dfecteau's Profile
Good eats in/around Tampa area beaches (indian Rocks, et al)...
I can't give info on the nostalgia part since we've only been here three years but we stopped into Guppy's last night for dinner and it was awful. We had enjoyed it the couple of other times we'd been there. One problem was sitting outside with the roar of motorcycles and a broken fan but the calamari was bland and the black grouper was flavorless as well. I also think the automatic adding of 15% to the check results in dismal service. We waited 10 minutes for a bottle of wine only to have the waitress come back and say, "What wine did you want again?" We have eaten at the Cajun Cafe the prior poster recommended and it was delicious. But my experience in general in Florida is that many restaurants are inconsistent--good one time; not so great the next.
Miserable experience: Hellas, Tarpon Springs
Did you ask them to take the chicken ones off the bill? Maybe it was an oversight. We've eaten there a couple of times and the service has been friendly. The food is not great but we've not had a bad meal. I've heard good things about Costa's and am looking forward to trying it.
Visiting Portland
Thank you for your suggestions, Leonardo. I'm not a vegetarian but I do try to go veggie at least two or three days a week. I was in Key West last week and found a raw food restaurant and I'm just intrigued by the concept so I was hoping to find one out there since my husband is less than enthused by it and he won't be around. Yes, I meant wine country. Silly me for not looking at a map before posting that question. I will report back.
Visiting Portland
I'll be flying to Portland in a couple of weeks for business. I'll be staying in Hillsboro and most days will be too busy to get into downtown Portland. However I will go in for dinner a couple of evenings. I've read about restaurants on the board and definitely want to eat at Toro Bravo and Pok Pok. I also want to get to Sahagun. But does anyone have any suggestions for Hillsboro, Beaverton, etc? Also, I'm going to take the Friday off that week and was thinking about going to the Willamette Valley for the day since the last time I was in Oregon I went to the coast for a day. But I may just capitulate and spend the day in Portland at the Japanese or Chinese Garden and Powells since they're all favorites of mine. Any thoughts for lunch in either case? Finally, I've gotten interested in raw food. Are there any raw food or vegan restaurants you'd recommend in the area for days when I'm not going to indulge? Thanks in advance.
Key West Restaurants
Just spent a few days in Key West and had some very good food. We had lunch the first day at Southernmost Beach Cafe where we started with the conch fritters and then my husband had the fish and chips and I had a shrimp salad wrap. Nothng outstanding but it was good food in a lovely setting next to the Atlantic Ocean at the end of Duval Street. Another day we had tapas at Santiago's Bodega on Petronia Street. Walking there we didn't think the neighborhood looked promising but it was a nice surprise. They have white wine sangria which is very refreshing on a hot day. We started by sharing a good-aize avocado and pear salad which was excellent. The textures blended perferctly and the creamy parmesan dressing was seasoned just right. Then we shared small plates of croquittas, lamb patties, and chicken skewers. I could have tried other things but we were too full. Another day we had lunch at Help Yourself on Fleming Street which has organic and raw foods. I tried the crispy tacos which had a filling of ground Brazil nuts with lettuce, salsa, and cashew sour cream. I thought it was delicious and filling. My husband tried the spicy peanut noodles which was noodles made out of zucchini. It wasn not spicy and pretty flavorless. Both of us had a ginger drink which, if you like ginger, was perfect. We both tried smoothies at the end. Mine was a "Tropical Green" with
pineapple, mango, banana, cucumber, cilantro, spinach, and lime and his was called a "Purple Jungle" with various berries, and banana. There is only outside seating but it's shaded. He also didn't appreciate the fact that the staff works in a small air conditioned space but there's no air conditioned seating for the guests. I'd go back although I'm not sure my husband would do so for anything but the smoothie. It's pricy with the tacos at $11 and the noodles at $10, each small 8-oz. ginger drink at $4 and the smoothies at $7. A final lunch was at El Siboney on Catherine Street. We both started with the conch chowder which was a bit spicier than you usually get it. I had the roast pork which was tender beyond belief. My husband had the Siboney steak which is a skirt steak and it was flavorful and tender. This was probably the most reasonably priced restaurant with the steak at $14.50 and the pork at $9.50. They came with rice, black beans and plantain and I couldn't finish everything. The cuban bread was excellent! I'd go back for that alone. The night we ate there we couldn't go out for dinner because we were still full. One night we had dinner at Pisces. The prices here are somewhat breath taking especially for off season. But the setting is lovely and the service is great and the food was superb. I had double lamb chops which were cooked perfectly medium rare and had wonderful flavor. My husband had a veal chop special which was also perfectly cooked and flavorful. Both were around $40. The wine selection by the bottle is good but, again, there's not much in the way of value. Still, I'd go back to this one as well. Another night we ate at 915 Duval and they had a special menu called Party Like it's 1929. It includes a glass of champagne (drinkable stuff), an appetizer, entree, and dessert fr $29.95. The conch chowder was tasty and spicy here and definitely worth ordering. The main courses were so-so and the sorbet for dessert was uninspiring. OK, back to the diet now that we're home again. By the way, if you do go to Key West, I'd recommend going to the Key West Botanical Garden if you're at all interested in that type of thing. It was a real treat. But I won't go back in the summer--it was too hot. And we're Floridians.
Ocean Prime (Tampa)
I finally made it over there for lunch today. It wasn't bad, just not anything to rave about. The shrimp cocktail consisted of 3 huge Asian Tiger shrimp that were tough. I had a crab salad which was tasty enough but mostly consisted of a head of lettuce with crab sprinkled on it. There was also so supposed to be maytag blue cheese and I think I found two tiny pieces. My husband had a blackened red snapper which was good but the scalloped potatoes served with it were bland. The carrot cake was very good but there was too much of it. I also tried the lemon blueberry cheese cake which was creamy beyond belief but a little went a long ways. The service was polite and the room is pleasant. I wouldn't bother returning. The iced tea which was flavored with orange was almost undrinkable. However they have an interesting selection of wines by the glass. I wouldn't bother returning. The bill for lunch was 119.09 which included two iced teas, 1 Bacardi on the rocks, 2 glasses of wine, 2 shrimp cocktails, the crab wedge salad, 1 blackened snapper, 1 coffee, and 2 desserts
steaks in tampa florida
The real problem with this type of article is that it's only talking about the steaks and not the rest of the accompaniments or anything else for that matter. At Bern's the steak is great but the sides are mediocre to awful. Some people adore the over-the- top decor and the dessert room and some think it's ridiculous. The wine list is very comprehensive and the kitchen tour is fun. Most serious foodies wouldn't go back after having gone once. Salt Rock Grill is very good. Spoto's in Dunedin has a good filet and strip but the service and the other food is spotty. That's the biggest problem in the Tampa Bay area--the restaurants are notoriously inconsistent as to quality.
Orlando: Arthur's or Hemingway's still any good?
My husband and I have been going over to Hemingways every few months (from the Palm Harbor/Tampa area where good food is way too difficult to find) and it has always been good. This past weekend we dined there and while the food was excellent the service was bleak. It was basically because they seemed understaffed. The brunch in the Palms is good too with excellent pancakes! We've also had brunch at La Coquina in the past which was fine.
Red Fish Blue Fish- Palm Harbor
We live very close to RFBF and go there periodically. It is average at best and often mediocre. The outdoor patio is pleasant. The fried seafood is generally better than other things although I've had good grilled shrimp. It is just so inconsistent. For example, lots of time you can get a good shrimp cocktail and then other times the shrimp are mushy. You might enjoy Ballyhoo's in Tarpon Springs more.
