dmfnole's Profile
Recs on Shrimp and Grits in Orlando area
I LOVE the shrimp and grits @ Two Blondes. That is my new standard and I have tried to find something comparable closer to me in Tampa and have had no luck.
Turkish food in the Tampa Bay area?
Any suggestions? I live in N. St. Pete but willing to travel
L'Moe's in St. Petersburg
Sorry chrisqbn I haven't gotten back to you. The prices are in the mid teens and up.
L'Moe's in St. Petersburg
I was sad to hear when Brown Dog Cafe closed in St. Pete (Bowled has moved into Brown Dog's spot). Brown Dog was a hidden gem, small and quaint with an amazing chalk board of specials. The food was consistently good - I can say that I never had a bad meal. It had a small neighborhood cafe feel to it, nothing too pretentious but quaint.
A couple of weeks ago, I learned that L'Moe's (4201 4th Street N) opened... the chef/owner of Brown Dog Cafe has resurrected by opening this new venture. My husband and I decided to try it out this past Friday... My first reaction to the new location - well a little weird - is the only thing that comes to mind. What looks like an old doctor's office or small business office has been converted to what I'm guessing is supposed to look like your neighbor's informal dining room...After getting used to the unusual setting - and I know I'm not describing it very well...we sat down in hoping that at least the food would be up to the old Brown Dog standards... boy was it ever.
The chef has put up his chalk board of specials (smaller scale) on the wall. We started off by ordering a starter from the menu - Chorizo and cheese jalapenos. I can usually handle spice but boy these had some kick. My husband really enjoyed them.
On to the main course...my husband ordered the Thai Duck and I had the seared sirloin steak with seafood croquettes. We realized then that everything we had missed from Brown Dog's closing was back and our taste buds were so happy. The steak was cooked perfectly and I'm still dreaming of the seafood croquettes... my husband's duck was a delicate balance of sweet and spicy. The duck was well cooked!
They serve wine and beer, and still offer free corkage if you buy your wine from the Wine Warehouse up the street. Not bad!
Though I'm still trying to understand the new location/setting of L'Moes - it's comforting to know the wonderful food from Chef Dan Montgomery is back!
Metro Tampa - Dinner & Brunch?
I second the recommendation for Pelagia Trattoria... I think it's often over-looked.
A Weekend of eating in St. Pete
I agree - Diner 437 has been added onto my fav's list
A Weekend of eating in St. Pete
My friend and I decided to "treat" ourselves to a "staycation" and stayed in downtown St. Pete for the weekend. I'm so glad we did! We had amazing meals at great local places - here's the report.
On Friday night we had dinner at the Primi Urban Cafe. A quaint and friendly eatery. They focus on Italian food. I had the Gnocchi Gorgonzola with a side for the marinated tomatoes. The gnocchi's were light and airy. You can tell they were made with care as they were not gummy as I've had in the past at other places. The Gorgonzola sauce was delicious and the tomatoes in the salad were so fresh. My friend ordered the Bolognese after the waiter informed us that it had won a best of the bay award. Again very good. So we were off to a nice start.We walked down to Beach Drive to try the Gelato - Paciugo, very good!
On Saturday morning we grabbed something at the hotel since we had a spa appointment at Tranquility Day Spa (worth checking out). After a strenuous morning we went to Diner 437 - another wonderful experience. I had the strawberry salad with an addition of skirt steak... the salad was good but the steak was awesome!. My friend had the lunch special which was a beet salad with feta. She raved about it. We had only wished that we would have stopped in for dinner instead of lunch so we could of tried the duck fat fries (they serve them after 4pm). For dinner we tried Tables/Mesa. Another great experience... the food is influenced by Latin/South American touches - to start with we had the Pan De Yuca Short Rib Grilled Cheese - wow! I think I had found heaven. Such a nice compliment of flavors. My friend started with a house salad that had a wonderful dressing. She ordered the Venezuelen Salmon - done perfectly and I had the Argentinean Flatbread - I will say that my flatbread was a little soggy, but still flavorful. I would definitely try an entree next time.
On Sunday morning we tried to go to Savannah's in St. Pete after reading on their website they are open for brunch. After arriving to the resturant we found the doors locked. We did see someone setting up tables on the outside and asked about their brunch. All this gentleman said, "we haven't done that for awhile" we informed him of the incorrect information on the web - he just shrugged his shoulders and said we could come back when they open for lunch.
We ended up at ParkShore Grill. I honestly will say that I was a little disappointed. We ordered shrimp and grits. It was hard to find the shrimp in the thick batter (most of the shrimp and grits I've ever had the shrimp is grilled) and the grits were extremely greasy. I guess this was our fault as from what I am understanding is that Park Shore is known for their lunches and dinner and not so much on their brunch.
