MILWAUKEE-NYC-ITALY-GREECE AND A DAY IN LONDON BLOG POST TWELVE

MYKONOS GASTRONAMY

Every major city, town and even small village can produce its own food culture.  Certainly Mykonos is no different. There was an abundance of culinary possibilities to choose from starting with breakfast and moving on to lunch at poolside

or an ice cream cappuccino

served at a hip Soho-esque coffee house.

Food is a statement event for us wherever we go, and Mykonos pulled off some of our favorite finds. When in a new place we ask the locals for their particular favorites after Rick has usually done his extensive online prep work. We ended up with a somewhat lengthy list that we narrowed down to two restaurants that were both out of sight and away from most of the tourist traps. One offered a locally caught fish menu while the other concentrated on rich red meat.

Both restaurants were recommendations from our hotel staff. They directed us off the main paths and onto the narrow alleys if anyone can really label any street in Mykonos a main thoroughfare or a hidden side street. Everything is off the grid so finding the staff's recommendations took the luck of a scavenger hunter.

Day one took us around in circles until we finally gave up and had dinner in Little Venice, the one place we were told to avoid. When hunger strikes and you've been walking around in circles for a good part of the evening with a strong 7l mph wind howling in your ear and stinging your face common sense can float out the window.

On the second day, after an afternoon dry run, I was able to find our first choice and lay out a trail of breadcrumbs so we could find our way back later that evening.

Don't ask me exactly where Mamalouka is located. First, there are no street signs anywhere so an address is relatively useless. Another problem is the venue has two entrances on different streets. Once found the restaurant is pretty self-evident, it's a fish restaurant and the display out front a triangular box of ice with a big fresh fish in it. This was going to be my marker.

After my dry run the afternoon ended with cocktails at the hotel where our mixologist made this incredible concoction he named "Summer Joy". It was a combination of Aperol, ginger beer and a couple of secret ingredients topped with a charming viola.

After we'd watched another spectacular sunset it was off to follow my trail of breadcrumbs in search of that fish in a box of ice sitting out front at Mamalouka.

Emmy and Rick are big oyster lovers. Since this was a seafood restaurant and oyster bar oysters were going to be a must. They choose fresh Aegean Sea oysters while I had wedges of pan fried feta served with a fig relish. Both were delicious. We were off to a good start.

Although we didn't stop there with the appetizers we also ordered a plate of baby Portobella mushrooms stuffed with breadcrumbs (not the ones left as my trail on my trial run),and local cream cheese bound by an herbed bechamel along with a dipping bowl of warm gorgonzola sauce.

We only paused for a minute before we ordered our next course, a traditional Greek salad of cucumber, tomato, feta cheese, capers, red onion, fresh oregano and barley rusks.

After that you'd assume we might quit, not us. We had the waiter bring out the selections of fresh fish they were serving that night

Rick chose braised sea bass with a lemon butter sauce and baked rice spiked with olives and herbs topped with micro greens.

I had grilled tuna simply prepared with a wasabi dip plated on a bed sizzling greens.

Emmy might have been the most daring choosing a pasta of black tagliatelle made dark with squid ink and sea base mixed with avocado, lime, coriander and fresh chopped tomato.

We finished everything off with a round of cappuccinos and a single order of profiteroles. Rick claimed these were the best profiteroles we've ever had. So often in restaurants around the United States he explained the pate choux or pastry dough used to make the profiterole shells are served "flabby" and deflated.  At Mamalouka they were crisp and crunchy on the outside while not having melted the ice cream surprise inside.  The next day we ate nothing after a feast like the one we'd had at Mamalouka .

But two days later we were back at it selecting a restaurant at the opposite end of the food chain. Uno con Carne specialized in meat.

This restaurant visited by the likes of Lady Gaga and other glitterati was vast and oh so Mediterranean decked out with lush pillowed banquettes and fan back chairs.

There was also glass floor in the main dining room suspended over green gardens softly lit with amber lights.

At night a whole light show with its own DJ and mile long cocktail bar appears. We came early, 8:30, a time before the crowds. The restaurant serves until two in the morning and doesn't really get going until around eleven the time I assume the stars chose to appear but we were long gone.

If oysters are featured on the menu or in this case as a description of the restaurant itself you know they're going to show up on our table. Emmy has become somewhat of an aficionado of this slimy delicacy.

We frequently decide on shared appetizers so we all  get a taste of several offerings.  That night we decided on a plate of steamed shrimp laid on a bed of avocado, coriander and raw onion drizzled with a spicy cream sauce

and deep fried zucchini flowers stuffed with a variety of white cheeses, Parmesan cheese and herbs next to a bowl of crème fresh and herbs

For our main course we all stuck to the item that held the restaurant's fame: steaks. We each ordered 300gr filets with a side of béarnaise sauce and crispy fries, two steaks medium rare and Rick's blood red and still mooing as it arrived at the table.

Once again cappuccinos were served after dinner with a complimentary shot of ouzo. I'm the dessert man. I can't get up from a meal without something sweet and this meal wasn't going to deprive me of my indulgence. I chose a caramel cake with a tiramisu center. When it was served I was so excited I forgot to take a picture until after I had eaten half of it.

It may sound as if we went on an eating binge this trip but we tempered ourselves with the amount of meals in a day.
Oh who am I kidding. I'm sure I've packed on more pounds then I'll admit to but I had a great time doing it.

Emmy and the ever svelte Rick will have to speak for themselves.