Stopped at Nosh Cafe for lunch today.  I can’t resist their Cuban sandwich and potato salad & Loren decided to try the Po’ Boy and a bowl of chili.

Loren liked the Po’ Boy.  It had lots of ham and roast beef and the chili made for a nice side.  I’m not a big salami fan, but I really like the flavor of the kind they use here.  Both plates were empty within no time.

Nosh Cafe
4058 Tampa Rd, Ste 4
Oldsmar, FL
813-891-0700

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We met a friend of ours down in St Pete at Rain Sushi for dinner tonight.  It’s an a little strip mall and you’d probably miss it if you weren’t looking for it, but it’s definitely worth seeking out.  It’s not a very big restaurant, but the sushi was fresh, tasty, and very reasonably priced.

Our friend started off with a summer roll and Loren got a ginger salad.

The summer roll was light and fresh with all sorts of crunchy fresh veggies and shrimp.  For sushi, we ordered the Ultimate Daddy which had tuna avocado, eel and fish eggs; a Sloppy Old Man which had krab and crawfish over a spicy tuna roll; a Mexican roll, Special Scallop roll, Snow Crab roll, Spicy Crawfish roll, Spicy Tuna roll and some salmon.

It was a ton of food, but every roll brought a little bit of joy to the table.  Our friend has a gluten allergy and they were very accommodating.  This is definitely a sushi restaurant we’ll return to when we’re back in the area.  Total bill with a couple of drinks was $80.

Rain Japanese Restaurant And Sushi Bar
5267 Park St. N
Saint Petersburg, Fl
(727) 545-1781

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We made our way back to Craft Street Kitchen tonight, but had to wait about 30 minutes for a table.  This place is hopping on the weekends.  Unfortunately, that does mean it gets pretty loud inside, but the food makes up for the noise. Tonight we tried the short rib tots for an appetizer.

Thai chili braised short ribs and sweet potato tots make for a tasty, tangy, sweet and spicy combination.  It was interesting.  I couldn’t stop eating it even though it was a bit on the spicy side.  Loren decided to try the Ziggy sandwich with a side of collard greens.

Though he liked the flavors in the sandwich, there was way too much bread going on there.  I went for the dish he had last time, the Belgium Clucker.

These are hands down the best waffles we’ve eaten. The chicken was tender and tasty, but the collard greens were a bit too strong for me.  They really overwhelmed all of the other flavors on the plate.  Total bill with a drink was $42.

Craft Street Kitchen and Drinks
3153 Curlew Rd
Oldsmar, FL
727-314-4270

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We timed our dinner just right at Johnny’s Italian in Clearwater.  This place gets busy on the weekends but we were able to get in & get a table without a wait.  Loren started off with a salad and I went for the New England clam chowder, but let’s face it, we come here for the fresh baked Johnny bread.

That bread.  It’s warm and soft and you just don’t care that you’re going to smell like garlic for the rest of the night because that dipping oil is just so delicious.  The clam chowder was creamy, thick and rich and hit the spot.  We decided to try the crab cakes tonight.

They were quite good.  Very little filler, just lots of crab.  The sauce on the plate had a bit of a zing to it.  Loren tried the chicken Briscante for his entree.

The chicken was very tender and the pasta cooked perfectly.  It had a light cream sauce that was quite tasty.  I went for my favorite dish on the menu, the chicken marsala with fettucine alfredo.

I had lots of leftovers tonight.  The chicken was tender and the alfredo sauce is so creamy and delicious.  And since I took half of my entree home, we couldn’t pass up a slice of the chocolate dream cake.

This cake is so rich and chocolatety.  The frosting is a fudgey ganache and the cake is quite moist.  So good.  Total bill with a drink was $47.

Johnny’s Italian Restaurant
2907 SR 590 #1
Clearwater, FL
727-797-2940

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Went back to Tampa Bay Brewing Company for lunch on Saturday with some friends.  We started off with the chips and salsa and queso.  I love how crispy the chips are and the queso had a nice flavor, though a little on the salty side.  Loren ordered the steak & bacon chop salad & I got the Iron Rat Stout Shepard’s Pie.

Loren liked the salad.  He said the steak was tender enough to cut with a butter knife (lucky for him since that was the only knife he had).  Though I liked the flavor of the shepard’s pie, it was so incredibly salty and greasy.  I don’t know if they increase the salt content to get people to drink more or what.  The meat and veggie mixture inside went well with the thick, creamy mashed potatoes.  Total bill with a drink was $38.

Tampa Bay Brewing Co
13927 Monroe Business Park
Tampa, FL
813-247-1422

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