quincy restaurant in east tampa
mattOn Saturday we checked out the Quincy Restaurant after watching a glowing video review of the soul food restaurant on Bright House’s Tampa Bay On Demand channel. Quincy is located on N. 40th St. in east Tampa by the Hillsborough River and down the road from Big John’s Alabama BBQ.
When we showed up at Quincy around mid-day the small, humble-looking restaurant was empty save for one other couple. That didn’t discourage us, though, as this was the same place Tampa Bay On Demand’s Jack Harris had raved about and had said that Tampa mayor Pam Iorio was a regular guest. Sure enough pictures of Mayor Pam were up on the wall by the counte
After looking over the hand-written wall menu I ordered fried catfish with black eyed peas and tomatoes-and-okra, while Traci ordered baked chicken with fries and tomatoes-and-okra as well. While northerners turn up their nose at catfish, I grew up in the south and don’t know any better. Each meal also came with cornbread. At this point, I was still optimistic we were in for a treat.
Unfortunately, while the service was friendly and aimed to please, the food was just very average. Everything might have been made fresh originally, but was clearly just re-heated by the time we had it. Maybe things are different during the week. In any case, this wasn’t the hidden gem that Jack Harris made the place out to be and we fell for. Shame on us I guess for taking the bait.
While Quincy wasn’t worth the drive for us, I still think Tampa Bay On Demand (on Channel 340 for Bright House Networks customers) is worth checking out for local dining ideas and all sorts of other local content. Of course, just take Jack Harris’ praise with a big grain of salt!
Bottom-line: We might have just caught Quincy on an off-day, but this wasn’t the tasty southern home-style cooking we were hoping for. We’re still looking for that hidden gem.
Inspection Scorecard: Last Inspection - February 2006 violations - Critical (3), Non-Critical (1).
Tags: east tampa, restaurant, review, tampa, tv
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October 31st, 2006 at 6:45 pm
Jack Harris is a big buffoon and a shill for wahtever cause comes his way. You haven’t figured that out yet?
October 31st, 2006 at 7:30 pm
i never heard of jack harris or quincy restaurant, but you heard that this was pam iorio’s favorite soul food restaurant, that might have been a red flag. have you looked at pam iorio? her idea of soul food is probably mayonnaise. anyway, keep on looking for good meals. you are bound to find one in tampa sooner or later….
October 31st, 2006 at 8:57 pm
I know Jack Harris is a promoter, but I still didn’t realize how blatant it was.
I now know better after checking out Quincy. I thought Chris Sherman of the Times put an overly positive spin on things, but if Quincy is any indication, Jack Harris takes the cake in the positive spin department.
October 31st, 2006 at 9:00 pm
dreaming,
You’d know jack harris if you heard the voice and saw the face, I’ve only been here a little over a year and I know he’s been around here forever. no comment re: Iorio
p.s. Just had dinner tonite at the Maddog and Englishmen pub off MacDill. Not bad, still sort of bland which fits the British pub mold, but better than it was on my first visit last year.
October 31st, 2006 at 9:23 pm
i think i ate some grub at mad dogs on ny eve a few years back, though i dont remember it…i can say the beer is, of course, pretty dang good…the atmosphere is the thing there and its pretty funky
November 1st, 2006 at 7:36 am
Jack Ass Harris! Hey anything for a few free meal sright Jack? And isn’t soul food just what yankee’s call southern food?
November 1st, 2006 at 9:42 am
Has Mad Dog’s cleaned up? They were on the dirty dining list before and if you read their report on what they found there you won’t want to go there again.
November 1st, 2006 at 10:05 am
Re: Mad Dog’s
Apparently they were just last inspected on 10/20/06 and 11 critical violations. Geez, that might be a new record (at least from what I’ve seen based on places I’ve written about).
Guess I’m lucky I’m not feeling sick this morning
Seriously, I think they added a new chef in the past year or so, they definitely changed/improved the menu. But the violations definitely are worse now than they were two years ago, some weird irony there..
November 1st, 2006 at 12:28 pm
Harris and the Dirty Dining lady are both shills. If you want info on a good restaurant, ask somebody you know! (Trust is optional.)
November 1st, 2006 at 12:42 pm
the dirty dining people never investigated a place that advertised on their station. why not?
please support independent (non-chain) restaurants. with a place like Quincy you must go earlier in the day, as you implied.
people who criticise big business and wal-mart should support independent businesses like Quincy.
i hope Ralph Paul doesn’t visit Quincy’s though.
November 1st, 2006 at 1:15 pm
I always try to support indy businesses, particularly restaurants, but Quincy didn’t make it easy for us last Sat. Does the crack ho have a favorite soul food/homestyle joint?
November 1st, 2006 at 2:07 pm
What’s soul food supposed to be, anyway?
November 1st, 2006 at 3:20 pm
I think they call it soul food because it’s bad for the heart.
Isn’t it much the same idea as “comfort food?” Fried chicken, meatloaf, mashed tubers, lots of gravies everywhere. Then again what do I know - I grew up on arroz con pollo.
November 1st, 2006 at 11:41 pm
Typically soul food is southern food. Everything you could possibly fry. Greens, cornbread, chitlins. Imagine cooking a meal using only a small vegetable garden, the discount meat bin at save-a-lot and a fry-daddy. OK that isn’t fair but it certainly is comfort food. Except for chitlins, I don’t touch that crap.