Aegean
3 out of 5 stars
10 Dodecanese Blvd., Tarpon Springs. Appetizers: $4-$15; entrees: $12.50-$23; desserts: $4-$6; wines by the glass: $7-$8. 727-935-7200; aegeanbargrillpatio.com.
In bygone days, the Tampa Bay dining scene was fairly limited. Celebration spots were perennial favorites Bern’s Steak House and The Beachcomber, as well as the late, lamented fantasy world of the Kapok Tree Inn. Completing that quartet of go-to places (for adventurous souls willing to trek “all the way” up to Tarpon Springs) was Louis Pappas Riverside Restaurant. In its heyday, the joint could seat 1,000 diners.
Pappas first opened in 1925, but it was not until 1975 that the restaurant moved to its mammoth space on Dodecanese Boulevard, which demarcates the turn west from Alternate 19 to the sponge docks. Sadly, business fell off as the new millennium approached, and the doors permanently closed in 2005. What’s left of the Pappas empire is a small fast-casual chain built around the iconic Greek salad notable for its big scoop of hidden treasure under all the lettuce — potato salad, like a prize from a cereal box.
Aegean has commandeered the top floor of the old Pappas space, allowing guests to enjoy the al fresco patio or unobstructed views from the interior dining room of the Anclote River and Tarpon Bayou. Up you go — past the giant circular Greek key motif chandelier that holds 18 Olympic-style torches. The restaurant’s simple dining room lacks atmosphere until you notice a huge wall of picture windows, which make for a stunning vista past the sponge docks toward the setting sun. The vibe is practical, with white tablecloths covered in white paper, all the better for your servers to scratch out their names in ink so that you don’t forget.
We begin with pikilia, a colorful sampler of four fresh Greek meze with ample portions of pita, carrot sticks and golden Greek peppers. Each spread is topped with a Kalamata olive. Taramosalata blends assertive salted and cured red roe with onions, potatoes, olive oil and lemon juice. The hummus is a traditional blend of chick peas and tahini (sesame paste) with strong notes of garlic. Melitzanosalata is a soft mix of roasted eggplant chopped with tomatoes, olive oil and hints of lemon. And finally, tzatziki, a balanced blend of Greek yogurt, cucumber and garlic that bursts with freshness — far excelling the big tubs at Costco.
In addition, we can’t resist the drama of saganaki, where a slab of Vlahotiri, a ripened sheep’s milk cheese, is fried with butter and dry white wine, then set aflame tableside with brandy and doused with fresh lemon. This gives it a caramelized crust with a soft, melting interior that’s totally seductive comfort food. If you’ve never tried this dish, it’s delicious and great fun.
Kosti Arni is a lamb shank “braised in special sauce with Greek spices.” But it’s surprisingly bland, and much of it isn’t fall-off-the-bone tender. That said, the portion is huge, and there’s plenty of meat on the shank. Next time, I’ll save some tzatziki to liven it up a bit. The plate partners well with chunks of sautéed yellow squash and zucchini, plus long strips of potatoes that resemble steak fries, except they’re soft and pale rather than crisp. They glisten with oil and some fresh oregano leaves. The whole affair, however, needs more punch.
With bright red tomatoes, green peppers, garlic, onions, mushrooms and a sprinkling of chunky feta, the Garides Santorini has flavor to spare. An extremely generous pile of juicy shrimp shines from a butter (olive oil) white wine sauté, and briny capers add a welcome acidic note. It sits in a bowl of rice with sufficient sauce to coat the veggies and starchy grains.
I almost laugh when the Filet Mignon Mega Kebab hits the table. It is indeed very impressive — the pointed oval plate must be close to 2 feet long. Our massive skewer is warlike and boasts large, tender medium-rare grilled beef cubes, alongside chunks of carrots, green peppers, red onions, yellow squash and zucchini on a bed of fluffy rice. It’s definitely enough to share.
As regular readers know, a great rule of wine-matching is “what grows together, goes together.” Aegean features varietals of Boutari, the ubiquitous Mondavi of Greek wines. There was not yet a printed wine list when we visited, but the restaurant offers two reliable grapes from the Peloponnesian peninsula southwest of Athens.
Moschofilero (mohs-koh-FEE-leh-roh) is a versatile, aromatic white with crisp acidity. It’s light-bodied and reasonably low in alcohol. Diners who like sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio will find this to be a pleasant match for appetizers and seafood.
The red for your meat dishes is agiorgitiko (ah-yohr-YEET-koh), the most widely planted red grape in all of Greece — most notably from Nemea in the northwest Peloponnese. I fell in love with the grape during my Greek travels. It’s reminiscent of cabernet: rich and well-structured with balanced red fruit aromas and a velvety finish that reflects the year it spends in oak barrels.
We finish with the most traditional of Greek pastries, baklava, which layers chopped walnuts with honey-orange-cinnamon-spiced syrup and flaky filo pastry. Aegean’s version is unusually dense and hard to cut, but has great flavor. The carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, meanwhile, is fine with no surprises. In essence, that reflects most of the food; ’twill serve — but the thrill is in the riverside view.
CL Food Critic Jon Palmer Claridge dines anonymously when reviewing. Check out the explanation of his rating system, or email him at [email protected].
