I’ve been searching for a restaurant to satisfy my Ipswich clam cravings.  Having grown up in New England, it’s one of those tastes of my childhood that I miss and can’t find anywhere.  That is until tonight when we ate at Rosie’s Clam Shack in Pinellas Park.  But first, we had to try the clam chowder.

This was a thick, rich chowder with lots of potatoes and clams.  It had a very mild flavor and needed a little salt, but otherwise, pretty tasty.  Loren decided to try the stuffed grouper.

For his two sides, he chose the parsley potatoes and the pasta salad.  He really liked this dish.  He said the grouper was cooked perfectly and the stuffing had a nice flavor to it.  The pasta salad had a little spicy kick to it that he liked as well.  Loren said he wished he had taken a photo of the happy look on my face when I ate the first fried clam.

These were perfectly cooked.  Crunchy, with tender bellies, just like I remembered them.  I really liked the parsley potatoes too.  Since everything else was tasting so good, we decided to try the apple blossom dessert.

I think if I had turned around this would have been gone before I was able to look back.  The apple filling and tender crust were just yummy.  It was a very simple dessert, but sometimes, those can be the best.  My only complaint about the restaurant is that it took quite a while for the food to come out of the kitchen.  We will definitely be back.  Total bill with a drink was $52.

Rosie’s Clam Shack
6657 49th St
Pinellas Park, FL
727-527-6700

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I think we’ve found our new favorite German restaurant down in Largo.  German Bistro 2 is in a little strip mall, has about 10 tables inside and some very tasty and hearty German food.  They started us off with some bread and coleslaw.

The bread was fresh and tasty.  The coleslaw was a bit on the peppery side, but still very good.  I knew I shouldn’t have ordered an appetizer, but I just love potato pancakes.

Normally, Loren isn’t a fan, but he really enjoyed these.  They were nice and crispy with a little bit of herbs on them and served with applesauce and sour cream.  I have to admit, I was already full by the time our entrees arrived.  Loren got the Gypsischnizel with a side salad and dumpling.

They forgot to bring out the dressing for his salad, but other than that the meal was very good.  His pork had a tomato and green pepper sauce on it.  The dumpling was made of stuffing.  It was different.  I ordered the Jaegerschnizel with spaezel and warm potato salad.

The pork was very tender and the mushroom gravy had lots of thick slices of mushrooms.  The spaezle was so good that I had to order seconds.  I forgot to mention, all the sides have free refills.  Loren really enjoyed the potato salad.  It had bacon and that distinct vinegary German flavor.  We both ended up with lots of leftovers and yet, we still ordered the apple strudel for dessert.

It was served with ice cream and whipped cream.  Seriously, we were both so stuffed by this point that we couldn’t finish the pastry, though we did eat all of the apples inside.  Another thing to mention is that they also offer complimentary beer or wine.  It was a very enjoyable experience.  The owners are very friendly and accommodating.  They want to make sure you enjoy every last thing on your plate.   This is definitely a restaurant we’ll be returning to.  Just have to remember to bring a big appetite.   Total bill was $55.

German Bistro II
1300 E Bay Dr Ste L
Largo, FL
727-216-6519

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We left Las Vegas this morning on our way to the mountains in Utah.  We stopped in St George for lunch and ate at Cappelettis Italian Restaurant.  We started off with the spinach artichoke dip.

This was very fresh and tasty.  The chips were warm and the dip just had a wonderful flavor and texture.  There was also a lot of it which made it difficult to finish our entrees.  Loren ordered the half sandwich and soup.

He got the French onion soup and chicken salad sandwich.  I really liked the sandwich.   Besides the chicken, it had grapes, apples, dried cranberries, and lettuce.  The bread was thick and soft an overall just very tasty.  I ordered the fettucine alfredo.

Although it had way too much cheese sprinkled on top, the rest of it was creamy and delicious.  No separating of the sauce here which was a wonderful thing.  There was way too much of it for me to finish though.  And yet, I still managed to save room for dessert.

I don’t remember what this was called, just that it was amazingly chocolatety.  Thick and rich with some different textural layers in it.   Something I’d most definitely order again.  Yum!  Total bill with a drink was $36.

