TampaBayEats.com

It only took me a year and half, but this weekend I finally found something I longed for in Tampa: a good seafood restaurant.  Sure there are great restaurants in the bay areas serving seafood, but I’m not talking about a fine dining restaurant serving a $27 entree of fresh imported fish with a fancy sauce.  I’m talking about a seafood restaurant for those of us that grew up and live on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.  You know, the kind place with raw oysters served on the half shell, seafood platters, steamed blue crabs and cold beer to wash it down.  On Saturday afternoon I found it all during an early dinner at the Crab Shack Restaurant in St. Petersburg.

My girlfriend and I spent most of the day at the beach and on the way home I realized I was in the mood for seafood.  Besides, there isn’t a better way to follow up a hot day at the beach than with ice-cold raw oysters.  My friend Joe raved about the Crab Shack last week, singling out the taste and freshness of the Apalachicola oysters. After a quick stop at home and a little more Internet research, I decided that it was time for a try.

Located on the Pinellas side of Gandy, Crab Shack Restaurant is a local favorite.  With only about 15 tables, the place fills up fast and always seems to have a wait.  The building is small, with low ceilings and has the character of a run down seafood joint on the water; exactly what I expected.  The clientele is unpretentious too; a mix of families, bikers and young couples alongside the gray haired lady sitting at the bar nursing her carafe of white zinfandel.  It’s definitely not a tourist destination.

We started out our meal on Saturday with a dozen cold raw oysters on the half shell ($8.95) that turned out to be some of the best I’ve had in the bay area; salty and fresh.  Although I never eat dinner at five o’clock in the afternoon, we were lucky this time to have stumbled upon happy hour, which runs 4-6 pm Monday through Saturday and allowed me the to enjoy two for one draft beer and oysters for only $6.95 a dozen.

The menu is diverse and reads like a typical seafood joint: fried fish, oysters and shrimp, steamed blue crabs and they requisite seafood platter.  After eating them raw for an appetizer, I decided I would continue and order the Fried Oyster Plate ($12.95), which I enjoyed with French fries and homemade cole slaw.  The oysters were fried perfect and packed with flavor – I loved every bite.  My girlfriend decided on the Stuffed Shack Fish ($13.95), a large piece of cod filled with a blue crab stuffing then broiled.  The fish was excellent, but I have to admit that almost anything would be good if you stuffed it with crabmeat and broiled it with a heap of butter.  Unfortunately we were about to hit another happy hour down the street so we didn’t indulge in any dessert, unless you count my two-for-one beers.

Dining at Crab Shack restaurant was a winner and I consider it a victory in my search for reasonably priced, down to earth seafood.  It’s my kind of place and will definitely be back soon.  The menu has something for everyone and is one of the few places in town I have seen steamed blue crabs as well as fried softshell crabs.  Check out the Crab Shack website to peruse the menu and even print out a coupon for a free drink!  The prices are reasonable, the food is good and the restaurant has character.  When you are in the mood for seafood, be sure to avoid that “Joe’s” place and try out the REAL Crab Shack Restaurant.

Crab Shack Restaurant
11400 Gandy Blvd
St. Petersburg, Florida
(727) 576-7813
http://www.crabshack.com/index.htm

For some reason on Friday I was in the mood for Mexican. I didn’t cook anything the night before and didn’t bring anything for lunch, so I was wide open and quickly got in the mood for something spicy.  Fortunately there is a little Mexican taqueria and grocery only a few blocks from work, El Mezcalito, that serves some great tacos for only $1.25 each.  I’ve made it my default lunch spot when I want some good food, fast and cheap.

The tacos at El Mezcalito are pretty good, available in the common varieties of chicken, steak, pork and tongue.  All of the meats are cooked fresh and on site and the tacos are served in warm corn tortillas, but you are out of luck if you are looking for homemade, as they use the packaged tortillas.  A regular guy like me can walk into El Mescalito and get a chicken taco complete with lettuce, tomato cheese and sour cream; that’s how I had the tacos my first time there.  However, on my second visit I wondered why the Hispanic guys got their tacos with only cilantro and white onion.  Maybe it was because I am a gringo and that’s what the market demands, but I now request mine as the Mexicans do, with only cilantro and onion.  I suggest you do the same.

On weekends, you can stop in for homemade tamales or medudo, though I haven’t tried much there.  They also have a great selection of beer and Jarrito’s, but again, I can’t indulge during lunchtime.  El Mezcalito makes some great tacos and I frequent them often, but I was unimpressed the one time I strayed from the norm.  A chile relleno I had a while back may have been fresh that morning, but by the time I went for lunch, she microwaved it before pairing it with rice and beans.  I am a pretty adventurous diner, but for lunch, I tend to play it safe with the tacos.  You may not want to go out of your way to travel to El Mezcalito, but if you are in the area, I recommend you make a stop.

After some happy hour time at Courtside Grill, I realized my lunch tacos didn’t completely satisfy my craving.  When I got home, I mixed up a homemade margarita and pulled out the menu for Taqueria Cantina.  For dinner, I chose a mini steak burrito and an order or chips with their spiciest salsa.  The food from Taqueria doesn’t knock my socks off, but it is good; I enjoyed it as usual.  After having real Mexican tacos, I can’t stomach the food from Chipotle, so Taqueria is a good substitute for Cali/Tex-Mex style tacos and burritos.

Since my girlfriend is not a huge fan of Mexican food, I often feel the need to “cheat” when she is not around.  I am extremely fortunate that she understands my needs.  It had been a couple weeks since I had any spicy Mexican food, so Friday was my day.  Some people crave ice cream or cookies, I crave salsa…. what about you?

el Mezcalito
2908 Roosevelt Blvd
Clearwater, FL 33760
727-535-0149

Taqueria Cantina and Burrito Joint
(formerly Taqueria Quetzalcoatl)
402 S Howard Ave
Tampa, FL 33606-2036
813-259-9982

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