Welcome to TampaBayEats!
June 9th, 2006
It seems like only yesterday that I fled New Orleans in anticipation of a hurricane. In reality, it was almost eight months ago and while the event was tragic, it brought me to Tampa Bay to begin a new life. I’ve enjoyed everything about living in Tampa: the weather, the beach and the abundance of water; but what I haven’t found is a website dedicated to writing about good food and drinks in the Tampa Bay area.
For the past several years, I’ve been writing about eating, drinking and cooking in New Orleans on my website, “Notes from a New Orleans Foodie.” When I arrived in Tampa, I purposely left off writing about Tampa food in anticipation of starting a site dedicated solely to Tampa food; and here we are at TampaBayEats.
Please bookmark this site and check back often; I plan to update this site once or twice a week. What you will find is an anecdotal diary of dining at restaurants in the Tampa area. This includes going as far west as St. Pete, north to Tarpon Springs or New Port Richey, or right around the corner in South Tampa or Ybor City. I’ll be looking for the best food and the best experiences, whether it be a taco or Cuban sandwich at a roadside dive, or a piece of grilled venison at a white tablecloth restaurant; there are no limits to searching for good food and you will read about them all (even the bad ones).
I’ve begun my journey with quite a few meals here in Tampa, some of them great and many of them, well, ordinary. I look forward to finding the gems and hearing back from you via the comments section; let me know what you think. For now, it’s time to eat!
-Kevin
June 10th, 2006 at 11:50 pm
I look forward to hearing about your culinary adventures in the Tampa area. FYI - It’s New Port Richey (not Ritchie). If you willing to go north past New Port Richey, I would recommend trying Kazu’s Sushi in the same plaza as Target,6317 Tacoma Dr. in Port Richey.
Have you tried the tapas at The Spain Restaurant on 513 Tampa Street? I read a review on it but have never tried it.
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/10/23/Weekend/Spain_has_new_designs.shtml
June 13th, 2006 at 4:07 pm
Just read your story in the City Times. I love New Orleans and was just there in May for the Jazz Festival. I couldn’t agree with you more that the food in Tampa, other than grouper and some cuban dishes, doesn’t compare to what is available in NO. Have you found anywhere to have good cajun cooking? Good luck.
Dewey
June 13th, 2006 at 5:08 pm
Hi Kevin… and welcome to Tampa! I read the article in the SP Times today and had to check out your site. It is hard to find “great” restaurants and Tampa needed a site like yours. As a fellow foodie i had to pass along a few suggestions…
Kathy’s Industrial Mart & Deli in Largo - Don’t let the name fool you. It is located in an industrial setting, thus the name. But if you want the very best Steak and Cheese in Tampa Bay so far…this is it! It is owned by retired NYC cops…and at any given time you’ll find lots of cops eating there…usually they know where to find the great food. You’ll also find tons of NYC memorabilia.
Los Vallarta Mexican Rstrnt - the best Mexican food I have found so far…Tampa & Wesley Chapel
Oh, by the way….. Very soon you will have that chance to have an authentic Po’Boy in Tampa Bay…N’Orleans style! Dagwood’s Sandwich Shoppes, who also was blown to the Tampa Bay area via Katrina, is set to open their first store in Palm Harbor. One of the signature sandwiches is a New Orleans Po’Boy. The Top Secret Test Kitchen is still in New Orleans. Be sure and check them out once they open….the sandwiches are superior to anything on the market.
Take Care…and Good Eats!
Cindy
July 4th, 2006 at 1:38 pm
Kojaks….corner of Gandy and Bayshore. freaking bbq heaven…as is Uncle Rodneys s.o.g. (south of gandy) on MacDill.
for seafood check out The Crab Shack…it is just over the Gandy Bridge heading into St. Pete….If you continue way down (and i do mean way down) Gandy you get to this awesome litte cajun place on a river…I just can not remember the name of it
July 5th, 2006 at 4:36 pm
[…] Well, offline I asked Kevin if he wanted to post his findings on Sticks of Fire. Turns out he had already began the process of starting his own new website. The City Times got in touch with me for a profile of Kevin a while ago, and they reiterated his intention for “Tampa Bay Eats.” An introduction was posted on the Tampa Bay Eats website almost a month ago; hopefully we will soon see some actual reviews. […]
July 23rd, 2006 at 10:25 pm
Kevin,
Congrats on the new site. It looks good.
Todd