Athens has never been an in-bed-by-11-p.m. kind of city. We Athenians are all about having a good time for as much of the time as possible, so we’re often out drinking and dancing until the wee hours of the morning. And then of course it’s time for a pick-me-up from one of the city’s vromiko food trucks – literally “dirty,” but only metaphorically so. In fact, the best of this category is very good indeed. We’ve written previously about a couple of standouts; here are a few more of our late-night favorites.

Athinas is one of our favorite streets in the whole of Athens. Running from Omonia to Monastiraki squares, it has a scruffy, chaotic, disreputable charm that has hardly changed since we moved to Greece more than 40 years ago. From the Omonia side to City Hall and the Central Market, hawkers and peddlers – of everything from sunglasses and “magic” juicers to contraband cigarettes – make the sidewalk an obstacle course for the crowds of shoppers in search of bargains in open storefronts.

In June of this year, a new museum joined the roster of cultural institutions in Athens and is the first dedicated to Greek gastronomy. There may be others where you’ll see ancient cooking pots and serving vessels or rustic farming implements and kitchen equipment from bygone eras, but they’ll only be a small part of a general archaeological or folkloric collection. And how often will eating and drinking be a key part of your experience?