Naples is a city strewn with street vendors. Bread, thin pizzas meant to be eaten folded, fried pizzas, octopus broth, roasted artichokes, cones full of fried goodies, donuts, panzerotti and rice balls – there’s little you can’t find one of Naples’ vendors selling. Together, these numerous street sellers and their small stands play an important economic and cultural role in the city. In the midst of all these vendors there’s one that somehow manages to stand out. Some know him simply as Carmine. Others call him Carmine the Wizard because of his enchanting roasted chestnuts, which warm the hands and the stomachs of Neapolitans in winter. Whatever you call him, he’s an icon of Naples street food.

The thriving urban foodways of cosmopolitan Athens and the deeply held culinary traditions of the island of Tinos provide for a striking and delicious contrast and one that’s even better experienced during certain seasonal moments. It’s at these times of the year when already delicious local dishes and flavors seem to be amplified: a true celebration of the Eastern Mediterranean’s culinary bounty. Join us for a movable feast that begins in the modern metropolis of Athens with its ancient backdrop and then sails on to Tinos, where we’ll explore this idyllic island and its unique cuisine.

Continuing a tradition we began at IstanbulEats.com, as we approach the end of the year, we’ll be publishing “Best Bites of 2012,” a roundup of our top culinary experiences over the last year in each of the cities Culinary Backstreets covers. Submitted by our correspondents in Istanbul, Athens, Barcelona, Mexico City and Shanghai, these “Best Bites” are not only about the quality of the food – though it usually seems to factor in – but the quality of the experience. Our best bites are those perfect little dining moments when the right food ended up in front of us at precisely the right time, like a consoling bowl of soup in a steamy restaurant on a rainy day or a meal where all of the elements wonderfully came together.