Neo Psychiko, a suburb north of central Athens, is just a 15-minute drive from the city’s busy Syntagma central square yet feels like a world away. Residential and family-oriented, the area is greener and quieter than downtown. At its heart is Plateia Eleftherias (“Freedom Square”), a lively spot with a playground, a kiosk, cafes and restaurants – the usual you’ll find in any decent Athenian plaza. People gather here from early in the morning to late at night. One of those reliably busy all-day gathering spots is O Foititis, an assuming family-run fish restaurant that has been loyally serving locals since 2005, when resident Andreas Sfikas decided to turn his experience running a neighborhood snack bar into something more ambitious.

Dear Culinary Backstreets, I heard from some friends that everyone smokes in restaurants in Athens, despite the fact that it is not officially permitted. What is the situation, and is there anywhere we can dine without being exposed to smoke?

The idea behind the “Migrant Kitchen” lunch series, first organized in Istanbul this fall by Istanbul Eats and Culinary Backstreets, is simple: get locals to sample the food of some of the immigrant communities living in their city and, through that experience, to learn more about those often invisible communities. In Istanbul, the series gave locals a taste of some fantastic Cameroonian, Liberian and Ethiopian delicacies.