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Tampa/St. Pete

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Robin F.

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Tampa/St. Pete

by Robin F. » Fri Jun 17, 2011 8:04 am

We're going to St. Pete in September for a week. Any suggestions for eating, drinking or other fun things to do?
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Re: Tampa/St. Pete

by Robin Garr » Sat Jun 18, 2011 2:53 pm

Robin F. wrote:We're going to St. Pete in September for a week. Any suggestions for eating, drinking or other fun things to do?

I haven't been there lately, but a few points that should be evergreen:

Bern's Steakhouse in Tampa has the most amazing wine cellar/wine list, worth a look for the sake of saying you were there, if you like wine at all.

Ybor City neighborhood in Tampa is a concentration of Cuban eateries and stores. Back in the '90s I notice the code word for a lot of them was "Spanish," but it's really Cuban.

And a short suburban way north of St. Pete along the coast, Tarpon Springs is (or was) a fine place for both seafood and Greek eats.
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Re: Tampa/St. Pete

by Jeffrey D. » Sat Jun 18, 2011 10:07 pm

Great Thai place and mongolian place in St. Pete and we can't rememeber the names of either. The Thai place was close to Tropicana Stadium.

But I can guarantee you the best BBQ you ever put in your mouth is sold, on weekends only, out of a trailer parked on a gas station parking lot about 50 miles south in Sarasota. Alday's. At the NE corner of Beneva and Bahia Vista. Also, about a block away is Yoder's Amish Restaurant, which is also quite good.
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Re: Tampa/St. Pete

by Madeline M » Sat Jun 25, 2011 4:49 pm

There is a breakfast place in St.Pete called Kissing Cousins, you may also find it online as Kissin' Cuzzins or some other misspelling...but I'm pretty sure it's spelled correctly. They used to have one of the best breakfast menus around. Lots of variety, some unique things back in the day...but it's been about 15 years since I've been there. I tried to find a website for them but no luck...did find some recent reviews and they seem to be going strong still.

I hope you have a chance to make it to Fort De Soto beach while in the area. It's frequently listed as one of the top 10 beaches in the US and the world by the travel mags...and it's very deserving of the titles. The area at the far end of the point is usually not too crowded, most people get lazy and won't drive the extra 2 miles...but the water is clearer out that way and you can walk out a good quarter mile in the water and still see the bottom. September should still be warm enough, both temp and water, to enjoy the beach.
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Re: Tampa/St. Pete

by John Greenup » Sun Jun 26, 2011 1:47 pm

I would second Robin's suggestion re. Bern's Steak House...great wine list (book is more accurate), and the only restaurant I've visited that offered Steak Tartar as an entree...
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Re: Tampa/St. Pete

by Robin F. » Tue Sep 20, 2011 9:02 am

I wanted to bump this up since we're leaving soon. We're staying on the beach in St. Pete. It looks like we might have a few days of rain so any activities suggestions would be good too. No kids (as in we don't have any, not activities that ban kids . . . . but not a lot of kids if you know what I mean :) ).
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Harold B

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Re: Tampa/St. Pete

by Harold B » Tue Sep 20, 2011 10:22 am

If you are into museums then I would suggest the Dali Museum in St. Pete and the Ringling Museum (a lot of paintings from the Renaissance period along with the mansion tour) in Sarasota. The drive to Sarasota from St Pete Beach will be about 45 min to an hour, but if it raining who cares.
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Re: Tampa/St. Pete

by Ed Vermillion » Sat Oct 01, 2011 9:53 am

Highly 2nd the Dali Museum. Cool little aquarium at the St. Pete Pier. Make the drive to Tarpon Springs on the North end of Pinellas County (same county St. Pete is in) and eat greek at the best restaurant on the sponge docks, Mykonos. Museum of Science & Industry in Tampa has a really cool hurricane simulator where you put on goggles and hearing protection and sit in a 75 mph wind chamber! The Tampa Aquarium is one of the best in the country along with the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. La Teresita near the Tampa Airport is fantastic.

http://www.lateresitarestaurant.com

http://www.conchrepublicgrill.com just North of St. Pete Beach is good

http://www.louispappas.com/ has some excellent fast casual greek which is an outshoot of the famous Pappas family flagship restaurant in Tarpon Springs (which has closed after some family in fighting).

Enjoy your trip!

Dang! Just noticed that you may be back already.....sorry :cry:
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Re: Tampa/St. Pete

by Robin F. » Mon Oct 03, 2011 9:52 am

Thanks for all the suggestions! Our biggest food discovery was the fantastic Greek fare in the area. Ed, we did go to Tarpon Springs one day and ate at Mykonos before I read your post! Great minds think alike. It was delicious and so such much we had it for lunch the next day as well.

Our first Greek venture was in downtown St. Pete at Acropolis. It's a loud, big, belly-dancing, Opa! shouting place that was fun on a Saturday night. I had the whole grilled snapper and it was fantastic! All the food was good and I would highly recommend it if you're downtown.

We went to the Dali Museum and we both have a new appreciation for Dali and his art. It really is an amazing building and a great collection.

We drove past the Conch place on our way back from Tarpon Springs and were too full to stop but it's nice to hear it's a good place for next time.

We never made it into Tampa, but St. Pete Beach just might be our new permanent vacation spot.

Thanks everyone!
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Tampa

by JustinHammond » Fri Apr 13, 2018 9:04 am

https://oxfordexchange.com/ - great brunch spot

http://www.ococina.com/ - modern mexican, cool bar

http://www.onswann.com/ - great dinner

http://www.ulele.com/ - great food on the river, small brewery

http://www.edison-tampa.com/ - great lunch

http://www.miseonline.com/ - great food, ok atmosphere

http://jacksonsbistro.com/ - great lunch with a view

https://bernssteakhouse.com/ - old school steakhouse, must do the kitchen/wine cellar tour.

http://www.cirostampa.com/ - speakeasy w/ great cocktails, happy hour

https://www.whiskeyjoestampa.com/ - closest beach to Tampa, tiki bar, live music, didn't eat

http://armatureworks.com/heights-market/ - fantastic market. food, wine, beer, shopping, live music, on the river

https://www.facebook.com/Zydecobrewwerks/ - cool brand new brewery in Ybor city

http://hotelbartampa.com/ - cool craft cocktail bar, food looked amazing but didn't eat.

http://eboatstampa.com/ - great boat rental company for river tour


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Re: Tampa/St. Pete

by Nathaniel C » Sun Nov 14, 2021 10:49 pm

Second the recommendations for the Dali museum and the Ringling. The Tampa Bay Automobile Museum is or was affiliated with the Dali and is also recommended if you're into cars. There is a more downscale museum, the Sarasota Classic Car Museum, across the road from the Ringling.

Food:
La Teresita - have heard good things, but didn't try.
Columbia Restaurant - I believe the original location is here. Excellent food and drinks. The Ybor City area is a neat area and very walkable.
Latin Grill Restaurant in Brandon - this was also really good.

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