The Food of the Gods

Never mind the moussaka and the taramasalata. If you're headed to Athens for the Games, get a taste of some of these less familiar Greek delicacies:

melitzanosalata Known to the Greeks as eggplant caviar, this is a great dip for picnics or as a starter for more formal meals. The locals enjoy melitzanosalata's smoky, somewhat bitter flavor with warm Greek bread and a glass of dry white wine. One of the best places to sample the dip is at the grapevine-covered Sholarheion on 14 Tripodon Street, tel: (30-210) 324 7605, in the less touristy section of the Plaka district. If you want to whip up your own batch back home, skin a baked eggplant while it's still fairly hot, then mash it up with a dash of lemon juice and a cup of extra virgin olive oil — Greek, natch; mix in some grated raw onion, two cloves of garlic, parsley, vinegar and some salt and pepper. And, as the Greeks say, kali orexi (bon appétit)!

yiouvetsi This traditional lamb casserole is named after the round terracotta dish in which it's cooked. Long a staple of Greece 's island communities, yiouvetsi is increasingly served at upscale taverns like Daphne's, on 4 Lysikratous Street, tel: (30-210) 322 7971, a beautifully restored neo-classical home in the famed old quarter of Plaka. A leg of lamb is pierced with cloves of garlic and then covered with minced tomatoes, olive oil, dried oregano and maybe some thyme, then served with kritharaki, the tear-shaped Greek pasta, and chunks of feta.

kokoretsi You need guts to eat this, and guts to make it — specifically, sheep's intestines stuffed with diced offal. Kokoretsi is a mainstay of tavern menus, particularly those along the Vlachika, a famous strip of butchers' tavernas, in the bustling district of Vari on Athens ' southern outskirts. The offal is wrapped in intestines and roasted on a spit. Slivers of meat are then sliced off as appetizers. If you have the stomach for it, try the dish at the traditional Tsolias taverna on 45 Varis Boulevard, tel: (30- 210) 895 2446.