Cappelettis
36 E Tabernacle
Saint George, UT
435-986-4119

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We’ve lived in Florida long enough that hunger wins out over rain any day.  We had just gotten out of a movie and even though it was pouring out, we braved the weather and ended up at the Marathon Grille for lunch.  Loren tried the chicken keftedes (at least I think that’s what it was) which came with a Greek salad and potatoes.

They were little chicken patties of tastiness.  Lots of Mediterranean type spices in a flavorful little package.  He really liked them along with the salad.  I got a gyro with Greek salad.

It was very good.  There were cucumbers & tomatoes on it (I had them hold the onions) and the tzatziki sauce was tasty.  Most of the places that I get gyros from have lettuce on them, but I kinda liked the cucumbers.  My only complaint was having the Greek salad served on the same plate.  The dressing just went everywhere and I had to save my gyro was getting soggy.  Since the rain decided to whip up to a frenzy about the time we were finished, we decided to try some dessert.

It was a tasty chocolate cake which we ate slowly to savour every bite and avoid getting drenched by Tropical Storm Debby.  Total bill with a drink was $26.

Marathon Grille
33675 US Highway 19N
Palm Harbor, FL
727-787-4246

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I’ve been craving German food for a while so we headed off to the German Restaurant in Holiday.  They were pretty busy when we got there and as it turned out, I think all the tables showed up right before us, so it took quite a while to get our food tonight. This definitely isn’t a place you go for a quick meal. We both started out with bread and the potato sausage soup.

The sausage took over the flavor of the soup, but it was yummy.  There’s nothing quite like fresh, home made soup.  From here the long wait began.  We were beginning to think they had lost our order when they finally brought it out. Loren got the Rinder Roulade.

He said it had some interesting flavors.  There was a pickle in the middle, which they actually warned him about, saying it gets really hot and doesn’t cool down quickly. The only thing he really didn’t care for was the cabbage.  He thinks it’s too tart.  I’m pretty predictable when it comes to food here.  The Jaegerschnitzel and spaetzel were the two things I was looking forward to.

The portions are huge and I ended up taking half of it home.  I did find it a little on the salty side, but overall it just has such a nice flavor and texture.  Comfort food at its best.  And there’s no coming here without a slice of the Black Forest cake.

Cream filled chocolate cake goodness.  Delicious!  Total bill with a drink was $46.

The German Restaurant
2616 US Hwy 19
Holiday, FL
727-937-7400

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We got a recommendation on our Facebook page to try Marley’s Monster Grill, so that’s where we ended up tonight.  I had checked out the menu online beforehand and it gave me the giggles, so we just had to try it.  It’s not a very big place, but from the moment we walked in, we had a good feeling about it.  The walls are covered with monster movie memorabilia and the owners were very nice.  As people walked in, they were greeted by name, so this seems to be a place people come back to again and again.

They brought over some homemade chips & queso.

I liked the chips, but the queso was a bit too Cheez-wizzy for me.  It had some heat flavorwise, but wasn’t warm temperature wise.  I just prefer my queso warm to the touch.  We ordered some garlic monster toes.  Seriously, how could you pass up ordering something called Monster Toes??

Yummy little pizza dough munchies.  They asked if we wanted garlic butter or marinara to dip them in & since we hadn’t tried either before, they brought out both.  I actually liked both & ended up dipping the dough in the garlic, then the marinara.  I had to stop eating them or there was no way I was going to be able to eat my sandwich… which was huge, by the way.

This is the way I like my Philly cheesesteak.  The Amoroso rolls are so soft, the meat is finely shaved and it’s covered in onions, mushrooms, mayo & cheese.  I’m not a Wiz gal, so it’s American cheese for me.  I only managed to eat half of it, but the other half will make for some tasty leftovers.  And I’m a fan of anyone who serves sweet potato fries.

Loren got the chicken grill sandwich which came with fries.

One minute, I was taking a photo and the next, the sandwich was gone.  He really liked it.  The chicken was thin, but very tender, the veggies & bread fresh and he liked the mayo-dijon spread on it.

The first thing listed on their menu is dessert, because why wouldn’t you want to eat dessert first, so I just couldn’t resist ordering a chocolate covered brownie cheesecake on a stick.

It was pretty good.  It had a layer of brownie inside plus a chocolate cheesecake.  Plus the plate & chocolate sauce design made me giggle.  The food did take a while to come out of the kitchen, but when it comes out fresh & tasty, it’s worth the wait.  They also have a monthly Face Trivia game, so we were quite occupied trying to figure out the who’s who.  It was a fun way to pass the time.  Total bill was $27 and this is definitely a place we’ll be back to.

Marley’s Monster Grill & Pizza
29835 US Hwy 19 N
Clearwater, FL
727-239-7208

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We drove up to Tarpon Springs tonight to have dinner at The Plum Tomato.  It’s a little Italian restaurant and though our first impression wasn’t great, the food made up for it.  When we walked in the door, we weren’t greeted by anyone.  Waitresses walked by and no one acknowledged us and then an older gentleman (I’m guessing the owner) sort of looked at us, but I honestly couldn’t tell if he was a customer or worked there.  He eventually came all the way over to us & directed us to a table being cleared.

They started us off with some homemade bread.

The bread was warm and tasty.  Would have been nice to have a plate of oil & herbs to dip it in.  It was gone in a few minutes though.  Our entrees came with soup or salad and we both chose the clam chowder.

It was really creamy and had some rich flavors to it.  Very, very tasty and had a nice assortment of ingredients that weren’t mushy and a good depth of flavor.  We also decided to try the calamari.

It was good, but not great.  Loren liked it more than I did.  It was a little on the chewy side, mostly because the pieces were very thin, but the breading was flavorful and the marinara sauce was very good.

Loren got the chicken mediterranean which was chicken & eggplant in a lemony sauce which also came with a side of pasta.

Eggplant is not the easiest thing to get right and they did a really good job with it here.  It still had texture and the flavors blended together very well.  The chicken was tender and the sauce was good.  He even ended up with some leftovers.

I ordered the pasta bolognese based on another review I had read.

I swear there was a pound of pasta in this bowl.  I absolutely had leftovers.  The sauce was slow cooked and you could really taste the deep flavor of the wine that only comes from letting the sauce simmer for hours.    Really tasty.

I also had to get a cannoli to go.

It was pretty good.  One of the better ones I’ve had lately.  I think for to-go orders though, any toppings should be put in a separate container on the side, otherwise the shell gets soggy.  Honestly, it didn’t even need the chocolate sauce & chocolate chips.

Overall, the food was really good.  We sat in the booth furthest to the back, so we heard & saw a lot of the service delays.  The were busy tonight and we could hear the upset customers waiting on late pizza deliveries as well as the wait staff going back & forth with the kitchen on orders.  We had both a waitress & waiter that tended to our table and they were really good, but where we were sitting, I felt a definite tension in the overall air.  It also didn’t help that the guy I’m assuming is the owner, sort of hung out at the back of the restaurant where we were and it felt awkward.  Total bill with a drink was $43.

The Plum Tomato
1988 Pinellas Ave S
Tarpon Springs, FL
(727) 944-3330

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We were heading up to Starkey Park and stopped for lunch at Steve’s Place in New Port Richey.  We could tell right away that the locals hang out here because the owner & waitresses were greeting people by name and chatting with them.  We both went for burgers, Loren the bacon cheeseburger and for me, the mushroom burger.

They were both cooked well and the fries were yummy.  I also couldn’t pass up one of their little desserts.

The strawberry mousse was tasty for a little bite of sweetness.  It didn’t have a very strong strawberry flavor, but it satisfied my sweet tooth before our walk in the park.  Total bill with a drink was $16.

Steve’s Place
5400 Little Road
New Port Richey, FL
727-375-0541

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Loren wanted a salad for dinner, so we stopped at Kostas Family Restaurant in Dillsboro.  They were pretty busy for a Monday evening.  Guess there are a lot of other tourists like us in town to see the fall colors.

Loren ordered a small Greek salad and one came with my meal.

It’s funny, I’m so used to Greek food around the Tarpon Springs, Florida area that it was odd not to see potato salad in the Greek salad.  The dressing was tasty though.  The yeast rolls were soft and yummy.

We ordered the spinach artichoke dip for an appetizer and Loren also got some hummus.

The spinach artichoke dip was really good.  The pita bread served with it was warm and soft.  This is one of those dishes you can’t stop eating.   Loren liked the hummus as well.  As usual, I had to try the pastitsio.

This one had all the right flavors.  The bechemel sauce was very creamy and yummy.  The only issue I had with it was that the edges & bottom were a bit overcooked.  Crunchy is not a texture I want in a pasta dish.  I don’t like green beans, but Loren tasted them and said they were good.  I think he said something to the effect of, “Mmmm… cooked in bacon”.  We also got some desserts to take back to the B&B for later.

I got the French Silk Pie, which tasted exactly like the ones you get at Village Inn and Loren got the baklava.  He said it was tasty.  Total bill with a drink was $35. 

Kosta Family Restaurant
489 Haywood Rd
Dillsboro, NC
828-631-0777

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Ate dinner at Thirsty Marlin tonight.  There are so many things on their menu that sound good, it’s hard to choose sometimes.  We started off with a Rainbow Roll.

I’ve found sushi to be hit or miss here.  The fish is usually good, but the rice isn’t always quite right.  Tonight’s rice was a bit too dense, but otherwise the roll was good.  Loren & I split a bowl of lobster bisque, though I really didn’t want to share.

It had a wonderful creamy texture and amazing flavor.  I kept trying to pull the bowl closer to my end of the table.  Loren went for a lightly blackened mahi sandwich tonight.

He said the fish was tasty.  You never quite know what you’re going to get when you say lightly blackened, but they did it pretty well.  I went for a mushroom swiss burger.

I only managed to eat half of it.  It was cooked a nice medium and had good flavor to it, but between the soup and sushi, I was getting full… not to mention I had my eye on the fried cheesecake.

I’m always intrigued by how different restaurants interpret a dish. I’ve had different versions of fried cheesecake and this one was pretty good.  It sits on a layer of Oreo cookie crumbs and the cheesecake is wrapped and deep fried, so you get a crunchy outer layer and creamy interior.  Just add chocolate sauce and whipped cream and you’ve got yourself a yummy little dessert.  Total bill with a drink was $44.

Thirsty Marlin
1023 Florida Ave
Palm Harbor, FL
727-784-3469

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We celebrated Loren’s birthday at Green Springs Bistro in Safety Harbor.  We’d eaten here once before and enjoyed the food, but this time around it just wasn’t up to par with the prices they charge.

We were seated in one of the front rooms and it was really loud.  For such a cozy little restaurant, you’d think they could figure out a way to dampen some of the noise in there.  Our waitress brought over a taste of their potato and scallion soup.

It was creamy, but the first thing Loren did was grab for the salt shaker.  That was the start of the relatively unseasoned food we had all night. Next up came our appetizer, Harold’s shrooms.

Roasted portobello mushroom caps with red peppers, olives and garlic goat cheese.  I found the olives to be overpowering in the dish, though I really liked the taste of the goat cheese.  The mushrooms were meaty, but a little tough to cut.  Salads also came with our meal.

For his entree, Loren ordered the filet mignon which came with mashed potatoes and roasted veggies.

The filet was very tender and cooked medium, but underseasoned.  The gorgonzola on top completely overwhelmed the taste of the meat though.  As you can see from the photo, some of the veggies were a bit charred while others were a bit underdone.

I ordered the blue crab and lobster stuffed mahi.

The mahi was overcooked and tough.  My first reaction was that the mahi I had recently at Cuban Breezes, for less than half the price mind you,  was cooked way better than this piece of fish.  The crab and lobster stuffing tasted like a crabcake.  There was absolutely nothing textural, visual, or taste wise that would have indicated to me that it had any lobster in it whatsoever. The Key Lime white wine sauce had very little lime flavor ( I actually thought it was a lemon sauce) and there wasn’t much of it on the plate.  My butter knife was also a bit inadequate to cut through some of the roasted carrots.

I’d heard good things about their black & blue cobbler so I got some to take home.

It was very sweet and there wasn’t enough of the crumb topping.  It came with a tasty vanilla bean ice cream though.  Our waitress was very friendly and kept plates cleared and drinks full.  Overall though, we were fairly disappointed in the whole $73 experience.  If I’m going to pay that much for dinner, I expect wonderful flavors and textures and to leave the restaurant wondering when I’ll be able to go back again.  After this meal, I don’t think we’ll be returning anytime soon.

