chains are eating tampa bay
Several weeks ago I took a vacation to San Francisco and for a whole week I consumed some of the best food and wine in my life. Needless to say, returning to the reality of everyday life has been especially hard and I’ve done my best to come down from the vacation bliss. Imagine my shock yesterday morning when I opened up the local paper online and was met with a picture of a former Tampa chef, in San Francisco!
According to the article by Chris Sherman, Chef Scott Howard cut his culinary teeth in Tampa at top-notch restaurants such as rg’s, Capriccio and Mis en Place. Unfortunately for Tampa, Chef Howard felt that in order to make it big, he had to leave the area for a city more serious about food. So he moved to San Francisco and is now doing things with food that Tampa won’t see for a long, long time. I am ecstatic that a Tampa Bay chef has moved on to find great success, but in the same note I find it disheartening to learn of such a talented chef who felt the need to leave the area in order to succeed.
Sherman interviewed Chef Howard about his “move to California, his cooking philosophy and how the chains are eating Tampa Bay.” One of those questions struck me particularly close to home, especially since I have done quite a bit of writing on the subject:
On what Tampa Bay needs to become a “food town”:
“…I talk to my friends every week on the phone. When I speak to Marty (Blitz) and B.T. (Nguyen of Cafe BT in Tampa’s Hyde Park), they say it’s become so saturated with chains. That’s the big difference. Chains don’t survive here. Or maybe, they don’t thrive. There may be an Outback around, but I don’t know where.
People here support individual restaurants and chefs; they really demand quality.
Of course you’ve got some really great restaurants (in the Tampa Bay area), but the competition from the chains is really strong, especially in the casual restaurant segment. You (Tampa Bay diners) just can’t support many good independents.
How do you feel about this statement? I do my best to promote independent restaurants but I’ll admit that I have an occasional meal at Bonefish or Fleming’s. Are we doing our best as a city? If you are a frequenter of chain restaurants, what makes you gravitate toward them? What would you like to see from independent restaurants? I have my own opinions about these questions and freely admit that the some of the chains do a great job with customer service and marketing. But is the food really better?
Local restaurants mentioned:
Restaurant BT
www.restaurantbt.com
Mis en Place
www.miseonline.com
Loading ...
July 26th, 2007 at 10:46 am
I am all for the Independents, and will always dine at an Independent over a Chain. I believe many tourists and travelers that are familar with a chain, will dine at chains when visiting the area. Im always one to ask when travelling where thier best ‘local’ restaurants are located. I have also asked this same question among others about the chains, and simply they just tell me “because I always know what I am goign to get” from a chain. But if they would find there favorite independents, they would see they could get that same mentaility from an independent as well.
July 26th, 2007 at 11:00 am
People go to chain restaurants for the same reason they go to the same crappy movies and listen to the same crappy music.
July 26th, 2007 at 11:40 am
Don’t forget, several of the chains in this area WERE independents in this area before they exploded. This market has a history of being a good launching pad … Just to start the list; Hooters, Red Lobster (started in Lakeland), Shells, Outback (original goal was 4 locations), Bonefish Grill, Checkers, Beef O’Brady’s, Ker’s, Flemming’s … and with so many chains starting and/or based here, thet independent “concept” you are eating at tonight could become a chain pretty quickly.
July 26th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
if you polled the avg tampa diner about whether they prefer a ‘chain’ or an ‘independent’ restaurant, i’m not sure they would know what you were talking about. most people can’t be bothered discerning the difference. it’s just ‘let’s go out to eat’ or ‘might as well stop there.’ what they think about first is whether the joint is expensive or not. unfortunately, many independents can’t compete on price with chains, so they automatically lose. do i eat a slab of beef at bern’s or outback? most of the time, the answer is outback, were i inclined to eat beef slabs, which im not usually. the independents that thrive in tampa bay tend to be on the low end: the taco bus being a good example. restaurateurs would do well to take notice, methinks…
July 26th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
I agree with “dreaming”; the independents can’t give you what the chains can for the same price. Eating at a local independent means that you must either be willing to pay a higher price or eat “diner” quality food for a more reasonable price (also, I have eaten at some of our independents with high quality reputations only to be sorely disappointed). Are there any local independents that can give you higher quality food at Ouback prices? If any, they are few and far between. In order to beat out a chain for business, independents must have better quality food at the same or a lower price.
July 26th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
Can’t say I agree with you Luckytop. There are some great independent restaurants in Tampa and I don’t find their prices any different than the chains.
