It’s time for the new specials at Craft Street Kitchen, so we had to go check them out.  Ok, so we would have gone there anyway, but it’s always fun to try something new on the menu and this one did not disappoint.  It’s called the Swamp Thing.

When I read what was in it, I honestly didn’t know how they were going to pull it off.  It’s an open faced sandwich with brisket, calamari, scallops, crawfish, and shrimp with a spicy sauce on an Amoroso roll.  It was delicious.  The brisket was so tender and the seafood was all cooked perfectly.  I may need to have another one of these before the month is out.  Loren went for their Green Street salad with chicken.

He gotten this one before for good reason.  Tasty chicken with a fresh salad including walnuts, dried cranberries, green apple, grapes and he substituted the gorganzola cheese for goat cheese.  Total bill with a drink was $34.

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

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We went back to Marker 39 for brunch this morning.  The weather was nice, so we sat out on the patio where it’s a bit quieter than their small indoor dining area.  We started off with the fried calamari.

This was a plate of perfectly fried, tender calamari.  There are places that do calamari well, this is one of them.  Loren got the “Big House Salad” with jerk chicken.

He said the chicken & salad both had lots of good stuff going on.  A good mix of flavors and textures with just the right amount of spice.  I decided to try the shrimp and grits.

The shrimp and the grits were cooked well and they were swimming in a spicy little tomato based sauce.  It had a good amount of heat going on without being overly spicy.  Everything was fresh & tasty.  Total bill with a drink was $46.

Marker 39
155 5th Ave N
Safety Harbor, FL
727-791-1939

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Another tasty lunch at Craft Street Kitchen.  We eat here almost every week and although their regular menu is good, it’s the monthly chef’s specials that make it that much more interesting.  Today I tried the crab cakes

Three crunchy, home made crab cakes on a bed of Asian slaw.  The crab cakes had a lot of flavor, a nice crunch, and a bit of spicy heat.  I could have definitely eaten more than 3 of them.  Loren went for the Yippee Hippy salad.

This is an interesting salad with chicken, apple, walnuts, dried cherries & goat cheese.  I kept stealing the cherries & goat cheese off his plate.  Good stuff.  Total bill with a drink was $31.

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

Food
Service
Atmosphere
Value

We went over to Tampa Bay Brewing Co on Race Track Road in Oldsmar for dinner and it was busy.  We had to wait a while for a table and the noise level in there is rather deafening.  We started off with the Cantonese Calamari because it’s soooo good.

There’s a bit of heat going on in this dish, but the calamari is very tender and the flavors are delicious.  There are also a few shrimp tossed in there for good measure.  Loren went for the Chicken Spinach Salad and I decided to try the baby back ribs with a side of loaded mashed potatoes.

He said the chicken was tender and flavorful, but there was way more spinach on the plate than he could eat.  The ribs were just ok.  Not quite as tender as I would have liked and the loaded mashed potatoes were inedible.  The cheese on top made a very solid barrier and the potatoes within were too thick.  It needed something saucy to loosen it up.  We wanted something sweet to end the meal, so dug into a deep dish apple crisp.

Loren said he’d ordered it before and it had a lot more ice cream, but this one was pretty good.  Just enough sweet & cinnamon, plus tart apples, a crispy crunch, whipped cream and ice cream.  We all but licked the bowl clean. Total bill with a drink was $52.

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

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We enjoyed our dinner so much the last time that we had to return to Craft Street Kitchen with friends again for dinner tonight.  We got there around 5:30pm and sat out on the patio this time and the restaurant was filling up fast.  By the time we left, there was a line out the door.  The food tonight did not disappoint.

Our friends ordered the Smoked Kissed Salmon, the Green Street Salad and the peanut butter pie for dessert.

I don’t think there was any food left on any of the plates.  Everything was so yummy.  The only complaint was that my friend wished the salad had come with some bread.  Loren ordered the Belgium Clucker and I decided to try the duck flat bread they had on special plus a side of mac & cheese.

The Belgium Clucker is their play on chicken and waffles.  The waffle was amazing.  It was light and fluffy, but had this crunchy exterior and a warm vanilla flavor to it.  They should start opening for breakfast and just serve these waffles.  He said the chicken was tender and it paired well with the bacon collard greens and maple BBQ sauce.  It was also covered in a salsa verde sauce.  The plate was all but licked clean.

The duck flatbread isn’t on their normal menu.  It had duck, mandarin oranges, bacon, goat cheese and another smoked cheese.  Did I mention it was huge?  It had some interesting flavors in it.  The mac & cheese tasted ok, but it needed more sauce.  It was just a bit on the dry side.

For our dessert, we tried another thing on special, the State Fair Puffs.  They were fresh, hot donut holes covered in powered sugar and served with a raspberry cream.

They were amazing and there were a bunch of them in the bag.  I hope they add these to the permanent menu because they were delish.  Our bill alone was $44 and there are still a bunch of things on the menu that we can’t wait to try.

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

Food
Service
Atmosphere
Value