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The Nibbler

New restaurants storm our taste buds

By CHRIS SHERMAN, Times Restaurant Criti

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 15, 2000

It is never too hot for Tampa Bay bouillabaisse. At the beaches, it's boiling over.

  • Finally rained at your house? At Jack's Stormwatch (3833 Gulf Blvd., St. Pete Beach; (727) 363-8543), a dangerous tropical storm hits every half hour -- and did even before hurricane season started. The music stops while thunder and lightning blast over the sound system; a TV signal is interrupted by fake storm maps; fans kick up wind; strobes flash and sprinklers pelt the windows. (Don't call the water police; it's reclaimed water.) Owner Antonio Bueti installed the fake storm three months ago at a beach fixture remembered by many as Jack's in the Back. To go with the tropical decor, chef Greg Salamon's menu runs from eggs and waffles through Cubans, burgers and black bean crabcakes to fruited and jerked entrees and up to rack of lamb and a $29.95 zuppa di pesce.

  • Mystic Tiki Bistro & Nite Club (109 Eighth Ave., St. Pete Beach; (727) 363-8450) put Pass-a-Grille at the crossroads of the trade routes last month. Best known as the former Lighted Tree, the indoor-outdoor space now has neon blue walls, wild murals, zebra chairs and a bar of industrial stainless.

    Chef Keith Richardson's menu is ambitious and eclectic, fusing Floribbean, Pan-Asian and more: from adobo wings and tempura lobster to fried ravioli with crab and filet mignon with wild mushrooms. Starter salads and sandwiches start at $6.95, entrees from $12.95 to $15.95.

  • Surf's up at the Undertow Beach Bar (3850 Gulf Blvd., St. Pete Beach; (727) 368-9000) and so are the crowds now that most of the motel that fronted the street has been removed. Simple open-air bar and beach volleyball have always been fun under the sun and moon, but eventually there'll be more to the place.

    The remaining motel units will become a stage for bands and a tiki grill with burgers, wings and other beach bar food.

    Tampa trattoria

    First bite at a tiny new Tampa restaurant makes a big addition to the Italian menu thanks to Spartaco Giolito. The well-known waiter who worked at Donatello and his family's Caffe Paradiso now has his own place with the fresh, hearty taste of his home in Emilia-Romagna.

    Charming pastels and rustic linens are light on the eyes, but scortichino (salad of beef and Parmesan on arugula), stuffed pasta purses and creamy veal tonnato are solid on the plate. Spartaco (3215 S MacDill Ave., Tampa; (813) 832-9327) is a true trattoria with only 38 seats, so call ahead. Prices $5 to $16.

    Dueling for dollars

    In our own Iron Chef cook-off, Robert Masson of Travis Bistro in Palm Harbor defeated Tom Golden of Safety Harbor's Blue Gardenia last week in a venison battle that decided this year's best chef, Tampa Bay. The winning play: grilling the venison with a green peppercorn crust and blackberry demi-glace, with potato flan and mushroom ragu.

    The competition, sponsored by Home Gourmet Kitchen Emporium in its Dunedin version of the Kitchen Stadium, raised $5,500 for All Children's Hospital. Conclusion of the yearlong series of one-on-one cooking challenges ended a long spring season of wining and dining for charity.

    The Nibbler missed most of this year's fundraisers, but I must be the only one. More than $1.1-million was raised through food fun, high and low.

  • At the Florida Winefest & Auction in Sarasota, a week's events attracted 5,000 people and $500,000, all told. Biggest bucks went for a collection of magnums from Staglin, a cult cabernetmaker ($20,000) and dinner for 10 with Winefest's honored guest, wine genius Robert Parker ($40,000)

  • Even when the menu had more corn dogs than sushi, more than 100,000 braved the heat to eat their fill and thrill for the three days of Taste of Pinellas in downtown St. Petersburg. The area's oldest and biggest tasting, thrown by 50 local restaurants and caterers, raised more than $300,000 for All Children's Hospital.

  • Earlier this spring, the upscale offerings from 30 gourmet restaurants and 200 top-label wines (and the air-conditioned comfort of Tropicana Field) attracted 3,700 patrons to the Abilities of Florida fundraiser. Auction and tickets together raised a record $150,000.

  • Annual feast and auction for Share Our Strength, in which local chefs teamed up with Susan Goss of Chicago's Zinfandel, drew a record crowd of 430 at the Marriott Waterside in Tampa. A dinner and auction raised $135,000 for Divine Providence Food Bank and Beth El Mission in Wimauma.

    Fine wines went for show-off prices (and bargains), but biggest bids were made for private dinners cooked by chefs Hans Hickel of the Hyatt Westshore and Marty Blitz of Mise en Place. In fact, their services were in such demand, they're cooking additional dinners for other parties who matched the high bid.

  • Outdoor Winefest at Bern's drew 680 wine fans and raised approximately $1,300 for the food bank.

  • The first Epicurean Life Culinary Classic, a series of food and wine tastings with celebrity chefs and standout wines in the chic shops and restaurants of Sarasota's S Osprey Avenue, drew more than 100 people for its big banquet. Good food and drink raised $11,000 for Kids by the Sea for children with cancer.

    Calling all critics

    Everyone wants to be a restaurant critic, it seems. Zagat Survey, which publishes the skinny maroon dining guides to U.S. cities, is updating its Orlando/Central Florida Restaurant Guide. Bulk of the listings are still from Orlando, but the Gulf Coast section will be expanded for the 2001 issue.

    If you wish to rate local restaurants, send a self-addressed, business-size envelope to Zagat Survey, PMB 155, 1532 U.S. 41 Bypass S, Venice, FL 34293. Return the questionnaire by July 14 and you will receive a free copy of the guide when it's published.

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