41 replies to this topic

[OTB]

Go to Tarpon Springs for good fish and decent Greek food.

Yep, I did a post on it for OTB. Another fun place to go is the Columbia in Ybor City.

http://offthebroiler...f-and-saganaki/

http://offthebroiler...bia-restaurant/

[Rebecca]

Tangent

The Dali museum in St. PEte is oft overlooked and is world class.

Completely agree. Fantastic. Google it and check out the whole site. Gift shop is the best small museum gift shop on the planet (coming from a daft surrealist).

[hollywood]

Recent comment on Sidebern's

Downtown St. Pete has a very nice feel to it. Funky, a lot like New Orleans French Quarter without the drunken frat boys. Granted it's only three blocks by three blocks, but still...

St Pete Beach is on the Gulf side of the peninsula from downtown St. Pete, which is on the Bay side. That's several miles, as I recall.

Bern's now claims to have "the largest selection of wine in the world." The list is certainly impressive, but the largest? How would you go about proving that?

[Stone]

Heading back.
Not terribly excited about it.

[Rail Paul]

Heading back.
Not terribly excited about it.

how long do you expect to be there?

[Stone]

Up to four days.

[tsquare]

First ever trip to Tampa (or Florida) coming up end of April. Mostly a conference with set meals. At least a lunch and dinner on our own. Anything recommendable? Not big on steaks.

Not renting a car, so St. Pete probably won't happen - no Dali.

For M, who will fend for himself, anything interesting (and inexpensive) within walking distance of the Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk? I know, it's corporate and a bit off the track, but the room is free and that is just the right price. And it is on the river which can't be all bad.

Thanks

[foodie52]

You can get a cab to Ybor City, aka Little Havana. Go to The Columbia. It's pretty cool. (See Jason's link). Other than that, I can't help. We always stayed in Clearwater Beach and rented a car.

[joiei]

You can get a cab to Ybor City, aka Little Havana. Go to The Columbia. It's pretty cool. (See Jason's link). Other than that, I can't help. We always stayed in Clearwater Beach and rented a car.

We used to go the the little cafe on the corner of the Columbia building for late night study breaks from USF, order 3 cuban coffees and a cuban sandwich. Ah, those were the days and they were a long time ago. One day I have to go back to Tampa.

[Rail Paul]

Jackson's Bistro has received good marks from several reviewers, FWIW. It's on the island just south of the Aquarium.

Jackson's

If you have time, the TECO trolley is a great ride. It's a mix of restored 1920s electric railcars and several new cars which make a route through downtown and Ybor City. The route passes the Marriott and other hotels

Tampa streetcar map

[tighe]

My experiences in Tampa are dated, but I had a really enjoyable (and inexpensive) lunch at The Laughing Cat in Ybor City. Also a great Cubano sandwich, but can't remember the name of the place. My dinner at SideBern's was by far the best meal I had in Tampa, and still one that I think back to frequently. Looks like the chef has changed however.

[tsquare]

Thanks. As I mentioned, most of my eating was done ala conference. Was that pork or chicken I had for lunch? Sad.

We had lunch at Moxie's - a cuban sandwich on a good roll. Do they remove the bready part and leave the thin shell? Also a cafe con leche - not sure how this was different from a latte, same price and description. Nice vibe to the place. Funny street of small independent places in the middle of high-rise buildings. 500 block of N Tampa St.

Did walk (too far) to Ybor City. Tourists out in the mid-day sun. Other than a Blue Bunny ice cream, I was not inspired. Took the trolley back which was a nice ride, and walked the remaining bit on the Riverwalk.

M ate, on his own, at Laughing Cat. Not sure what inspired him to try it. He wrote down the special for me as a laugh - pasta in a white cream sauce with shrimp, steak, portobello mushroom, and roasted red pepper. Really? "Inspired Italian". He also got a chuckle overhearing the waiter, "I've always wanted to work here" ask the owner/chef (?) what white wine to recommend to a woman who asked for one that wasn't sweet - "I guess she wants sour?"

We splurged for dinner at Mise en Place. The menu is really complicated, but the dishes we tried were well executed. Funny, this waiter also told us "he always wanted to work here" but otherwise was far more skilled. We both had heirloom tomato salad - ripe tomatoes in April - a treat for us. I had chickpea crusted soft shell crab, a small plate, and M had "Sous Vide Venison Loin, Rabbit Tasso Wild Mushroom Fricasse, Fried Green Tomato, Truffled White Cheddar Chili Grits, Peach Chipolte Jam, Quick Collards". Amazingly, it all worked. He wasn't impressed with the almond licorice ice cream, I liked my cocoa nib peanut dacquoise. Across from University of Tampa and an easy walk from downtown.

M had a lunch of curry goat at a jamaican hole in the wall Jerk Hut, 234 E Twiggs St. He liked that. Not so fond of the burrito he tried or the hotel breakfast buffet (don't ask me why he bothered!)

Happy to be home, though it is 20 degrees cooler.

[Rail Paul]

Thanks. As I mentioned, most of my eating was done ala conference. Was that pork or chicken I had for lunch? Sad.

