Sometimes I lie awake at night dreaming of the Greek isles. The pure blue sea, the salty air, the white washed houses…who am I kidding? That’s not what I crave. I miss the food! The honey-soaked pastries, the octopus caught just yards from my table at an outdoor café, the rich lamb kebabs…

Lucky for me, a taste of Greece is only an N-train ride away. On a recent sunny day I skipped lunch and made a mini tour-de-Astoria.

First stop: Artopolis, 23-18 31st St.

The second I walked in this bakery pastisserie, I felt like I’d entered a shrine to the god of all things baked. Tiers of platters brimming with perfectly crafted desserts dazzled my eyes while the sweet smell of honey drew me in. Grand displays offered up an enormous selection of sweets– pistachio shortbread cookies, diples (twisty curls of pastry made from vodka and flour, dipped in honey and sprinkled with walnuts), melomakarona (dark cookies made with flour, cinnamon, cloves, walnuts, nutmeg, sugar, orange juice and sunflower oil and dipped in honey), kourambiethes (butter cookies made with almonds and Greek brandy and then rolled in powdered sugar), baklava (ground walnuts and almonds, wrapped in layers of butter phyllo, baked and drenched in honey)–and breads. more…