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© St. Petersburg Times, published August 7, 2002
Toasts all around for the latest vintage of wine list awards from the Wine Spectator because Tampa Bay fills a couple of cases as usual.
And "as usual" does mean that Bern's Steak House is again a winner of the magazine's Grand award given to 30 or so wine lists of great depth and breadth in the United States. Bern's, as it's painful to remember, slipped from grace on sloppy paperwork in 1999. But for the past three years, Bern's has gotten the nod again for its huge cellar (more than 400,000 bottles) and moderate prices. Besides the biggest names, bargain-hunters can feast on old Rhones and old California reds for $50.
Beyond Bern's, the Tampa Bay area has a decent number of restaurants with well-stocked cellars -- and perhaps more than that have well-staffed and provisioned kitchens. Of more than 2,500 restaurants in the country that are recognized by the magazine after reviewing their wine lists, Florida has 150, 30 of them in the Tampa Bay area -- more than you might expect.
That means their wine lists were broad, matched the restaurant's menu and were well-presented (spelled properly, vintages noted, etc.). That of course leaves out some places with very short, clever lists (although Disney's Jiko with an all-South African list of 85 got a nod). And restaurants that didn't apply for recognition.
Spectator judges do not inspect all wine lists to see that bottles listed are on hand nor do they judge mark-up. Too bad on the latter, since some by-the-glass prices are now scandalously more than lunch, and good bottles under $30 are too rare.
Most restaurants here and elsewhere were ranked as "moderate" except for the Ashley Street Grill in the Tampa Radisson Riverwalk, whose bargain list rates as excellent and inexpensive.
The headline on the cover of the current issue asks if restaurant wine prices are too high. Inside, publisher Marvin Shakensay says yes, they are "out of hand," especially in a tough economy. He doesn't know the half of it when he notes that wines that sell for $30 at retail are priced in restaurants at $50. That may be true in very competitive markets, the rest of us see $30 retail prices marked up closer to $80 or $90.
And maybe wine lists don't matter. You only need one bottle you like, maybe two. No one drinks a whole list (although a restaurant must have that one for many tastes) and, truth be told, the market for bottles that cost more than $50 is quite limited.
Still there is good stuff on hand, of good variety for celebrating and just good dining.
Receiving the highest praise, after Bern's, were two Clearwater stalwarts, Bob Heilman's Beachcomber for Burgundy lovers and Tio Pepe for Spanish explorers. Each has almost 20,000 bottles in its cellars, including a choice of vintages in its top wines. Also receiving the Best of Awards of Excellence was the Tasting Room at J.D. Ford's in Sarasota.
Dozens more local restaurants were given awards of excellence, including Bern's contemporary sister restaurant, SideBern's, the Tampa branch of the Palm, Roy's in Tampa, and Island Way Grill in Clearwater, which won recognition for the first time.
Already on the honor roll were Alfano's, Domenic's Capri and Paul's Surfside in Clearwater, Fetishes, the Don CeSar's Maritana Grill in St. Pete Beach, Salt Rock Grill at Indian Rocks Beach, the Grille at Feather Sound, Kelly's for Just About Anything in Dunedin and Armani's, the Columbia, Donatello, Fleming's, Jackson's, Mise en Place, Oystercatchers and Ruth's Chris in Tampa.
To the south, the Sarasota area has another dozen in the same class: Beach Bistro, Bijoux Cafe, Cafe L'Europe, Cafe Baci, the Colony, Cosimo's, Euphemia Haye, Fred's, Munroe's, Michael's on East, Poseidon, Roessler's, Silver Cricket, the Summerhouse and Ruth's Chris.
Ironically, Tampa's Mise en Place, an award winner and once a wine merchant, too, again has a summer promotion with the kind of wine list many of us like best: BYO. Customers get to bring wines of their choice (and bought at retail) without paying the $15 corkage fee Mise usually charges.
Five years ago New York "discovered" Krispy Kreme doughnuts -- or was it the other way around?
For a more cautionary tale of regional flavors, the latest item to catch Manhattan by surprise is a new sandwich, something called a cheesesteak.
You heard that right. BB Sandwich Bar opened five months ago serving up cheesesteaks and already has glowing touts from the New York Times and the New Yorker and naturally an SRO lunch bunch of foodistas.
Philadelphia doesn't know whether to laugh, cry or snort "You're no Philly cheesesteak." On close examination by Rick Nichols of the Philadelphia Inquirer and others, it's not: the Kaiser roll and the sesame seeds are all wrong; the tightly packed block of shaved beef not near messy enough.
BB's cheesesteaks are made by a for-real chef, Gary Thompson, who lost his lease on Sonia Rose, his fine-dining restaurant, but further inspection turned up that the BB sandwich matches a Camden, N.J., cheesesteak, made for years at a bar called Donkey's Place, where the big city chef went to learn the cheesesteak art.
What's next? Manhattan mad for po' boys? Deviled crab eats Big Apple? Or maybe New Yorkers who mongrelize cheesesteaks will stop grousing about inadequate bagels/pizzas/franks/corned beef/Cokes west of the Hudson?
Fuhgeddaboudit.
- Food critic Chris Sherman writes about dining and restaurant news in the Nibbler. He can be reached at (727) 893-8585 or by e-mail at sherman@sptimes.com.