) has been working at Diporto since 1957, making him one of the longtime custodians of Athens' old-school dining culture. Tucked into a basement near the city's central market, the taverna has become something of an international sensation in recent years, drawing visitors who have discovered it through social media and travel coverage. But Mitsos has stubbornly stuck to his old (and delicious) ways. There's still no sign outside, no printed menu, and no interest in keeping up with culinary trends. Diners descend the stairs to find enormous barrels of retsina and a handful of dishes that change daily: slow-cooked chickpeas, braised beans, boiled greens, and fresh fish. The restaurant and the man behind it embody the kind of neighborhood institution that Culinary Backstreets has spent years documenting, one that has become famous precisely because it refuses to change.</p>

Read more

<p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Bantis is a traditional bougatsa workshop that has operated in the same location since 1969. Philippos Bantis, who now runs the place along with his wife and son, was taught the art of bougatsa-making by his grandfather, who came to Thessaloniki from Kayseri in Cappadocia – an area known for its long-ago pie craft - after the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in the early 1920s. It was Bantis’s father, Dimitris, who opened the shop, and Bantis, after completing his studies as a pastry chef, took over. He makes delicious cheese bougatsa as well as all the other typical versions.</span></p>

Read more

<p>After ten years of waiting for her son Serdar to help her open a restaurant, Hatice Ataoğlu finally took matters into her own hands. While on vacation, she found a tiny storefront in Istanbul’s Kuzguncuk neighborhood, sent him the money, and told him to sign the lease. Hatice Anne Ev Yemekleri ("anne" means mother in Turkish) opened in 2011, serving her home cooking to neighbors who ate on little stools outside because there was no room for tables. Today, the family business has expanded across the street, with daughter-in-law Merve preparing the recipes she learned from Hatice, while Serdar and his sister Pınar help run the restaurant. The menu features Turkish home-style favorites, including <em>karnıyarık</em> (stuffed eggplant), hot and cold <em>dolma</em>, and labor-intensive <em>mantı</em>, tiny dumplings dressed in yogurt sauce. A favorite among locals and visitors alike, Hatice Anne Ev Yemekleri is also a stop on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#781e2a] underline" href="https://culinarybackstreets.com/city-guides/istanbul#upcoming-trips">Culinary Backstreets’ Istanbul trip</a>, offering a taste of the home cooking that made Hatice a neighborhood legend.</p>

Read more

<p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)">Christos Kontonikolas’s small cheese shop near Ano Poli is the Thessaloniki outpost of a family dairy rooted in Dryovouno, a mountain village in northern Greece. Since opening the shop with his wife in 1989, Kontonikolas has sold directly to customers, offering feta-like goat cheese, <em>mizithra</em>, yogurt, kefir, butter, and aged cheeses made with milk from naturally raised animals. More than a retail counter, the shop reflects his belief in small-scale production, direct relationships, and the old cheesemaking knowledge passed from one generation to the next.</span></p>

Read more

<p>On Anafartalar Street, near Izmir's historic Agora, Muammer Usta specializes in <em>söğüş</em>, one of the city's most distinctive street foods. Originally from Niğde, a city known for the dish, he prepares it by layering chilled, finely chopped lamb's head meat into flatbread with parsley, tomatoes, onions, peppers, and cumin. The balance of ingredients is crucial, as is the skill involved in preparing the meat. For Muammer Usta, it's a craft that turns a handful of ingredients into one of Kemeraltı's essential street-food experiences.</p>

Read more

<p>Antonis Prelorentzos carries on his family's farming tradition in Kambos Kallonis, where he's one of the main artichoke producers on the Greek island of Tinos. His harvest supplies local restaurants and food producers, as well as vendors at farmers' markets in Athens. He grows his artichokes without pesticides and with minimal irrigation, relying on natural cultivation methods. In summer, he also produces potatoes and tomatoes. Proud of his family's agricultural legacy, Antonis loves introducing visitors to his farm, including guests on our <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#781e2a] underline" href="https://culinarybackstreets.com/trips/athens/from-athens-to-tinos-island-a-greek-culinary-odyssey">culinary trip to Tinos</a>, sharing his knowledge and explaining the techniques behind his produce.</p>

Read more

<p>Irakli “Blui” Bluishvili traded his career as a professional photographer for winemaking, returning to his family's roots in the village of Akura in Georgia's Kakheti region, one of the world's premier wine growing areas. Visitors on our <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#781e2a] underline" href="https://culinarybackstreets.com/trips/tbilisi/harvest-time-in-the-cradle-of-wine">culinary trip to Georgia</a> have a chance to meet him and discover his work at Blui Winery firsthand. Over the past decade, he's restored his grandparents' house, revived the nearly forgotten Zghia grape, and embraced Georgia's ancient tradition of fermenting wine in clay <em>qvevri</em>. He's also become an inventive cook, experimenting with pickles, sauces, and Georgian dishes that draw on tradition without being bound by it. But Blui's ambitions extend beyond his own vineyard and kitchen. By involving local residents in harvesting, <em>qvevri</em> cleaning, and hosting guests, he's working to bring new opportunities to the village while keeping its winemaking heritage alive.</p>

Read more

<p>Every morning at Bereket Döner in Istanbul’s Hacı Kadın neighborhood, Murat Efe, known as Murat Usta, builds his döner spit by hand, carefully layering meat and fat with tomatoes and peppers. As the meat roasts, the vegetables release their juices, keeping it moist and flavorful. Murat and his older brother Beşir started the business as a street stall in 1986 before moving into their current shop in one of Istanbul’s poorest neighborhoods. While Beşir eventually pursued a career in hospitality, Murat stayed behind, earning a loyal following among local workers and residents. His chicken döner, made exclusively with marinated thigh meat, is another specialty. Despite serving hundreds of customers daily, Murat keeps prices affordable, continuing a tradition of feeding the neighborhood that began nearly four decades ago. Bereket Döner is also a stop on our <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="text-[#781e2a] underline" href="https://culinarybackstreets.com/food-tours/istanbul/culinary-secrets-of-the-old-city">"Culinary Secrets of the Old City tour."</a></p>

Read more