We started off the new year with a trip down to Ft DeSoto Park and stopped at the Chattaway for lunch.  We both opted for some burgers today.  Loren just a plain hamburger & mine a cheeseburger with mushrooms.

Both were fresh, tasty and very juicy.  Definitely a good homemade burger.  It is a cash only joint and most of the seating is outside on the patio.  Total bill was $16 with a drink.

Chattaway
358 22nd Ave South
St Petersburg, FL
(727) 823-1594

Food
Service
Atmosphere
Value

We ate at Red Mesa Cantina tonight on our way to see “Rent” on Demen’s Landing.  We got a little lost finding it since the street numbers didn’t seem to match up right.

Loren ordered the beef cazuela and I got the duck quesadillas.  Our food came out very quickly.   It really seemed odd as to how fast it got to the table.

Both dishes were overpriced and unimpressive.  The duck could have been any kind of shredded meat and there wasn’t all that much of it in the dish.  There was also a miniscule amount of goat cheese in the quesadilla.  The sauce on the plate was pretty spicy.  Loren didn’t think much of his dish either.  Total bill was $29 with a drink. 

Red Mesa Cantina
128 Third St. S.
St Petersburg, FL
(727) 896-8226

Food
Service
Atmosphere
Value

We were headed down to Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in St Petersburg today and ate lunch at Munch’s Sundries.  Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive Ins and Dives filmed there earlier this year and based on our experience, I think it was a good pick. 

It’s got that diner feel to it.  Been around since the 1950′s and the photos on the walls bring you back to an era long gone.  We started off with some onion straws.

It was a big ol’ basket of lightly battered, very yummy onion rings.  This is one of those addictive appetizers.  Loren even found a few bonus items in the basket, some okra and a piece of fried chicken.  The waitress said sometimes you may even end up with a fried shrimp in there.  For lunch, Loren got a cheeseburger with fries.

He said the burger was good, but that the bun had a bit too much mustard and relish on it for this taste.  He ended up having to help me eat my lunch, the BBQ rib sandwich.

Ok, I’m not really sure why they called it a sandwich, maybe because there were two pieces of bread on the plate?  It was just three of the tastiest BBQ ribs I’ve had in a long time.  They were so tender and had lots of flavor.  I didn’t even bother with the BBQ sauce.  I would definitely come back for more BBQ.  Loren’s even thinking about using them to cater BBQ for one of their autocross events.

And when there’s homemade apple pie on the menu, I find it very hard to resist.

Lots of apples and cinnamon on a tasty crust.  And the best part was that the whole meal with a drink was $21.  Next time we’re in south St Pete, we’re definitely stopping here again.

Munch’s Sundries
3920 6th St S
St Petersburg, FL
(727) 896-5972

Food
Service
Atmosphere
Value

After our trip to the Morean Arts Center, HotShop, and the Chihuly Collection, we still weren’t ready to eat dinner, but decided to get some take out from the Nola Cafe for later. 

We got the combination platter which had red beans and rice, gumbo and jambalaya, some beignets, and a bowl of crawfish etouffee.

Out of the combo, the gumbo was definitely the best.  It had a very smooth, velvety texture to it, plus some really nice flavors.  The red beans and rice was ok, and the jambalaya was smoky and kind of plain.  There was some spices in all three, but they weren’t overly spicy.  The crawfish etouffee, however, was really spicy.

The spice doesn’t hit you when you first put it in your mouth, but once it hits the back of your throat, you feel some heat.  Unfortunately, it had more heat than flavor going on. 

As for the beignets, I don’t know if it was the drive home or if they’re always this way, but they were kind of doughy.

They weren’t great.  Overall, nothing really stood out about the food.  It was ok, but I still prefer the Cajun Cafe.  The food here just didn’t seem as fresh and homemade as I was hoping for.  Total bill was $32.

Nola Cafe
300 Beach Dr NE
St Petersburg, FL
(813) 258-8778

Food
Service
Atmosphere
Value

Ate lunch at Cafe Ten-O-One in St Pete before we headed over to the Morean Arts Center.  Downtown St Pete was pretty quiet today since Gasparilla was going on in Tampa. 

We both ordered burgers.  I got the cheeseburger with sweet potato fries and potato salad and Loren got the Bistro burger with tots and cole slaw. 

The kitchen seemed to be having a few issues today.  I had ordered my burger with just mayo, lettuce, and tomato, but there was everything on the bun on my plate.  Luckily, they had just put the wrong top bun on our plates and Loren had mine.  The other issue is that Loren’s Bistro burger should have had bacon on it and it didn’t.  Our waitress reduced the price of his burger and said they had a new cook that didn’t know what went on each burger yet.

As for the burgers, though, they were pretty good.  They had some nice flavors going on.  Good diner burger.  The sweet potato fries and tater tots were also crunchy and tasty.  I thought the potato salad had too much onion in it and the cole slaw was kind of dry.  Overall, for $17 it was a pretty good lunch.

Cafe Ten-O-One
1001 First Ave. N.
St Petersburg, FL
(727) 894-4238

Food
Service
Atmosphere
Value

Had lunch with my buddy Steve today, we opted for a convenient Mexican lunch at Estela’s on Roosevelt Boulevard.  It was a really nice day, but not hot, so we grabbed a table outside.  It was nice and quiet, and we were well-served. (sometimes when you opt for outdoor seating you get forgotten, not today)  Our drinks came quickly along with a complimentary basket of chips and salsa.

I grabbed a quick bite from the lunch menu, Steve “splurged” on the cerviche.  And… I remembered to take a photo! Not a great photo.  Not a  great looking plate.  But, it was tasty and quick.

My “Burrito Diablo” was not as devilish as it sounded.  Just a pork burrito topped with lettuce, tomato, cheese and a big ol’ glob of fresh guacamole and a side of rice.  Good stuff.  Steve’s cerviche was not what either of us expected it to be, it was more of a spicy cold soup kind of thing. (Our waitress corrected our “say-vee-chay” pronunciation to “saveesh”, maybe that had something to do with it?)  But, it was chock full of fresh shrimp, and Steve was pleased with it.

The guacamole was pretty good, but the salsa was a little disappointing.  Not bad, just not up to my usual standard.  Seemed like it either spent way too much time in a blender, or had a tomato paste base.  The taste leaned toward tomato paste.

Overall, this is a decent cheap Mexican joint.  I’ve been there a few times and it’s consistently good.  Sort of like Poblano’s near home, if it’s close and you want cheap Mexican, you can’t go wrong.  We got out for less than $15 each after the tip.

Estela’s Mexican Restaurant
(727) 578-5380
10478 Roosevelt Blvd N
St Petersburg, FL 33716

Food
Service
Atmosphere
Value