Greek American Food

The shared cuisine of Greek immigrants to the United States was a southern Mediterranean one based on olives and olive oil, garlic, lemon, tomatoes, fish and shellfish, lamb, oregano, cheese, wine, wheat, and an abundance of Mediterranean vegetables. Foods were primarily grilled or baked in the oven, with very few foods cooked on the stove top.

Until the 1890s there were fewer than 20,000 Greeks in the United States. Then, between 1890 and 1917 about 450,000 Greeks immigrated to the United States and an additional 70,000 arrived between 1918 and 1924. Most settled on the Eastern seaboard: Lowell and Boston in Massachusetts, New York City, Baltimore, Savannah, Tarpon Springs (home of the famous Greek sponge divers), and St. Augustine, Florida, all soon boasted thriving Greek communities. Others followed the railroads and jobs west, settling in Chicago, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco.