As Tampa Bay’s restaurant scene grows wider, more great places to eat & drink come into frame. Some of them aged and trusted, others new and enlightening. The eating is the easy part. The tougher conundrum is navigating which place to go. Enter The Best Things We Ate & Drank This Month. A simple enough article aimed to advise you, remind you and guide you toward satisfying culinary experiences throughout Tampa Bay. Here’s to your next order.
The Ybor Pete
Pete’s Bagels, Ybor City
Boozy Pig Florida smoked ham, swiss cheese, housemade pickles, mayo & mustard, pressed on an inside out everything bagel.
Just when you think you’re out on every restaurant’s take on the classic Cuban sandwich, the Ybor Pete pulls you back in. That’s the kind of thing a heaping pile of smoked Boozy Pig ham can do when pressed into a flipped and buttered inside-out bagel.
Ulele Burger with a Half-Dozen Oysters
Ulele, Tampa
Chargrilled ground short rib, brisket and chuck blend burger topped with house steak sauce, Wisconsin sharp cheddar, portobello mushrooms, fire-roasted red peppers and fried leeks served on brioche bun.
Take your pick on the star of this show. Be it the oysters the size of clowns’ feet or the sneaky great fried leaks smothering a perfectly charred burger.
The Sunburn
in between days, St. Pete
Lime juice, smooth sake, sweet mango nectar, a savory twist of charred poblano syrup, topped with a house beer.
Went into this cocktail blind and downed it with a thumbs up. It wouldn’t cure your sunburn, but you could happily drink five of these after a long hot day at the beach.
Octopus
Allelo, St. Pete
Melon, blueberry, chèvre
You can’t go wrong with much, if anything, at Allelo.