Athens Imports

2545 Lorain Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 861-8149

I have been looking for this dessert wine lately. Nectar of Samos. It comes from the small island of Samos, off the mainland of Greece. Only Samos island can produce Samos wine, so I had to find it...
Athens Imports downtown, down the street from the West Side Market, is a corner store specializing in Greek foods and products.
There were two older gentleman that glared at me as I walked through the door, as they sat at one of the two tables sitting in the middle of this Greek grocery. I wandered up and down the aisles, seeing everything from organic Italian wines to Turkish candies.
They had a whole aisle dedicated to olives in jars, in addition to vats of ones to help yourself. They had cases of cheeses sitting in their own juices, and a case full of prepared foods. Spanakopita, Tyropita, Baklava, and others to choose from.
Everything looked so good it was hard to decide, and it didn't help that the people behind the counters were staring at me, putting on the pressure to make the decisions of which morsels to take with me. I found the dessert wine. The wine of Samos, although it was not the specific one that I was looking for, it was from Samos, so I will start there.
The Tyropita; phyllo dough wrapped around an egg and cheese mixture, was so moist and delicious, the Spanakopita; phyllo dough wrapped around spinach and feta cheese, was salty and crisp, and the Baklava, was fantastically sweet and heavenly.
Athens Imports is definitely the place to go if you are looking for everything from international wines to freshly baked Greek delights.