With money being even tighter this year, many people are choosing to forgo vacationing out of state this summer in favor of destinations that are closer to home. Lucky for us here in the Tampa Bay area, we have our own passport to Greece with Tarpon Springs in our very own back yard and I recently made my first trip there.
Located about an hour from most areas of Tampa Bay, Tarpon Springs is our close knit, ethnic community not unlike a Little Italy or Chinatown, with generations tracing their ancestry back to the early settlers from the 1880s. The town lays claim to having the highest percentage of Greek-Americans in the US. The famous Sponge Docks are now a tourist destination made up of shops, restaurants, and museums that preserve the history of the former thriving sponge industry, as well as its Greek heritage.
Besides the Sponge Docks, Tarpon Springs is also a culinary destination, synonymous with traditional Greek cuisine. There are around a dozen Greek restaurants and bakeries along and around the main waterside thoroughfare of Dodecanese Avenue. Though they all have very similar menus, there may be a few dollars difference in menu prices and more crowds depending on location.
This article appears in Jul 22-28, 2010.