Most customers pick chains cause they already know what it is. Seems like people select mediocrity rather than reaching for anything exceptional for fear of disappointment. As a coffee junkie, I laugh as I stop at the Fourth of July Cafe on N. Armenia and get a very large cup of cafe conleche for under $2, while the folks in line at Indigo Coffee across the street are paying $4 or more. Indigo has great logos and images, but I will take the cafe con leche at Fourth of July anyday.
July 26th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
OK. imagine that you LIVE in downtown SF, have a job as a consultant to big wineries in Napa.
lovely life.
then you move to Braden-tucky, Florida.
Bob Evans. Applebees. Chuck E. Cheese.
July 26th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
check out Stogie’s new blog:
http://www.stogielocal.blogspot.com/
July 26th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Am I a bad, bad person for actually enjoying both Roy’s and Bonefish? I have to admit - it’s hard to find much in the way of variety when it comes to good places that specialize in seafood.
Now, I’d say I dine 90 to 95% of the time at an independent, but there’s just times I want those bang-bang shrimp or a pistachio-crusted flounder from Bonefish or something funky with truffle conundrum cream (I don’t even really know what it is, but I’d dip my bits in it) from Roy’s.
July 26th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
Independents don’t advertise during American Idol. Applebees does.
July 26th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
David, I definitely wouldn’t categorize anyone as a bad guy for enjoying Bonefish or Roy’s. I too love having a meal of appetizers at the bar at Bonefish and my recent experience at Roy’s was one of the best I’ve had since moving to Tampa. And you are correct, there is very little in the line of medium priced seafood in the area.
Based on prior posts, I know you are a non-chain kind of guy. But I think the real issue is the number of people who eat almost primarily at chains. I certainly don’t look down upon anyone for their choice in dining at a chain, but perhaps I am on a crusade to avoid mediocrity in dining and seek out adventurous and exceptional cuisine. I have to agree 100% with Mr. Bill on that one.
While I disagree completely with luckytop’s assesment, perhaps he/she suffers from a lack of exposure or appreciation to good food. Can we help change that? I hope so.
-Kevin
July 26th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
I am baffled at the lack of variety in seafood places here. Just simply baffled.
And Kevin, you’re more to the point in that you mentioned medium-priced. It seems to go from like a Skipper’s/Crab Shack up to the “Market Price” joints with little between (which is perhaps why I end up at Bonefish in those cases). But we live on the Gulf, why isn’t there more good seafood???
July 26th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
Oh, and am I also a bad person for thinking Mise en Place real overrated? I haven’t been there for dinner in quite a while, but I have not impressed with the lunch I’ve had there the past 3-5 times I’ve been …
July 26th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
there isnt any or much local produce served in local restaurants, so why would there be any fish? evidently, there is no local delivery system for these staples, so businesses just order whatever they can have trucked to their back doors: i.e., produce from new jersey and frozen fish from japan.
some have hit on one factor why independents dont cut it much locally: inconsistency. you never quite know what youre getting, so why shell out big bucks? the lack of good independents here is the same as the lack of a downtown tampa: critical mass has still not been achieved.
btw, mangroves in hyde park has typically had some of the best seafood. they dont get much buzz, but the ownership is not homegrown and values euro quality eating.
July 26th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
I moved here from San Francisco 5 years ago and I am amazed at how Floridians are content to settle for so little when it comes to there tastebuds. It goes far deeper than the chains, it’s nearly impossible to find decent produce with the lack of farmers’ markets and the poliferation of factory farms. For all you foodies out there who are fed up with the food scene here, consider this:
Today, I planned on canteloupe for breakfast. I had bought a ripe one at the store yesterday, with the familiar musky smell, along with a few nectarines - the picks of the season. When I cut open the melon this morning and took my first bite I spit it out, disgusted. There was absolutely no flavor, only a slight bitterness. Disappointed I tried a nectarine instead. The first one I tried was tart and I struggled to find any trace of the sweet juiciness I was anticipating. I tried a second and settled for adequate. As I was about to toss the insipid fruit in the garbage, I stopped myself and instead bagged it up to take back to the grocery store. I had thought of doing this many times before but talked myself out of going to the trouble. But today, something snapped. I made the effort to take the fruit back to the store for a refund. I urged the customer service person to have the produce buyer taste the fruit to see for him/herself that it’s a crime to be charging people for such a bad product.