Green Springs Bistro
156 Fourth Ave North
Safety Harbor, FL
727-669-6762

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We’ve never had Ethiopian food before, so we headed over to Tampa to Queen of Sheba.  There was only one waitress working the dining room and she seemed to forget about us quite often during the meal.  It took a while to get our drinks and appetizer.  We ordered the beef sambussa.

It was very similar to an empanada.  The beef filling was flavorful and the pastry was nice and crisp.  I’m glad we ordered it since it was still quite a while before our entrees arrived.  Loren ordered the Queen’s Eight so he could try several dishes.

It had two chicken items, red lentils, cabbage and carrots, collard greens, potatoes and carrots, lamb and a beef item.  His chicken dish was a bit on the spicy side.  The rest of it had decent flavors, but nothing that was really remarkable.

I ordered the Doro Alecha which is a mild chicken and hard boiled egg dish.  Pretty much the same chicken item that was in the Queen’s Eight platter, just not spicy.

It also came with red lentils and potatoes and carrots.  The lentils were on the spicy side, so I didn’t like them very much.  The rest had very mellow flavors. 

The meal is served with injera which you use instead of forks to scoop up the items.

I didn’t like it at all.  From it’s color to its spongy texture to its taste, it just didn’t do it for me.  We had a Restaurant.com coupon, so we needed to spend $35.  When we asked about dessert, the waitress said they had honey chips. 

While we were waiting for them, she brought over our check, which didn’t have the dessert on it.  Then we watched her try to serve our dessert to another table.  She just wasn’t very attentive.  The chips, however, were pretty tasty.  The drizzled honey was warm and gooey on top of crisp chips.  I have to say, I think I enjoyed it most of all.  Total bill after the $25 coupon was $15. 

It was definitely a different dining experience, but nothing about it made us feel like we needed to go back anytime soon. 

Queen of Sheba
36356 Henderson Blvd
Tampa, FL
813-872-6000

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We were looking for something relatively light for dinner, so we drove into Safety Harbor to Crepe-ology.  It’s located on 5th Avenue, right off of Main Street.   There was a large party in the restaurant, but the waitress told us up front that there would be a wait for our crepes.  Loren ordered a salad to tide him over.

The balsalmic dressing was tasty.  Everything served here is in disposable containers, paper plates, plastic cups and silverware.  It’s a very casual restaurant.

We decided on two crepes and shared them, the seafood crepe and the chicken supreme.

I liked the chicken supreme crepe the best.  It has goat cheese in it and the roasted red pepper sauce on top adds a nice flavor.  The seafood one was ok, but I thought the shrimp in it were a little overcooked. 

But, let’s face it, we’re here for dessert.  They had a citrus cheesecake crepe tonight that I just couldn’t resist and we also ordered a carmelized banana crepe.

Trust me, if you like orange, order the citrus crepe.  It was divine.  The cheesecake filling was still a little cold, but it had such a burst of flavors in it.  I asked them to put some chocolate sauce on it because I love chocolate and orange together, but honestly, it didn’t even need it.   The carmelized banana one was pretty good, but I found the bananas to be a little too mushy.  The homemade caramel sauce was very good though.

With an iced tea, the total bill was $36. 

Crepe-ology
155 5th Ave N
Safety Harbor, FL
727-793-3300

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We had tickets to Young Frankenstein at Ruth Eckerd Hall tonight (great show), so wanted to eat dinner somewhere close.  We tried Johnny’s, but they were mobbed, so we ended up at Grind House.

Service was a bit lacking tonight, but the food was good.  We started out with the shrimp and lobster bisque.

This is one of those soups that left a lasting impression since the first time I had.  It’s rich and creamy with a wonderful flavor.  Definitely a must order if you eat here.   Loren decided on a burger with mushrooms and provolone.

It also came with home made chips.  He said it was cooked just right and tasty.  The chips were crunchy and not like anything you get out of a bag.

I ordered some bangers and mash.

The sausages had a nice flavor.  You could definitely taste the fennel.  Homemade  mashed potatoes with an onion mushroom gravy went great with it, though more gravy would have been better.  And for dessert, I got a slice of chocolate cheesecake to go.

It wasn’t a very big slice, but it was rich with chocolately goodness.  I’d definitely order it again.  Total bill was $28.

