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Food Events

A Look at Greek Mama’s Bites at the Dallas Farmers Market

The small stand has some of the best sweet and savory nibbles in town.
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A glimpse of the deep-blue Aegean ocean catches your eye. The logo with olive branches has you dreaming of olive oil and feta. The first is a snapshot from Dimitrios Vallits and Glykereia Gourouna’s last trip to the island of Paros, where Gourouna’s brother lives; the second is the insignia for Greek Mama’s Bites, where you can find her Greek treats, made with a careful hand.

The husband and wife are both from Athens. He moved to New York as a musician over 40 years ago. She came two years ago. These are her grandmother’s recipes, and it’s little touches that set them apart.

Start with baklava, baked crispy layers of handmade phyllo interspersed with walnuts and almonds. This baklava is not like Persian varieties, which tend to be more syrup-soaked and sweet, wafting the essence of rose or orange blossom water. Gourouna’s is particularly toasty and crisp, the layers delicate in texture, with a good dose of cinnamon and lemon lifting the flavors. If you want something juicier, try the orange custard phyllo cigarettes: more homemade phyllo encasing a light orange custard, surprising if you haven’t had it before, but essentially a bite-sized version of the classic Greek orange phyllo cake galektoboureko. The custard filling—semolina, eggs, milk, orange juice and zest—is wonderful, the whole yielding bite soft-edged with simple syrup.

There are also cookies: plain twisted knots and the powdered-sugar and almond nuggets called Greek wedding cookies. (Gourouna started two years ago with just her baklava and wedding cookies at the Frisco Farmers Market. Her daughter chose the name. They’ve been at the Dallas Farmers Market since last November.) Savories include handmade dolmas and spanikopita that comes as flaky turnovers or snaky coils filled with spinach, feta, and onion. On a day when Gourouna and Vallits are both there, the pride in these mama’s bites is palpable.

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