Tzatziki, cucumbers and yogurt, was a tangy, refreshing contrast. I wasn't going to get any takers for the third spread offered, pureed garlic with olive oil and lemon, so we had instead firm, sharp-tasting chunks of kefalograviera cheese. You could also start with thin, flat slices and tentacles of squid grilled on small skewers so they have a deliciously smoky flavor, or the traditional grape leaves stuffed with ground beef and rice and bathed in an egg-lemon sauce. There are various kebabs, such as chicken skewered with the traditional kebab vegetables and squash. If you feel like seafood but not whole fish, try the shrimp giouvetsaki, an appealing dish the Taverna Athena first introduced to Baltimore.
Dinner ends with a flourish.
Desserts are baked by Greek Village, the same bakery that bakes the restaurant's bread. They are fresh and wonderfully sticky-sweet except for a chocolate mousse cake, which is pedestrian in comparison. Stick to the baklava or custard-filled galaktoboureko. If those aren't wicked enough for you, go for the chocolate-drizzled version of the baklava. At first it wasn't a problem that the host was also the only waiter.