Restaurant really hops to it

Hops' carry-out service includes hearty portions and a sweet surprise.

By KATHY SAUNDERS

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 10, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Eight years ago, my friend went into labor on the evening she was planning to meet friends for dinner at a Hops restaurant. When her mother tried to order the food to go, Hops said it wasn't in the carry-out business.

Today, that is not the case. Hops has a "Good to Go" menu and a system that worked smoothly on the night we visited the Tyrone area restaurant.

I phoned the restaurant on a busy weekend evening and asked if the hostess could fax me a menu. It came within five minutes. In 20 minutes, our order was packed and waiting at the bar.

The first thing we noticed was how heavy our dinners were. Unpacking the food, we joked that one entree weighed at least 10 pounds.

The grilled shrimp pasta ($12.25) was the heaviest -- in pounds and calories. It was a delicious mound of large shrimp over linguine with onions and Parmesan cheese in a garlic cream sauce. It reminded me of the popular shrimp pasta at Shells Restaurant.

I ate all of the shrimp and would have liked a little more. The pasta was delicious but too rich for me to finish in one sitting.

I got a slice of garlic bread with my meal, but didn't need it once we discovered the container of Hops' special bread included with our order. The Hops bread is like a glazed croissant. The buns are light and sweet, although not fat-free. Plenty of them were packed in our order, and we enjoyed every bite. If we had discovered the rolls first or if we had dined at the restaurant, we would have been too stuffed to even taste our entrees.

Hops charged us $2 for each side salad with our entrees. That, too, was a bargain. The salads were big and fresh. The Caesar dressing was creamy and garlicky, and the house salad came with a vinaigrette dressing that we really enjoyed. It was sweet, amply covering a variety of lettuces, fresh tomatoes and carrots.

The rib and chicken combo ($11.95) was among Hops' specialties on the menu. The meal included a large breast that was grilled to a perfectly moist and tender texture. The entire dinner was smothered in a barbecue sauce that was a mixture between tangy and smoky tasting. We devoured the chicken and the side dishes as well. The cole slaw was crunchy melange of crisp cabbage and carrots. The french fries came in a cup like they do at the ballpark. They were yummy, too.

The baby back ribs were covered in the same delicious sauce, but they didn't have as much meat on them as we were hoping. It was a messy meal, too. Hops included plenty of napkins, but if we had ordered a full rack of ribs, we would have needed a Three Mile Island suit instead.

By the time we finished the meals and the sweet rolls, we were stuffed. However, the key lime pie ($3.95) was too tempting to pass up. The menu said it was made fresh with limes and topped with homemade whipped cream. Like most everything else we got from Hops, the slice of pie was huge. We especially liked the graham cracker crust -- nice and crumbly with the tart key lime flavor.

On our next visit, we plan to try the uptown pizza appetizer ($6.25). After I had eaten dinner at Hops, three people asked me if I had tried that appetizer. It includes spinach and artichokes with melted Monterey Jack and Parmesan cheeses. One woman told me she craves that dish. I can't wait to go back for it.

Hops Restaurant Bar and Brewery

8305 Bay Pines Blvd., St. Petersburg

Phone: 544-7794

Fax: 541-0308

Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily

Consumers: Two adults

What we got: Grilled shrimp pasta with garlic Parmesan sauce and garlic bread, a rib and chicken combination platter with one chicken breast and a half slab of baby back pork ribs, french fries, cole slaw, a house salad, a Caesar salad, dinner rolls and a slice of key lime pie.

What it cost: $34.40

Time it took: 20 minutes

Pay with: Cash and major credit cards

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