We had lunch at Moxie's - a cuban sandwich on a good roll. Do they remove the bready part and leave the thin shell? Also a cafe con leche - not sure how this was different from a latte, same price and description. Nice vibe to the place. Funny street of small independent places in the middle of high-rise buildings. 500 block of N Tampa St.

Did walk (too far) to Ybor City. Tourists out in the mid-day sun. Other than a Blue Bunny ice cream, I was not inspired. Took the trolley back which was a nice ride, and walked the remaining bit on the Riverwalk.

M ate, on his own, at Laughing Cat. Not sure what inspired him to try it. He wrote down the special for me as a laugh - pasta in a white cream sauce with shrimp, steak, portobello mushroom, and roasted red pepper. Really? "Inspired Italian". He also got a chuckle overhearing the waiter, "I've always wanted to work here" ask the owner/chef (?) what white wine to recommend to a woman who asked for one that wasn't sweet - "I guess she wants sour?"

We splurged for dinner at Mise en Place. The menu is really complicated, but the dishes we tried were well executed. Funny, this waiter also told us "he always wanted to work here" but otherwise was far more skilled. We both had heirloom tomato salad - ripe tomatoes in April - a treat for us. I had chickpea crusted soft shell crab, a small plate, and M had "Sous Vide Venison Loin, Rabbit Tasso Wild Mushroom Fricasse, Fried Green Tomato, Truffled White Cheddar Chili Grits, Peach Chipolte Jam, Quick Collards". Amazingly, it all worked. He wasn't impressed with the almond licorice ice cream, I liked my cocoa nib peanut dacquoise. Across from University of Tampa and an easy walk from downtown.

M had a lunch of curry goat at a jamaican hole in the wall Jerk Hut, 234 E Twiggs St. He liked that. Not so fond of the burrito he tried or the hotel breakfast buffet (don't ask me why he bothered!)

Happy to be home, though it is 20 degrees cooler.

The menu at Mise looks very complicated, you were being kind in your description. Huge, and varied. The wine list didn't come up for me, but the tasting menu combinations (crudo fluke, etc) looked engaging
.

Gotta put it on my list for the next visit.
Mise

[tsquare]

Thanks. As I mentioned, most of my eating was done ala conference. Was that pork or chicken I had for lunch? Sad.

We had lunch at Moxie's - a cuban sandwich on a good roll. Do they remove the bready part and leave the thin shell? Also a cafe con leche - not sure how this was different from a latte, same price and description. Nice vibe to the place. Funny street of small independent places in the middle of high-rise buildings. 500 block of N Tampa St.

Did walk (too far) to Ybor City. Tourists out in the mid-day sun. Other than a Blue Bunny ice cream, I was not inspired. Took the trolley back which was a nice ride, and walked the remaining bit on the Riverwalk.

M ate, on his own, at Laughing Cat. Not sure what inspired him to try it. He wrote down the special for me as a laugh - pasta in a white cream sauce with shrimp, steak, portobello mushroom, and roasted red pepper. Really? "Inspired Italian". He also got a chuckle overhearing the waiter, "I've always wanted to work here" ask the owner/chef (?) what white wine to recommend to a woman who asked for one that wasn't sweet - "I guess she wants sour?"

We splurged for dinner at Mise en Place. The menu is really complicated, but the dishes we tried were well executed. Funny, this waiter also told us "he always wanted to work here" but otherwise was far more skilled. We both had heirloom tomato salad - ripe tomatoes in April - a treat for us. I had chickpea crusted soft shell crab, a small plate, and M had "Sous Vide Venison Loin, Rabbit Tasso Wild Mushroom Fricasse, Fried Green Tomato, Truffled White Cheddar Chili Grits, Peach Chipolte Jam, Quick Collards". Amazingly, it all worked. He wasn't impressed with the almond licorice ice cream, I liked my cocoa nib peanut dacquoise. Across from University of Tampa and an easy walk from downtown.

M had a lunch of curry goat at a jamaican hole in the wall Jerk Hut, 234 E Twiggs St. He liked that. Not so fond of the burrito he tried or the hotel breakfast buffet (don't ask me why he bothered!)

Happy to be home, though it is 20 degrees cooler.

The menu at Mise looks very complicated, you were being kind in your description. Huge, and varied. The wine list didn't come up for me, but the tasting menu combinations (crudo fluke, etc) looked engaging
.

Gotta put it on my list for the next visit.
Mise

The wine list does not load for me either.
I had a glass of wine, a light red from Owen Roe, for $11 (!) Didn't pay close attention. They had 3 oz or 5 oz by the glass, heavy on Washington State and Oregon wines. I think the Washington Wine Commission has done a good job of connecting with Florida. There was a Taste of Tampa (Friday afternoon?, missed it) and it looked like all the wines were from Washington.

[Rich]

Flew to Tampa last weekend for a dinner at Bern's. (And then a side trip to friends in St. Pete.)

The more I go there, the more I don't understand the comparison with Luger. Sure at the end of the day steaks are steaks, but the Bern's experience so overwhelms Luger, that it's impossible to place both in the same category of restaurant.

Bern's is the Stone Barns to Luger's Shake Shack.