Greece

For the culinarily inclined, island hopping can afford more than beautiful vistas and blue seas. Despite being close neighbors, the Dodecanese islands, which snake up the eastern edge of the Aegean, each have their own flavorful versions of national favorites. Tavernas prepare variations on traditional Greek meals, spiced up with local ingredients. Here are a few specialties that should not be missed:

Tilos Goat: Due to the lack of grass and leafy plants on the desert-like island, the goats maintain an unusual diet of underground shoots, making their meat especially tender and flavorful. Common entrees include stuffed goat baked in the oven and various goat meat stews.

Nisyros Soumada: The volcanic island of Nisyros was once a major supplier of almonds. Though its trading days have slowed, today Nisyros is famous for its non-alcoholic almond drink, soumada. When made with honey, preserved baby tomatoes, and capers, the usually bitter drink can taste quite sweet.

Symi Shrimp: Symi’s locally-caught shrimp usually are cooked in olive oil and traditional spices. The especially tiny shrimp are too small to dissect and have tender shells, so enjoy them whole. One particularly delicious dish is shrimp and feta cheese saganaki, prepared in the traditional two-handled saganaki frying pan.

Kos Honey: Beehives—termed “honey boxes”—dot the Kos countryside, providing the island’s famous honey. The honey is later spiced with everything from orange to thyme and used in desserts such as loukoumades (honey puffs) and halva. The annual honey festival in Antimachia pays homage to the tradition and provides a sampling of all the varieties.

Kassos Cabbage: The dourmadaika (stuffed cabbage) comes filled with potato and meat and is spiced with roikio (locally-picked dandelion leaves). The cabbage also can be stuffed with minced meat and rice in a particularly delicious variation of the traditional Greek dolmades.

Top your meal off with a bottle of retsina, the favored wine of the Dodecanese. Produced in Greece for nearly 3000 years, this white or rose wine is not made anywhere else in the world. After brewing, it is run over pine needles, leaving it with a strong taste of forest and smoke. In ancient times, the pine resin that lends its distinctive flavor was used to prevent the wine from spoiling. Today, the strong taste is too much to handle for many tourists; some choose to dilute the drink with soda. Retsina is less likely to offend your palate if you enjoy it at room temperature—served cold, the resinous taste is quite intense—with a traditional Dodecanese meal.