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With a game room and extensive food and drinks menus, Cadillac Jack's takes the something-for-everyone approach very seriously.
By AMY ABBOTT
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 26, 2000
TREASURE ISLAND -- If you're not sure whether you're in the mood for red-topped pool tables or hardwood booths, a full meal or a snack, a fancy-schmancy martini or a plain old beer, Cadillac Jack's just may have something to suit your dual personality.
The strip-mall facade isn't much to talk about, nor is the low, brick-lined entrance. But the atmosphere will give you plenty to chat about.
The crowd is as diverse as the appetizer menu. Patrons with mullet hairdos munch Spanish steamed mussels. A crowd of office ladies, still in their work clothes, sip champagne chilling in an ice-filled silver stand and pick apart an order of chicken and plantain quesadillas. They're celebrating a birthday with some Caribbean Night hula hooping and a little back-breaking limbo.
Every night is a different theme. NFL football on Sunday and Monday. Caribbean, ladies and buffet nights fill the work week, and bands touring nationally stop in on the weekends.
Aside from the finger food, there's heartier fare such as smothered chicken Milan, a fragrant combination of grilled chicken, portabello mushrooms, Italian sausage, spinach, asiago cheese and roasted tomatoes.
Shuffle your way through the crowd to the game room, and you'll find bar tables and an extensive martini menu. Try a Total Ecstasy: Absolute Mandarin, Chambord and a splash of pineapple juice.
Or just have a beer.
Cadillac Jack's takes the something-for-everyone approach very seriously. Consider the game room decor: Posters from movie musicals circle the room, creating an interesting mix of, say, Oklahoma's The Surrey With the Fringe on Top as you hear the band belting out No Parking on the Dance Floor.
But if it's variety that gets you going, you'll find that Cadillac's delivers.
Cadillac Jack's, 145 107th Ave., Treasure Island; (727) 360-2099; Web site: http://www.cadillacjacks.net; Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., Monday through Friday; noon to 2 a.m., Saturday and Sunday.
Some other similar night spots in the Tampa Bay area:
Bobalouie's Grille & Sports Garden, 1913 Bearss Ave., Tampa: A staple for years in the University area. Electronic bartop trivia, beach bar and local bands. Steaks and seafood cram the menu. Pool tables are always packed, and dart machines are in every room. It's Cheers with Florida flair.
Mangroves, 208 S Howard Ave., Tampa: A place for the chi-chi south Tampa crowd to get down to ambient-techno and sip some key lime pie martinis. The glowing, multicolored bar is the only one in town that rivals the coolness of the Castle's black marble-topped bar with free-flowing water trickling through the veins.