Eateries in Tampa / St. Pete's?

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Just fulfilling my obligatory MUScoop pre-vacation request and knowing there are several alums in the area.
Are there any recommended eating establishments and/or unique places in the Tampa / St. Pete's area? 
Thanks.

[reinko]

Chili's, Fridays, Applebees, Outback, Panera, Red Lobster, Dennys, BW3s, Cheescake Factory, PF Changs...

Seriously, nothing but chains down there.

[WarriorInNYC]

I've been traveling down to Tampa quite a bit for work, and have a few recommendations.

1) Burn's Steakhouse - pricy, but one of the best steakhouses in the country.  Also worth it (and a lot less pricy) to grab a steak sandwich at the bar
2) Roy's - great seafood restaurant - have some awesome sushi - can be somewhat pricy
3) Green Lemon - been there only once, have an awesome Taco Tuesday - tacos are very good
4) Armani's - absolutely amazing Italian restaurant on the top floor of the Grand Hyatt - also pricy, but the food is amazing

[Celtic Truth]

I've only been down to the Tampa area once and it was years ago and I didn't eat at any of these places.....but here are some recommendations none the less.

They have a lot of wicked good Mediterranean, specifically Greek food down there. Idk if you eat Greek food much but it's really good, especially for carnivores.

I'd definitely recommend eating on the beach at many of the oceanfront places. The Palm Pavilion on Clearwater Beach has been around since 1926 and is right on the beach and is a cool laid back spot.

I've also heard of a place called Urban Brew & BBQ in St Pete. They offer a large selection of rotating craft beers and awesome BBQ in a beer garden type setting.

Hopefully this helps

[Spotcheck Billy]

Is the Kapok Tree still around?

[WarriorInNYC]

Oh also, haven't been to the location in Tampa as I believe it has recently opened, but 4 Rivers BBQ is very, very good.

I've been eating at the one in Orlando when traveling down here and am a big fan.

[augoman]

Downtown St Petersburg is great.   Park your car and walk along the waterfront, stop for coffee/ice cream at one of the shops sit at the sidewalk tables and people watch, take the elevator to the rooftop of the Birchwood and have a cocktail and snacks at one of the tables overlooking the bay, walk the lobby of the Vinoy hotel and sit by the fireplace for a cocktail.  If early enough do the various museums-exhibits, all walkable.

[keefe]

We used to make periodic trips to CENTCOM at McDill AFB. For drinking hit The Tiny. There is also Hogan's that has beach volleyball pits. Definitely worth grabbing a table court side and taking in the view. Trust me.   

[reinko]

We used to make periodic trips to CENTCOM at McDill AFB. For drinking hit The Tiny. There is also Hogan's that has beach volleyball pits. Definitely worth grabbing a table court side and taking in the view. Trust me.

Lookin' good Keefe.

[Freeport Warrior]

Second Bern's steakhouse - classic. Just learned that the more causal sister restaurant next to Bern's -- called SideBerns -- underwent a name change earlier this year. It's now called Haven.
http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2015/03/09/haven-once-sideberns-set-to-open-this-week.html

Had an awesome meal at BT in Tampa earlier this year. Fusion kind of place with asian/vietnamese twist. We just did a bunch of apps and stuff around lunch. We spent the previous summer in Boston literally trying every Lobster roll around; the one we had at BT in March was better than any we have every had.
http://www.restaurantbt.com

The real debate in Tampa is Mons Venus vs. 2001 Oddyssey, lol.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Family used to have a place down in that area. We liked Crabby Bills. Also, great Greek Food in a place called Tarpon Springs. Johns Pass has a few restraunts there as well.

[real chili 83]

If you happen to do a day trip to Sarasota, the New Pass Grill and Bait Shop is a must for a cheeseburger. The atmosphere is genuine Florida.

Been open since 1929.

http://www.newpassgrill.com 

[4everwarriors]

We used to make periodic trips to CENTCOM at McDill AFB. For drinking hit The Tiny. There is also Hogan's that has beach volleyball pits. Definitely worth grabbing a table court side and taking in the view. Trust me.

F*ckin' hits The Tiny every night, ai na?

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Also, if you're a fan of baseball l check out some of the minor league teams. Dunedin Bluejays, Clearwater Threshers and Tampa Yankees are all close. Fun games to go to and we actually saw Ryan Howard play fo Clearwater way back.

[WarriorInNYC]

Also, if you're a fan of baseball l check out some of the minor league teams. Dunedin Bluejays, Clearwater Threshers and Tampa Yankees are all close. Fun games to go to and we actually saw Ryan Howard play fo Clearwater way back.

Went to a Tampa Yankees game last summer.  Tickets were cheap, beers were cheap, chili dogs were great.  I honestly enjoyed going to that game much much more than making the hike to go to that ugly stadium the Rays have.

[warriorchick]

Frenchy's in Clearwater Beach.  One of my favorite U.S. Beach Bars.

Also, I believe the Original Hooters is down that way.

There is also a "turtle"-themed bar down there called Cooters.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

If you happen to do a day trip to Sarasota, the New Pass Grill and Bait Shop is a must for a cheeseburger. The atmosphere is genuine Florida.

Been open since 1929.

http://www.newpassgrill.com

Sarasota is definitely on the docket for a future trip. 
The wife has sent some students to the Ringling College of Art & Design and wants to visit.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Also, if you're a fan of baseball l check out some of the minor league teams. Dunedin Bluejays, Clearwater Threshers and Tampa Yankees are all close. Fun games to go to and we actually saw Ryan Howard play fo Clearwater way back.

I went to the Rays - Braves game and sat next to the rays tank per my kids request.  One of the rays doused my wife with water.  I was in the first row behind the wall.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Downtown St Petersburg is great.   Park your car and walk along the waterfront, stop for coffee/ice cream at one of the shops sit at the sidewalk tables and people watch, take the elevator to the rooftop of the Birchwood and have a cocktail and snacks at one of the tables overlooking the bay, walk the lobby of the Vinoy hotel and sit by the fireplace for a cocktail.  If early enough do the various museums-exhibits, all walkable.

We stopped downtown and parked on the waterfront and visited the Chihuly Gallery & the MFA.  (We only made it the Dali Museum on our previous St. Petersburg visit two years ago.)  When we got back one tire was completely flat and the valve stem cap was missing.  We suspect the "sea bum" who was sitting on the park bench next to the car when we arrived (and was at the time being yelled out by a woman just walking down the sidewalk) and was still there when we returned.  Thankfully, I keep an air pump in the car.  The next day the autoshop said the valve stem was just unscrewed slightly and that it doesn't just happen by itself.

On another Marquette related note, I got pulled over in the middle of North Carolina.  I did not get a ticket, it's just that the extremely polite cop wanted to tell me that I should remove my Marquette license plate frame the first chance I get because "it was an old type" and it partially blocked the words Connecticut and if my car got stolen in North Carolina it would be harder to identify the car plate. 

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Thanks for the restaurant recs.  We did not eat out in St. Pete's as we were on the beach on Treasure Island and ate grocery food from Publix in the hotel.  Didn't feel like going anywhere after being fried on the beach all day.

In Tampa, our hotel was in Ybor City so we went to places we could walk to.  Ate at the Tampa Brewing Company and they have a bunch of specials from the Guy Fieri TV show visit.  It was good food.  Also ate at the tin ceiling Carmine's (no relation to the NYC place) for Tampa-Cuban food.