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Side dish
By CHRIS SHERMAN
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 29, 2001
IN THE OVEN
Naples, Fla., restaurateur Michael Hernandez is heading north to Tampa's Old Hyde Park. His spots include Aqua Grill and Zoe in Naples and Bistro 41 in Fort Myers. Design has started and the place could open late summer or fall.
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Tampa's WestShore Mall did land the Palm, the steakhouse chain that started on New York's Second Avenue in 1926. It now has almost 20 locations, urban and suburban. All serve high-end steaks and sport comic strips and caricatures of local celebs on the walls. Faces here may be as big-city as Boss Steinbrenner or as country as home-grown Snuffy Smith (Fred Lasswell, RIP). We'll see when the local Palm opens in July.
CATTLE CHUTE
While other big steakhouses come to town (and right across the street from the Palm spot), Shula's Steak House invaded others' home turf too. Tampa was the coach's second location when it opened in 1995; now he has more than 20 around the nation. This will be some scrimmage.
SWAMPWATER
Australia's Banrock Station donates part of the price of every bottle of wine to the Everglades, Florida's own billabong. To help out, Native Seafood (5901 Sun Blvd., St. Petersburg; (727) 866-8772.) gives away a bottle of Banrock to every couple that orders two entrees.
I'D LIKE A RESERVATION . . .
for Best of Tampa Bay. One of Tampa Bay's pioneer tastings kicks off the season's dining-for-dollars calendar. Dozens of restaurants and caterers set out an elegant smorgasbord in and outside the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center on the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa at 7 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $50; call (813) 229-7827.
-- CHRIS SHERMAN, Times food critic
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