Monday, July 25, 2011

Elephant Ear Sponges & Mykonos Restaurant


In light of world, national, and personal events, it's easy for me to sink into the doldrums. For a while I slacked off on promise-to-myself weekly trips, but started back up again to try and stay fresh and lively. We had to go to Dunedin the other day so we decided to take a side trip to Tarpon Springs so I could get some sponges for my clay work. Since we arrived at noon we had lunch at Mykonos Restaurant at 628 Dodecanase Blvd. When we saw they had grilled octopus, Octopodi Skaras, as an appetizer we had to order it.

Perhaps you'll recall I raved about the octopus we had at the Margarita Grill in Homosassa. I mentioned I had octopus with a lemon sauce to my waiter and I detected a slight displeasure on his face at the sauce, he said it should be served with olive oil and lemon. I gathered Mykonos Restaurant prides itself in being very authentic Greek in both ingredients and preparation. Their charbroiled octopus was tender and delicious.


Gary started with Avgolemono Soup which is a egg-lemon based chicken soup, the Greek equivalent of chicken noodle soup. The avgolemono has orzo in place of noodles and was excellent. I had a salad which was lettuce, feta cheese, olives, cucumbers, and tomatoes with an oil and vinegar dressing, fresh and crisp.


For his main course Gary had Garides Mykonos, sauted shrimp, with fresh tomatoes, feta and Greek spices. His side was Greek oven potatoes sliced length-wise and roasted in the oven with a brush of olive oil and lemon juice, both were excellent.


My main course was Arnaki Frikase, lamb fricassee, roasted with green endive, delicious and a huge portion. I ended up taking a good amount home to savor again later.


I've uncovered the lamb for you to see. Although it looks red, it was cooked to perfection not even close to rare. It was tender and juicy. If you're in Tarpon Springs be sure to go to Mykonos for lunch or dinner. Opa to Mykonos Restaurant. Opa - word of cheer and celebration of life.


It's often difficult to find a parking space on the main street, but there is free parking above the Sponge Exchange and you can walk down to the courtyard.





There are lots of tourist shops along the courtyard. I only window shopped since going inside I'd have been tempted to spend money I didn't have. There was a shark and sea turtle sculpture along with a 1935 fishing ship which once sailed in the local waters. The blouse in the window reminds me of one I wore when I was in college in San Bernardino. It's very hot and dry there, much like Greece, so wearing a thin white blouse was an effort to try and stay cool.


Sponge Exchange showed me where I could hydrate my sponges to test their smoothness and strength. I missed that luxury the last time I was there. She proudly pointed out some photos of the large wool sponges of theirs being used as decor accents in Pottery Barn advertising. I got one big wool sponge which I can cut up to use and three elephant ear sponges. I left the bag of sponges in my car over night in a plastic bag. Please don't make that mistake; boy they took on a ripe fragrance. Then I read the card in the bag which says hang sponges to dry immediately after use and never leave wrapped up wet. Luckily after washing in mild soap and water they're fresh again.


As a side note I read research is being done on six chemicals produced by sponges called agelastatins which can kill cancer cells by preventing the cells from dividing. My thoughts lately are revolving around living life to the fullest, enjoying those close, because you never know what tomorrow may bring. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.
© Linda Starr

17 comments:

  1. I would be happy to share that lunch!WOW- and tell Gary Hello for us please!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would have so much fun picking out sponges. It looks like a good time, and that white tunic is my kind of clothing, too. Beautiful. Thanks for sharing your day with us.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Meredith, thanks, we splurge every once in a while, kind of a rebellion against the economy so to speak. You and Mark would have loved that lunch, wish you were here to share it with us.

    Hi Teresa, thanks, the sponges were wonderful and I can't believe I remember that blouse from so long ago, but I do, perhaps it was a Greek blouse, it looked so much like that one, tunic style and long sleeved to keep the sun off the skin - happy memories.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Dennis, thanks, yeah we like taking time out just to walk around in that town it's very relaxing, if only it were a little bit cooler.

    ReplyDelete
  5. what a fabulous weekend you had! i enjoy Greek food, although I have never had octopus... i assume it is similar to calamari, which i do like.
    the sponge exchange is neat... i like natural sponges and when i get a good one i try to make it last for a few years.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The sponge exchange looks like a really great place to explore. Look at all that texture!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Michele, thanks, yes similar to calamari in texture and flavor; believe it or not I have never used an elephant sponge, but always had the wool sponges, but you mentioned their name on my other post and I remembered it and asked for them this time.

    Hi Lori, thanks, yes the sea is definitely full of the best texture inspirations.

    ReplyDelete
  8. It looks like you had a marvelous lunch. Your photos of the food have made me hungry. I also appreciated learning more about sponges. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Mary, thanks, I thought you would love the photos of the food, being a food officianado. It amazes me what nature has to offer in the way of resources to improve our daily lives, sponges for so many uses including potential cancer cures.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have decided that the next time I see someone photographing their meal, I will ask them what their blog is. It really is standard proceedure and I personally love it when some one does.
    Other wise I wouldn't learn about different dishes.
    I love lamb and I will take your word that it is done. Haven't tried Greek and now think I will. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Patti, thanks, I noticed that the waiter started to give us special attention when he saw me taking photos of my meal, perhaps he knew I'd be posting on the blog which would be a good recommendation or not for the restaurant. Sadly the other place we had the octopus, The Margarita Grill, in Homosassa, we just heard to night on the news tonight that it burnt down last night. What a bummer.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Delicious documentation! I am fortunate that my husband and I came across a new Greek restaurant last night, here in PA. The cooks were speaking Greek, and the table cloth had an octopus drawn on it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Margaret, thanks and welcome, yes the Greek food was great, so glad you liked the post.

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a delicious lunch! I've never had octopus and am not sure that I would try it. :) Great pics!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Marguerite, thanks, you should try it you might like it, just think of it as a crab leg. Ha.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wonder if you've tried the mudtools brand sponge... I recently bought two and discovered they last much longer than the other ones. Peace!

    ReplyDelete

I love suggestions, questions, critiques, thanks for your comment