My wife and I have enjoyed at least three meals at Apollonia Mediterranean Grill (http://www.apolloniagrill.com/) near Lakewood Ranch. On one occasion, we celebrated my sister's birthday, and on two other occasions, we had lunch with the same three wonderful friends. We loved just about everything there except the dolmades, the stuffed grape leave, which were good, but not terrific. The bottom line is that like Apollonia and plan to return.
(We are probably not quite fair in our judgment of the dolmades - grape leaves stuffed with rice and sometimes meat, and generally covered with avgolemono (egg lemon) sauce. The Apollonia version was stuffed with rice and beef and dill. The leaves were poorly wrapped around the rice and the rice was not firm.
We prefer the Levantine-style stuffed grape leaves with lamb and firm rice, and with the leaves tightly wrapped. We have had this type many times and love it.)
At our most recent lunch with our three friends, my wife had the dolmades as an appetizer for $8.99. Her main course was the gyro sandwich with gyro lamb in grilled pita with onions, tomatoes, and arugula, and french fries for $11.99. Her sandwich was delicious.
I had the Gyro Platter for $13.99. It was very nice.
For dessert, she had Tiramisu for $7 and I had Galactoboureco - phyllo dough, custard, and honey -for $6. Both were excellent.
My wife enjoyed a glass of white sangria for $7.50 and I had Saint George Agiorgitiko wine for $10 per glass. Both were excellent. Agiorgitiko is the most planted type of grape in Greece. On its menu, Apollonia misspells Agiorgitiko.
At my sister's birthday, my sister and I both ordered the braised lamb shank with rice pilaf and roasted vegetables ($20 each). It comes with a choice of soup or salad. She chose a salad and I chose a soup - chicken, lemon, and rice. My wife had the "Classic Combo" - Moussaka, Pasticcio, Spanakopita, and house-made dolmades. She also had the salad.
Everything was mouth-wateringly delicious except the dolmades, which were decent.
The soup was out of this world, and the lamb was fantastic.
For dessert, my sister and I had the galactoboureco ($4) and my wife had the house-made rice pudding ($3). All were very nice.
The wine I chose was Atlantis Red ($10 per glass) from Estate Argyros on the island of Santorini. When I asked the waitress what type of grape was used in the wine, she checked and said it was Malbec. That surprised me because I was unfamiliar with any Greek use of Malbec, which tends to be used primarily in South American reds. I later checked the Estate Argyros web site (http://www.estate-argyros.com/Atlantis-red.html) and learned that this wine is made from 90% Mandilaria grapes and 10% Mavrotragano. The wine was decent.
Two of us had the Greek coffee ($2.50). It was delicious.
The bottom line is that Apollonia is a very nice addition to the local dining scene.
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