It’s Greek to Me!

In case you’ve been wondering… the past few weeks have been quite busy, with a vacation in Florida, and trip to Madison, WI and too much work.

The good news is that I did manage (no surprise) to eat some excellent food in some fun locations, and will try to relate some of the high points over the next few weeks.

Greek food always surprises me! My perception is that it’s simply and quickly prepared, using fresh ingredients that originated in the Mediterranean. And prices are very reasonable, with prodigious quantities of food (leftovers are the norm)!

I think large greek salad with feta cheese, olives, anchovies, chickpeas, tomatoes and lettuce with a tangy dressing. Gyros, souvlaki and shish kebabs. Whole grilled snapper with fresh oregano grilled over a charcoal fire. Appetizers of flaming saganaki cheese, greek dips made with cucumber, fish roe, and garlic and potato, eaten with warm fresh pita. Traditional greek dishes like spanakopita (fresh spinach pie), and mousaka (eggplant and potato pie)… And of course, a sweet greek pastry like a baklava, with some strong coffee for dessert. Perhaps an after dinner digestive of black licorice tasting ouzo.

Now that your mouth is watering, don’t you wonder why you don’t eat more of this terrific ethnic food?

And why do local “Greek towns” seem to show up in some really random places?

Chicago has a great one! I lived there for several years and always go there whenever I’m in town visiting friends or on business. While I’ve always liked Greek Islands, Parthenon, and Costa’s, my favorite is Santorini http://www.santorinichicago.com

for the delicious Greek chicken or fresh grilled fish! It’s a cozy restaurant, and what I imagine a typical Greek Taverna to be like.

I know Detroit has a fairly large Greek town, and even though I’ve spent a fair amount of time working in and around the Detroit area, I’ve never ventured there…

Baltimore has a mini-Greek town which we discovered (with a bit of pre-research), on the way back from a trip to Camden Yards. It’s in a funky neighborhood on the north end of the Ft. McHenry Tunnel, but Samos restaurant there http://www.samosrestaurant.com is not to be missed. I can still taste the gyros!

And most recently, there is a Greektown in Tarpon Springs Florida, just north of Sarasota.

Who knew? http://www.spongedocks.net.

Of course, if you haven’t been to Tarpon Springs, it’s also the sponge capital of the US (the real ones, not the ones you buy at the grocery)!

I ran across Tarpon Springs while doing some pre-trip planning, and as we had a rainy day, we decided to check it out.

Tarpon Springs Greek town consists of a sponge museum, places to buy sponges and lots of homemade soap made with olive oil or goats milk, Greek groceries and bakeries, and, of course, many restaurants. We were hungry and quickly headed off to eat at Costa’s, the mostly highly recommended place in town. While the food was good, and we enjoyed the greek salad with shrimp and gyro plate, we had higher expectations. They did prepare a mean plate of lightly fried calamari, and the service was great.

Next we headed across the street to check out the Halki Greek market, http://www.halkigreekmarket.com/, which carries traditional Greek grocery and food products … it was a cool “old world” store. We did a bit of sponge investigation at Spongeworld and its sponge museum (pretty neat stuff with the history of sponging at Tarpon springs, pictures of diving expeditions and divers, and a broad variety of sponge memorabilia. Unfortunately, we were too late for the sponge movie). Then, my wife and daughter went into “shopping mode” on an important mission to find the best local soaps and sponges. Fortunately, there was an excellent bakery, Hellas, nearby where my son and I could cool off, and eat some delicious pastries, and drink iced coffee.

Not sure I’d make a special trip here if the sun is out, but it was a unique experience, and produced some decent eating, good laughs, and special souvenirs.

One final point, my current local favorite Greek restaurant is not associated with a Greek town, but does offer fantastic gyro’s, greek specialities, and a terrific salad! If you’re near Tarrytown or Mt. Kisco and looking for a great meal, head to Lefteris Gyro http://www.lefterisgyro.com.

And, if you happen to run across a Greek town or Greek restaurant that you enjoy, post it up!