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Karim's Bistro at the Thunderbird Beach Resort serves various cuisines, but it's the Mediterranean dishes that flavor the menu.
By CHRIS SHERMAN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 13, 2002
TREASURE ISLAND -- The eye goes immediately to the Technicolor Thunderbird. Any eye with a sense of humor or sense of history of Florida tourist strips gets a kick out of it. Neon with a 50-foot wingspan that could fly in predesigner Vegas puts the T where the beach road has hit the beach for decades.
But as the eye drifts down, you realize the '50s-era bricks have been replaced by fake stone invoking Italy -- or the 1990s, corroborated by "martini bar" and "tapas" signs.
If I promised you tastes of the Mediterranean instead of gulps of the Gulf, you'd still be surprised at what you actually find on the menu at Karim's: Moroccan. The rest of the world, new and old (Asian chicken pasta and duck framboise), take up most of the menu, but items such as the daily tagine show that Karim Chiadmi is in charge.
Chiadmi is fluent in Continental and contemporary, Italian and Caribbean, having cooked from Morocco to the Virgin Islands before landing here a decade ago. Since then, he has done tours at the Garden, O'Gradney's (now O Bistro) and Nadia's. Last year he got his own place, taking over the small three-meal-a-day spot in an aging beach motel.
Adding Karim's Bistro may be the most significant part of the recent renovation here. Behind the towering facade, its strengths are the same as when it opened in 1958: two stories of rooms around a pleasant courtyard opening onto a pool and the wide white sands. Karim's Bistro, however, elevates the food above servicing vacationers with burgers, pizza and beach bar drinks.
There is a regular burger here, but the Provencale burger's a better choice. The beef is mixed with fresh parsley and herbs, somewhat reminiscent of kibbe, topped with tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil. On a good crusty bun, too.
Indeed, most of what Chiadmi brings to the motel's wrought-iron tables is not ethnic flavor so much as quality with a modern accent. Service is beach-friendly yet smart and cosmopolitan. The setting uses European scenes without a hint of the Levant. But the openness to the beach and swimsuited guests is its best feature.
Breakfast can be eggs Benedict or crepes; steaks are trimmed with demi-glaces of mushrooms and peppercorns; and table bread is fresh and crusty, the accompanying bowl of olive oil filled with cured black olives.
Mediterranean chicken breast stuffed with artichoke, sun-dried tomatoes, boursin, herbs and garlic crisped on the outside is sliced like a rollantine and served with gnocchi and a fan of good vegetables, shredded carrots, snow peas and char-braised endive. Even though the garlic was too strong and the gnocchi too wimpy, chicken and its trimmings are rarely so good.
Pasta with smoked salmon, mushrooms and cream is not an uncommon treatment, but Karim's was punched up with capers and quite rich, too rich for me. But you can take Karim's pasta lighter in a primavera preparation or seafood sauce or gild the fettuccini with duck and cognac cream.
If you want to enjoy Moroccan flavor, wait for the specials, like an appetizer of bastilla, the "pigeon pie" that is one of Morocco's most treasured dishes. Mine was made with chicken; the honey, sweet spices and rich, crispy layers of phyllo left no room for complaint.
Tagines are slow-cooked stews that can combine a variety of meats or vegetables and fruits, and the one I tried was made with long-simmered lamb. I'm a sucker for lamb, especially for shanks. This sauce, scented with cinnamon and a hint of raisins, made it especially sweet. Lamb in a lunch special of kebabs was tougher, but the caramelized onions and raisins with the couscous were just as much of a treat.
There was baklava among the desserts one day and it seemed homemade, thick with nuts and a special kiss of rosewater, but it paled next to the crepes. Filled with ice cream and berries or chocolate, crepes arrive under a cloud of finely spun honey string, as if a bee's flight had been cast in edible bronze.
There's much more to explore in Moroccan cooking -- I lust for preserved lemons -- and I hope it will someday get its own showcase here. In the meantime, the good quality of Karim's cooking in various cuisines is a rarity quite welcome on these touristy shores.
10700 Gulf Blvd., Treasure Island
(727) 367-1961
Hours: Breakfast -- 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. Monday-Friday; 7:30 to 11 a.m. Saturday; 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday. Lunch -- 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday-Sunday. Dinner -- 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, Saturday; 5 to 9 p.m., Sunday.
Reservations: Accepted
Details: Most credit cards; full bar; non-smoking section provided.
Prices: Lunch, $5.95 to $9.95; dinner $10.95 to $18.95
Special features: Outdoor seating; monthly 7-course Moroccan dinner.