Friday, March 4, 2011

I love to Eat!: Restaurant Reviews

Eliot makes fun of me because I take pictures of food all of the time. I love to eat. I love to cook. I love to go to new restaurants. I wish I knew this when I was younger because I think I would have really been good on the Food Network or as a full time Chef. Eliot reminds me often when I daydream of going to the Culinary Institute of America that Top Chefs work a lot of hours specifically into the wee hours of the night. And still when I look back at my years as a waitress, I smile because by far that was my favorite all time random job. St. Pete is a hopping place for new cuisine and I have been storing various food opinions for this post.

1. The NEW Bella Brava is awesome! I am not sure what happened but the original was pretty good and then they had a radical menu change which was not good. I hadn't been there is a long time but they have relocated to Beach Drive and I think the move has done them a load of fantastic. My friend CD and I have gone there twice. I love going to eat with her because we always share food and so we can taste several things while we catch up on life. The last time we were there we had a bite of a sandwich that was so damn good, it was like a taste extravaganza in our mouths. The service has been top notch and I think we have tried a good bit of the menu at this point with no complaints. I must say that their tiramisu is the best in town.

2. Acropolis Greek Tavern ironically has taken over the old Bella Brava location and it is a delightful addition to the downtown eateries. Eliot and I are BIG BIG BIG fans of Greek food, so you can imagine how excited we were at this new restaurant option. We have high expectations since one of our favorite take outs is Athenian Gardens. Acropolis scored well! We had tzaziki and pita, greek salads, savory entrees of mahi mahi and orzo and finished with chocolate baklava cheesecake. The servers dance around! They throw napkins and scream OPA! Love it. Actually heading there tonight for a friend's birthday.

3. Brunches. 400 Beach Drive though many of my friends have not had the most successful of visits there, my family has enjoyed every first, including a pretty spectacular brunch buffet. I love me some brunch. Accuse me of treason because if there is a Benedict on the menu I am sold. I am particular about my eggs. I like a runny but warm yolk and not all quick order cooks pull that off. 400 Beach Drive managed this at a buffet! Pincho y Pincho (the small place next to and run by Ceviche) also had a terrific brunch and a really fantastic spicy bloody Mary. My ladies and I went there for brunch for my birthday and though our servers were slow and perhaps recovering rock stars, the food was great. After church last week we beat the brunch rush downtown and ended up at Crowleys. The food was inexpensive and standard but pretty good.  They did have some bangers on the side that made a bit more Irish. My yolk was cold  on my fried eggs but the coffee was good and the service was too. I must say I was put off my the smell of beer on my sugar packets but that is sorta what you get when you end up at an Irish pub for breakfast. The best thing for me here was that we found another pub that has our favorite Belgian beer, Palm, on the menu.

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