Clearwater/st pete/tampa

Anyone have any recomendations for the Clearwater/st pete/tampa area?
Thanks in advance

I was supposed to go this month for work so I researched it.

I came up with Bern's and SideBern's. My trip was cancelled, so I'll never know . . .

If Bern's is the same as 20 years ago, it is fantastic!! They have their own ranch and raise the beef on it.

[Robin Garr]

Anyone have any recomendations for the Clearwater/st pete/tampa area?
Thanks in advance

Jeremy, see also a couple of other recent threads on this topic:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1254&p=12013&hilit=tampa+bern%27s#p12013

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3134&p=29976&hilit=tampa+bern%27s#p29976

I went to Splash An Oceanside Grill in Lutz which is just North of Tampa straight up Dale Mabrey Hwy (the main north-south thoroughfare in tampa). Had some Grouper Cheeks with a mango salsa that was faboo. White tablecloths, casual atmosphere, house dressing only on salads. Definitely worth the side trip.
http://tampa.chowbaby.com/restaurantnam ... d=31601169

Thanks for all of the great tips!! I reviewed the Berns/Sideberns websites last night and they both looked wonderful. The Menu at Berns is VERY informative (18 pages!) It really is worth a look just to learn a bit more about cuts of beef and how it should be prepared.
http://www.bernssteakhouse.com/Portals/ ... 20Menu.pdf

Jeremy ,

Where are you going to be staying? We just got back from the beach there (Indian Rocks Beach area) , and may have some suggestions.....

Deb

We are staying in Clearwater on Sand Key.

Deb -

Did you visit the place with the alfresco breakfast dining in the shaded back yard? Which restaurants did you find and enjoy?

Sally,

I'm ashamed to admit we never made it over there (although that was the plan). We drove by it on our way to the Don Cesar for massages, and it looked really cuteThe good news is that we got so relaxed that making the effort to leave Indian Rocks Beach to eat was deemed not worth it. Especially since we found several places for great food withing walking distance:

Crabby Bill's - a local seafood joint/small chain turned out to have excellent grouper sandwiches and fries, and oysters for very cheap. Family atmosphere and cheap drinks.

Villa Gallace- Italian family -run restaurant. Everything (except the bread) was way, way above par for this kind of place. I'm a huge gnocchi fan when it's good and their's are house-made and excellent! Brian's Sea bass special with artichoke and white wine was great too. Not Volare, but Highly recommended!


Salt Rock Grill- We had to drive there. Beautiful place - Great atmosphere and grilled items. Service was a little spotty and I thought the prices were a little high comparatively speaking. Overall good experience but I didn't think it was "to die for".

We planned to go to Ed's recommendations in Tarpon Springs for Greek, but it didn't work out: they were closed on Sundays, and Monday it was raining hard (not my idea of great strolling around weather ). So I came back to Louisville and made Greek foods the following evening. But I never did get a taste of that Baklava cheesecake- guess we'll have to go back soon!
DEb

Glad you both had a relaxing trip, Deb. We head back down to Safety Harbor/Tarpon Springs in late July. I'll bring you back some of that dreaded baklava cheesecake.

Ed,

If you are serious, I'd really love to try it! I was craving it big time, but the weather just didn't cooperate. If you bring some back, I'll gladly meet you somewhere and bring some goodies to "trade".

DEb

I spend a lot of time in Tampa. Some of my favs:
Breakfast: Daily eats on Howard and Pinky's on Bay to Bay (best oatmeal pancakes ever)
Others: Bella's (Italian) on Howard, Sally O'Neils (great pizza), Miguel's on Kennedy (great mexican food), Restaurant BT in Hyde Park, Oyster Catcher's on the Courtney Campbell (amazing sunsets)
My favs on Clearwater beach are the Palm Pavillion for pub fare and the Sandpearl for fine dinning
Have fun