restaurant

Bungalow Bistro, Tampa

By Laura Reiley, Times Food Critic
Published February 14, 2008

The Bungalow Bistro
5137 N Florida Ave., Tampa
813) 237-2000
Cuisine: American
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday
Details: Amex, V, MC; reservations not necessary; no liquor yet
Prices: Brunch $5.95-$10.95; lunch $6.95-$7.95; dinner entrees $10.95-$22.95 

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TAMPA - I heard: stellar burger. Enough said. Point the car to Seminole Heights and step on it. The renovated 1920s two-story house just south of Hillsborough Avenue looked promising. Bustling, homey, with waitresses that call you "sweetie" right off the bat. No liquor license yet, but people seemed to have brought their own bottle or opted for a tall iced tea.

Yessiree, I can picture a drippy Gorgonzola burger now. Scanning the menu, a terrible realization: The dinner menu has no burgers. Shaky and crestfallen, I wheedle and whine. Just one burger this evening, please? They stand firm.

Turns out, compromise is good for the character and the gullet. Bungalow Bistro is Elizabeth and Michael Graham's labor of love. It was a building saved from demolition in 2000 when Hillsborough Avenue was widened. They moved two buildings, turning the main house into Forever Beautiful Salon and Day Spa and the garage house into Bungalow Bistro. It's just like going to dinner at a friend's house, one who is a good cook and who feels the need to charge you a fair-minded price.

I'll start with the best: Michael makes cookies. Espresso chocolate cookies (3 for $3) that will rock your world. Marzipan cookies ($2.25) that will give it a little jiggle.

Can't make a meal of that? There's a deliciously wholesome chicken roulade ($15.95) with spinach and goat cheese pinwheeled in a chicken breast, a drizzle of beurre blanc, sauteed veggies and a textbook cheesy potato gratin. That comes with a soup or side salad that is a super-fresh spring mix with olives, pine nuts and grape tomatoes in a perfect vinaigrette. At lunch you can have their noble fries with a burger, but at dinner they come alongside a 10-ounce New York strip ($21.95) napped in a buttery, piquant peppercorn sauce.

Still, guess what I'm doing for lunch sometime soon.

Laura Reiley, Times food critic

[Last modified February 12, 2008, 17:24:37]