Tampa/St.Pete

Man I need to start eating if I'm going to get to 1/2 off the places mentioned so far!

Once again the hotbytes crew comes through. The guys I am down here with are upset they don't have a similar support group from their hometowns. I am now the Tampa/St. Pete expert on good eats and I've only been here a week.

Well.......the sad news is Rockwater in Tarpon Springs is no more. The Paradise in Safety Harbor lost their good chef and should be avoided.

The good news is two incredible Pizza finds.

Captain's Pizza & Italian Restaurant on the main drag across from the Paradise in Safety Harbor has excellent thin crust pizza with a cracker like crust and herbed sauce.

Paul's Chicago Pizza at 1500 N. McMullen Booth Rd in Clearwater. Cross the Courtney Campbell Causeway right by Tampa Interntional Airport heading towards Clearwater. When you reach the Pinellas side turn right on McMullen Booth and go north for 1.5 maybe 2 miles. It's in a shopping complex on the left with a Publix, etc. Thin crust, stuffed and the like. Paul is from Chicago and has the sausage, pepperoni and other ingredients flown in. He also has Vienna hot dogs with all the Chicago trimmings. Sport peppers, bright green relish, seeded buns. Inexpensive for pizza and dogs. The stuffed pizza is spot on Chicago style.

Enjoy the cool weather there, Chris. We got home last night and it is much hotter here than in Tampa!

[Robin Garr]

Enjoy the cool weather there, Chris. We got home last night and it is much hotter here than in Tampa!

We were in the Cape Canaveral/Cocoa Beach area over the weekend, too, Ed, and I agree, sort of.

I've got to say, though, at least over on Atlantic side, the combination of 90-plus temps with a lot more humidity even than we have here makes the discomfort level pretty darn similar. I'm not sure I'd want to say that it's "much" hotter here.

But that being said, I did hear that Hell was going to be outsourcing some work in Louisville for the next couple of weeks ...

Totally agree. The Gulf side had a great breeze going all the time which made it much more tolerable. Tomorrow it's back to work.

Hope you enjoyed your stay Ed and thanks again for the great tips.