Grind House Bar & Grill
1500 McMullen Booth Rd
Clearwater, FL
727-726-5577

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We headed out to Tarpon tonight to go back to the Zante Cafe.  We needed some awesome food and they didn’t disappoint.  The owner seemed a bit frazzled as the restaurant filled up, but they still managed to bring out one delicious course after the next.  Their kids tend to the dining room and the youngest was more interested in playing than helping out.  But, our drinks stayed filled and they were pretty good at clearing away plates.  It’s a very laid back place, so expect to spend about 2 hours here for dinner.  Everything is made fresh and well worth the wait.

First out were their homemade rolls.

Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside with a slight hint of garlic, served fresh out of the oven.  It’s a good thing they just serve these one at a time, otherwise, I’d fill up on bread without thinking twice about it.   Next up was the gumbo.

The flavors are delicate in this gumbo, but you can taste the freshness of all the ingredients.  Chicken and sausage in a light, flavorful broth.  Again, I could eat so much more of this and be incredibly happy. 

We ordered the Crawfish Vol Au Vent for an appetizer.

Crawfish, mushrooms, and onions in a creamy sauce served over heart shaped puffed pastry.  I’m guessing the heart shape was because it’s Valentine’s weekend, but regardless it was yummy.  There were lots of crawfish and mushrooms and the sauce was lightly spiced.    

Loren ordered the seafood fra diablo with a spice level of 2 out of 5.

Crawfish, shrimp, mussels, scallops and veggies in a creamy, spicy sauce over spaghetti.  It had a lot of flavor and it all blended well together.  Loren would have preferred rice to spaghetti and he’s not a fan of cauliflower, but he still enjoyed the dish. 

I ordered the Paneed Tilapia w/ Crawfish and Tasso in Brandy Cream.

The tilapia filet was thick and cooked perfectly.  It was flaky and tender with a crisp breading.  The crawfish and mushroom brandy cream sauce really complemented the fish well. 

At this point, we really were quite full, but I wanted to try the bananas foster.

The owner/chef comes out and flambes it right at the table.  It was delicious served over vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.  It had a nice carmelization and was a perfect ending to a wonderful meal. 

And even better, we had a $25 Restaurant.com coupon, so the bill before tip ended up being $42.  Absolutely the best $42 we’ve spent on food so far this year. 

Zante Cafe Neo
13 N Safford Ave
Tarpon Springs, FL
727-934-5558

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Our last experience at Niko’s wasn’t great, but we decided to give them another try for lunch today.  Unfortunately, it just confirmed that we should stop eating here.

Loren got a hamburger.

It was ok, nothing to write home about.  My dish however, was mostly inedible.  I ordered the eggplant parmesean sub with fries.

I don’t know if you can tell from the photo or not, but a good part of the eggplant is completely black and burnt.  You can put as much cheese and sauce as you want on a dish, but you can’t fix burnt.  And yes, they took it off the bill.

They did redeem themselves with dessert though.  The tuxedo bomb was decadently delicious.

Granted, it’s the exact same thing I got at another restaurant in town ( I believe it’s a Sysco product), but that doesn’t make it any less awesome.  It’s got layers of cake, chocolate and vanilla mousse inside.  Mmmm… Total bill ended up being $12.  I don’t expect we’ll be back here again anytime soon.

Niko’s Pizza & Seafood
3705 Tampa Rd
Oldsmar, FL
813-818-0284

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Loren said he wanted a salad for dinner so I suggested Olive Garden.  We haven’t eaten there in a long time.  Being Superbowl Sunday it wasn’t very crowded, yet the service was a bit slow.

We started off with salad and breadsticks.

Normally, I scarf an entire basket of breadsticks, but these weren’t all that fresh.  The salad was good though.  I really like the dressing they use.

Loren got the stuffed chicken marsala.

The chicken was tender and the sauce was tasty, especially over mashed potatoes.  He managed to stop himself from eating the whole thing and took some home for leftovers.  (he knew I was planning on ordering dessert).

I got the same thing I always get at Olive Garden, the fettucine alfredo.

They make a nice alfredo sauce here, but they need to put more on the plate.  The dish gets dry after a while, but it’s still my favorite thing on the menu.

And for dessert, I just couldn’t pass up the dolcini.