I am tired of paying good money for what I expect to be good food and ending up with flavorless produce. It is no wonder that kids are not consuming fruits and vegetables when they taste as bad as most of what is available in stores. I am old enough to remember what a real fresh strawberry tastes like, so fragrant and sweet as to make waiting for the season so worthwhile; peaches and plums full of juice and each distinctly flavored; separate and diverse varieties of crisp apples; tomatoes that needed no more than a sprinkling of salt to burst with flavor; carrots that tasted like the minerals they drew from the ground. Now the produce section is full of frauds, they look and smell like the real deal but are unable to live up to their promise.
I am not going to stand for it any more. As long as we continue to be “satisfied” with what we are being sold, we will continue to get more of the same. Consumers deserve to get what they pay for. The only way to enact change is if we collectively insist on a decent product for the money. As long as we continue to consume the mediocre food we are sold, the grocers and food buyers will continue to serve it up. Stand up for your taste buds. Follow my lead and return your inedible produce to your local grocer - they will reimburse you and it’s the only way to make them aware!
July 27th, 2007 at 8:55 am
I disagree that there are no decent seafood places … what is missing is a higher profile mid-level entry (between the diners and Salt Rock). The best seafood around these parts is typically in the dockside “joints” and roadside dives… some of them have all the charm of a condemned truck stop, but that’s not why you go. A few years ago Southern Living proclaimed Dockside Dave’s in Madeira Beach the best grouper sandwich … at the time the place was a bit scary looking from the outside. Wahoos in Redington Shores is another case — it is a bar next to a seafood house (and dock) but the food is great.
You just gotta look for these places, and not worry about pretenses. Just go for the food …
My perspective is from the Pinellas side, but I don’t see a shortage of independents … maybe Hillsborough is different (especially in the newer areas where everything is “cookie cutter” — from the houses to the shopping centers.)
July 28th, 2007 at 3:34 am
I think Tampa has a wide variety of quality local restaurants. I eat out more night than I should (4-5 per week) and rarely hit a chain. To name a few: Wine Exchange in Hyde Park; Acropolis & Samurai Blue in Ybor; Maddogs & Englishmen on S Macdill; Ceviche on Bayshore; Estela’s on Davis Island (or S Dale Mabry); Newks in Channelside; Spain or The Fly in downtown; SoHo Sushi in SoHo; Kojak’s BBQ and Rattlefish SOG.
When I do settle for a chain, it does happen to be Tampa born and bread (Outback or Bonefish) or the occasional Roy’s.
Our independents take slightly more work, but are far superior to the experiences I have at any chain. I’m always lookg for new ones to try!
July 28th, 2007 at 8:56 am
The key to success in any restaurant is consistency. Chains provide exactly that and that’s what makes them succeed. Everything has been carefully calculated at coporate HQ long before an item ever makes it to the menu, in order to ensure that the steak and potato that you get in Tampa is the same as you get in Idaho. All thought process and interpretation have been removed.
I personally avoid TGI McFunster chains because they are the lowest common denominator - which is precisely the reason that they are so successful. But personally I need a touch of locality in my food, something that makes it distinct for where you are eating it; local ingredients, local treatments, a human flair.
I recently ate at a 4 Diamond rated place that shall remain nameless on a Tuesday night. Tuesday is typically “C team” night, but I hoped that a place with that kind of rating would have a really strong C team. I was quite wrong. A menu that is probably pretty rockin’ on “A team” night was a bland disappointment, but the price was exactly the same no matter who was cooking it.
So therein lies the rub. One can go lowest on the chain and get consistent, albeit dumbed down food, or one can roll the dice with an independent and hope that the chef has trained his staff well enough that C team food is every bit as good as A team. Unfortunately quite a few fail in that task.
July 28th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
I do not like fast food chains and slow food chains Denny’s. The worst chain restaurants are Applebe’s,Chili’s,TGF,Olive Garden,etc.,because they are owned by national companies-even if you happen to like something one week they do not have it next week,all the restaurants take away portebella restarunts which I adore,and have the audacity to tell me it is out of season. The best restaurants I have been to are Michaels, Mimi’s, Baly-Hoo’s. And I have heard that Bern’s Steakhouse and Donettelo’s are exellent-but I do not eat steak and they are just a little above my price range.
July 28th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
I know that dude !
July 30th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
I agree with chaaalie. Pinellas has many great seafood and non seafood resturants that aren’t a chain. My advice leave Tampa, cross the bridges once and while.
March 10th, 2008 at 11:47 am
i agree with chaaalie. i live on irb and wahoos in redington shores is my fave place, great and interesting food, you can pull up your boat and they will cook your fresh caught fish in gourmet fashion,laid back and fun.