22-Sep-06 The tavernas and restaurants on Hydra each have a unique atmosphere and character but are all fairly similar in what they offer on the menu with one or two notable exceptions that I'll mention later. The range of menus have generally become broader over the last decade but they're still quite limited to variations of traditional Greek dishes. You won't find Chinese or Indian restaurants here. So if you like your food spicy, you should probably bring your own Tabasco sauce!

Even with the advent of the supply boat to the island acquiring cold storage to keep things from going off during delivery, there are still certain food items that the Greeks regard with suspicion. You'll find advocado pears in the grocers because there's demand from the foreign residents but not in the restaurants because ... well the Greeks don't like them, so why would anyone else!

AuberginesAt the tavernas, and quite a few of the restaurants, you'll find horiatiki (Greek Salad), along with tzatziki (yogurt, garlic & cucumber dip), brizolas (grilled pork chops) melansalata (aubergine dip), souvlakis (skewered meat) and the inevitable chips with everything. The tavernas are where you should go for the real Greek dishes with recipes that have been handed down through the generations. Fasoulada (similar to baked beans but a hundred times better and not served on toast) can be found, more or less every day, at the Sto Steki taverna. Gitoniko (Christina and Manolis) offer a very tasty dish of beef, oven cooked in a sauce of wine, tomatoes and onions flavoured with cloves, which goes really well with a green salad and chunks of crusty bread. The Paradosiakos taverna offer pieces of excellently flavoured grilled chicken, very "finger licking good" even if the appearance is a bit questionable; it does look like it's been in a serious road accident by the time they've tenderized it and cut it into rather unconventional portions! And the fava (yellow bean puree that's almost like a pate) is perfect at Amelia's taverna. Amelia also servers, what is to my mind, the best saganaki on the island; no, it's deep fried cheese and there's nothing remotely oriental about it! The tavernas will give you a menu but you should always head for the kitchen, they all have a hot cabinet on view, and choose from what's been cooked that day for a really authentic treat.

Red PeppersSalads of all varieties have found favour recently now that we have a few decent green grocers on the island with stocks of more inspiring ingredients. The Isalos Cafe, the Pirate Bar and the Enalion Restaurant have good imaginative selections.

Pizzas and pasta dishes are readily available at most of the cafes but tend to be rather unimaginative except at the Isalos Cafe, which serve huge and completely over-the-top thick pizzas (be warned 1 pizza will feed 3 ravenous adults) and an excellent Carbonara Pasta. The Caprice Restaurant do the best thin crust pizzas and are happy to top them with what you want if it's available.

Souvlakis are the Greek answer to MacDonald's. Souvlakis are pittas wrapped 'round fillings that traditionally include meat, tzatziki, onion, tomato and seasoning. These days chips have been added but you can always ask for them not to be. Thanasis at the harbour end of Miaoulis Street can be relied on to get them just right. They're an excellent choice for a cheap snack that's actually quite healthy. And on the subject of fast food, if you can't live without a burger, go to the Hollywood Cafe for one of Tracy's homemade specials with absolutely no additives, they always hit the mark.

Fish on Hydra is available as you would expect on an island, but ... most of it is imported and frozen. Fresh fish is the most expensive item on any menu. The fishermen do bring their catches into the harbour and sell off the back of their boats in the mornings but with the local waters having been over-fished, most of what they catch is really small and only good for soup. Anything of a decent size is sold to the tavernas and restaurants if it's not snapped up by passing trade first thing. Quite a few of the tavernas have cold cabinets displaying fish for you to choose. The Garden of Taste (used to be called Stani), Gitoniko and the Psarapoula (on the harbour) offer fresh fish but for serious seafood enthusiasts, visit the Sunset Restaurant overlooking the canons on the west corner of the harbour or the Kodylenia Taverna overlooking the little harbour at Kamini.

And for meat eaters: pork and chicken feature highly on most menus. In the main either will be served grilled. Beef does put in an appearance but generally in a stew/casserole type of dish. T-bone steaks are almost unheard of and fillet steak is called bonfilet at the few places that serve it. If you like your steak rare make sure your waiter understands the request otherwise I can guarantee it will be medium to well done as the Greeks wouldn't dream of eating pink meat and will assume you weren't in your right mind! Surprisingly lamb doesn't appear on the menus much except when it's incorporated in a dish like mousaka. It is a traditional celebration meat reserved for occasions such as Paska (Orthodox Easter) when whole lambs are ordered in a similar way to turkeys being booked for western Christmas. Lamb is also a popular wedding or christening dish, always traditionally roasted on a spit over a charcoal fire.

Dairy products on Hydra are very good. In the restaurants and tavernas, you'll be served with excellent yogurt puddings with honey and nuts. Feta cheese always accompanies every horiatiki (Greek salad) or is often combined with beetroot (including the leaves) or as a dish on its own with olive oil.

HortaIf like me, you really enjoy a plate of tender fresh vegetables, only cooked long enough for them not to have lost their crispness, then you'll be disappointed. Vegetables don't feature very highly at all. Those that do tend to be deep fried, delicious if done well, but not quite the same and it's really not surprising that most people go home from their holidays a little weightier than when they arrived. It's quite frustrating considering that the green grocers sell a great range of Mediterranean vegetables but par boiling and steaming are not cooking methods that are in everyday use here. What does feature on more or less every menu is a dish called horta. Horta can be any of a range of edible green leaves that are in season, spinach being one of them, that are boiled and served hot or cold with olive oil and lemon. It's delicious and all leaves used have some therapeutic value. Horta is as close to a staple food item, that's green, as the traditional Greek family will get. So vegetarians are going to have to resign themselves to doing without oven baked jacket potatoes or cook at home if they're staying in a private house rather than a pension!

Most meals are rounded off with seasonal fruit such as crisp apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon or juicy, pink chunks of watermelon. And if you just fancy something naughty but nice, Wendy of the Pirate Bar cooks a delicious lemon cheese cake each day that can become an additiction.

I think you can safely assume that you won't starve while you're on Hydra.

Now, for the question that I always hate people asking me when they're on the island for the first time; "where would you recommend". Goodness I dread that question because living here all the time means that I cook at home and only go out occasionally and I always try to be unbiased. But I did start this article with a hint about one or two exceptions, so these would be my choices.

For lunch, I would highly recommend the Enalion Restaurant at Vlichos. Not only are the surroundings beautiful but the service and ambiance are spot on as well. The selection of dishes, the quality of the ingredients, the inventiveness of the combinations and the standard of cooking is unsurpassed by anything else on the island. The menu does include some Greek traditional dishes but by anyone's standards the restaurant would have to be considered international. Deliberation over the menu is always difficult and time-consuming because there are so many mouth-watering options. But to end the experience, the chocolate soufles served with little jugs of cream are to die for and I'm sure they're high-fiber-low-calorie! A definite must while your on Hydra.

And for dinner, the Pirofani Restaurant in Kamini would be my first choice because the menu is different and the atmosphere always friendly. My favourite dishes would have to be a Pirofani Salad of lettuce, bacon, lightly grilled manouri cheese and a honey and mustard dressing, followed by a rare steak with dauphinois potatoes (the only place on Hydra, other than the Enalion, where you can get potatoes that haven't seen a deep fat fryer!). The Pirofani also offers a curry of the day. It's not exactly a madras but it's a bit more spicy than you'll find elsewhere.

Kali Orexi!