Three little dessert cups of yummy goodness.  We got the chocolate mousse, the dark chocolate with caramel, and the strawberry & white chocolate.  They were all really delicious.  The chocolate mousse was my favorite, but the strawberry one ran a close second.  The nice thing about them is that they were all fairly light, which was perfect after such a heavy meal.  Plus the different flavors were wonderful.  Total bill with a drink was $39. 

Olive Garden
29461 Us-19 N
Clearwater, FL
(727) 787-3988

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In our ongoing quest to try all sushi restaurants around, we headed over to Zen Bistro in Westchase for dinner.  Parking was a bit of a nightmare.  There are a bunch of restaurants in the same plaza and not nearly enough parking.  Note to self, don’t even try to go here on the weekend.

I had some very mixed feelings on the atmosphere in the restaurant.  The lights were dim, they had a neat looking bamboo wall and some glass enclosed Zen sand gardens in the floor that gave you vertigo to walk over them.  The temperature in the restaurant was too cold.  I was shivering through most of the meal.  What turned us off the most though was the pounding techno music playing in the background.  For a place called Zen Bistro, I would have expected something a little more soothing.

Our food took quite a while to come out, but overall the sushi was very good.  We got some salmon nigiri and a Tao roll.

I think the Tao roll was both our favorite.  It was baked scallop over snow crab with avocado, cucumber and masago.  It was a little bit spicy, but had a wonderful texture and flavor.  The salmon was very fresh and tasty too.

We also got a Rainbow Roll, a Mexican Roll, a California Roll, and a Zen Crunch Roll.

We liked them all except for the Zen Crunch roll.  That one didn’t do much for either of us.  It had yellowtail, sesame aioli, and tempura onion and was served with garlic ponzu sauce.  The tempura onion was the part that really didn’t work.  The shrimp in the Mexican roll was cooked perfectly.  You know it’s good when Loren eats some of it.  And for dessert, we had to try the Ying Yang.

It was a chocolate and vanilla mousse shooter.  The waitress said it was enough for two, but I could have eaten another one without any hesitation at all.  The chocolate was dark and rich and the vanilla and whipped cream added a nice balance to it.   Total bill including an iced tea was $52.

Zen Bistro
9620 W Linebaugh
Tampa, FL
813-792-8665

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Not too many people in Cuban Breezes tonight.  I figured it’d be crowded since the football playoffs were tonight, but since they close at 8pm on Sunday, it makes sense that people wouldn’t want to have to leave halfway through the game.

Loren got the masitas with some ultimate black beans and a salad.

He said the pork was very tender and flavorful.  He even had a little left over for tomorrow.  I ordered the fricase de pollo with beans.

This is one of my favorite dishes here.  It’s got some wonderful flavors and textures with just a little bit of spice.  I kept telling myself to save some for tomorrow, but I ended up eating the entire thing. 

And yet, I still managed to save room for the chocolate lava cake.

Thick, rich, chocolately oozing warmth with some vanilla ice cream.  It was yummy.  We had a $10 Restaurant.com coupon, so the total bill after the coupon was $18.

Cuban Breezes
13980 W Hillsborough Ave
Tampa, FL
813-814-9939

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I was craving some brisket, so we headed over to Brady’s Backyard BBQ in Safety Harbor for dinner, only to find out that they were out of brisket and out of riblets, which Loren had planned to order.  It’s just not the same when you go somewhere with something specific in mind for dinner and they don’t have it.

I ended up ordering the pulled pork dinner with corn bread pudding and potato salad.

It was pretty good.  It’s what I usually order anyway.  There were plenty of leftovers.  I really like their cornbread pudding.   Loren ordered the spare ribs with collard greens and potato salad.

The spare ribs were really tender and had a wonderful smoky flavor to them.  They offered us a free dessert since we couldn’t get the entrees we wanted, so we got the coca-cola cake.

It was ok, but it’s not something I’d normally order.  It’s served warm and really just doesn’t have a lot of flavor to it.  It’s not really chocolatey and it’s not really sweet either.  The frosting is sort of caramel flavored, I guess.  Total bill was $29 and though we left full, I just wasn’t satisfied. 

Brady’s Backyard BBQ
340 Main Street
Safety Harbor, FL
727-712-3727

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