I'm happy that I was able to play tourist in my town for a weekend.
Sangria's Oveido - Worth a visit.
I went there for lunch with my dad a couple of months ago, and we both enjoyed it as well. We had the chorizo in wine, the fried garbanzos and shared a Serrano Ham with manchego cheese sandwich and we were very happy with the quality of the food. I'm glad you enjoyed it as well morganrsg2
Saturday Lunch Tampa area - Help!
In the S. Tampa area I enjoy the Wine Exchange. Though I haven't been, a friend was raving about Datz Deli
Anyone been to Pias in Pinellas county?
Thanks Joan for responding. After double-checking with my husband - he confirmed that they didn't serve tap water and that we did have to pay for bottled water. It was a bit of a turn off but the food was good.
Chicken fried chicken - Tampa Bay area?
Yes it is inside the park, near where the Clydesdale horses are located
Anyone been to Pias in Pinellas county?
I've been there twice. It's really good and fresh food with a warm environment (both welcoming and can get hot since it's mostly outdoors). A little costly - I remember they charged for water. But the food is worth at least trying
Food Magazines? Which is your favorite?
I like Bon Appetit and Cook's Illustrated - they don't have much on travel stories but I feel that it's a good solid food magazine.
Chicken fried chicken - Tampa Bay area?
I actually like the fried chicken from Busch Garden's Colonial House. Yummy! If you want a twist on home-style cooking there is Savannah's in St. Petersburg - http://www.savannahsstpete.com/menu.aspx. I also like Bailey's in S. Tampa http://www.baileycatering.com/ but they are only open Wed-Friday nights and I would recommend calling for reservations.
-----
Savannah's Cafe
1113 Central Ave, Saint Petersburg, FL 33705
Bailey's Catering & Restaurant
815 S Rome Ave, Tampa, FL 33606
Dino's Grill and Bar - Pinellas Park
On the corner of Park and 43rd, near the Home Depot there's a family owned place called Dino's. This location has been many different resturants lately, but it started several years ago as Dino's and now has come full circle and the family has decided to take the building into their own hands and come out of retirement to start cooking again. I'm so glad because I LOVE their veggie Pita and lemon/chicken soup. They are trying to grow their late night customer base by adding tv's and a bar. The place it self is nothing fancy
No it's not the best Greek food I've ever had, but if you want something that is consistent in it's freshness and quality - Dino's might be a place to check out. In an area, where it's surrounded by chain resturants, sometimes it's nice to show some support to the mom/pop places like Dinos.
Here's their website http://dinosonline.com/
Small wedding dinner in Orlando
I think the food is wonderful and it's so intimate. Like I said we were going to do our rehearsal dinner there, but due to a hurricane our rehersal was cancelled for us :(
Small wedding dinner in Orlando
Some suggestions in Winter Park - Ravenous Pig; Dexters or Chez Vincent's (we were going to do our rehersal dinner at Chez Vincent's for $35/person)
LOOKING FOR GOOD RESTAURANTS NEAR BUSCH GARDENS
If you like Indian, there's a place called Cilantro's, which I enjoy.
-----
Cilantro Indian Cuisine
11009 N 56th St, Tampa, FL 33617
Best tacos in Tampa and Pinellas?
I was just at El Toro Negro - though we didn't have the tacos - we really loved the corn tortillas - homemade. Yummy
New Smyrna Beach Restaurants
See what happens - when I don't get my red zin :) my bad
New Smyrna Beach Restaurants
My husband and I just returned from a long weekend in NSB. We stayed at the Night Swan B&B so we didn't have breakfast anywhere. Our first day we had lunch at Norwoods - it was your typical seafood place in a beach town - nothing stood out. I was surprised to see no Red Zinfindales on their wine list - seeing that the server kept pushing the fact that they had one of the best wine lists in town. Oh well.
Lucky for us it was the first annual Shrimp and Seafood Festival the day that we arrived. We got to try samplings from several local restaurants. Our favorites came from Flip Flops and Spanish River Grill. We loved the samples from Spanish River Grill we decided to go for dinner the next night. What a treat! My husband had the Rib eye stuffed with chorizo. I had the yucca crusted dorado. Both were very tasty and demonstrated the eye for detail that the chef utilizes in his creations. It was a nice treat. We did try Boston's Fish House. Very fresh fish! Again another treat. We also enjoyed the wine/beer list and the live music at Om Bar off of Flagler.
Tampa/St. Pete Fishmongers?
We've done sushi rolls with the assistance of Land and Sea Market. There are several locations so here's their website http://www.landandseamarket.com/
