Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Ever eaten a $100 steak?

I haven’t, but if someone offered to buy me one I wouldn’t object. Actually Laura Reiley, the new food critic at the St. Pete Times has never tried a bite of said steak, but I know she paid the price for her friend to eat one.

In case you haven’t read it, Reiley wrote an article in the St. Pete Times about her recent experience hosting a dinner for a group of friends at Chateau France in North Tampa. After the waiter rattled off a list of specials, one of the members in her party ordered the Kobe beef and didn’t give it a second thought. That is, until the bill came and Reiley found out that her friend had consumed over a hundred dollars worth of the beef, an expensive variety that comes from specially raised cows in Japan.

Most people would be outraged by being served with an excessive bill at the end of a meal, but I assume Laura Reiley decided to suck it up and use it as a great idea for a story. In her article, she spends time analyzing the price of the “special” and even calls on other professional opinions as to whether or not the entrée was priced right or if the waiter should have stated the price when the food was ordered. In my opinion, the article is all fluff and is unfair to both Chateau France and to informed diners.

I may not have a culinary degree, but as an experienced diner I know the value of Kobe beef. It doesn’t take a professional food critic to guess the approximate price of a Kobe steak. Apparently the general public agrees, as the comments from this story seem to be flowing. But is $107 too expensive for a steak? I’ve spent that much money on other things that didn’t give me much pleasure. Or, you may see it as a gimmick, as Drew Curtis, founder of Fark.com describes overpriced food items in his book, It’s Not News, It’s Fark: How Mass Media Tries to Pass Off Crap As News:

“Mark up your hamburger 1,000 percent and every paper in the land will put your restaurant in its style section. Always get a quote from a rich idiot who bought the item and- believe it or not- enjoyed it.”

Either Laura Reiley is a rich idiot, uninformed and unqualified to be writing professionally about food, or decided that a $107 steak would make a great story. Either way, Chateau France will now have people beating down the door to try the steak and Reiley paid a fortune for a steak that she didn’t even get to try. Some will win, some will lose. Your thoughts?

Philly has the cheesesteak, New York has popularized thin crust pizza, and Chicago has a pretty unique hot dog. When it comes to food, Tampa Bay isn’t quite as well known. Sure, we’ve got Bern’s, famous for serving dry aged beef and housing the largest restaurant wine cellar in the nation, but otherwise we’re not known for any one dish. I believe the biggest reason is the lack of history and a rich culture.

Relatively speaking, Tampa is a new city. We’ve got a large Cuban influence in the Bay area and have recently seen an increase in the food offerings from the Hispanic population, but that’s where it ends. The rest of us likely emigrated from elsewhere. My roommate is from Clearwater, my friend Katy is from Tampa and my buddy Todd hails from New Port Richey, but otherwise most of my friends are from places like Dallas, Boston and New York City.

Fortunately there is hope for a food culture in Tampa. Instead of dwelling on the past, it’s time to get to work to create our own culture, rich with dishes and flavors unique to the Tampa Bay area. Since I grew up in a city with a celebrated food culture, I guess I’ve always taken it for granted, but not anymore. I got to work thinking of a few dishes unique to the Tampa Bay region as a beginning to my quest. I’m sure I’ve missed a few, but here is a great start to the list:

Grouper Sandwich. I wouldn’t consider the grouper sandwich a cutting edge creation, but it’s a Tampa Bay original nonetheless. It’s essentially a fish sandwich made with grilled, blackened or fried grouper and served on a bun with lettuce, tomato and tarter sauce. Frenchy’s in Clearwater claims to have the original grouper sandwich; created out of a necessity to use up a plethora of extra grouper caught while fishing. They put the fish on a bun and began serving it as a sandwich in their restaurant; the rest is history. The best place to enjoy a grouper sandwich is after a hot day at the beach; Frenchy’s on Clearwater Beach and The Undertow on St. Pete Beach are a couple of my favorites.

Cuban Sandwich. Perhaps one of the most famous of the Tampa creations, the Cuban sandwich can now be found across the United States and at every corner lunch cafe and gas station in the Tampa Bay area. There is still debate as to whether or not the sandwich was indeed created in the area, but I enjoy the fact that there are people like Andy Huse, who take the sandwich VERY seriously. If you’re like me, you’ve probably had a few lackluster Cuban sandwiches, but a well made pressed Cuban with pork, salami, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard on fresh Cuban bread can be a work of art.

Alaskan Tacos. Found only in Ybor City, an Alaskan taco is a twist on the traditional Tex-Mex crunchy shell taco. At Meme’s Alaskan Tacos, they deep-fry the shell and meat, then top with lettuce, tomato and cheese. They weren’t created in Tampa, but instead were a concept that the owner picked up from his grandmother, who created the taco while she lived in Alaska. Go ahead and try and find them outside of Tampa; you probably won’t. I’m not certain that I’d drive across town for an Alaskan taco, but they sure do make for a good street food while strolling around Ybor.

Beer. It surely wasn’t invented in the Sunshine State, but it’s nice to know that we can still enjoy a locally made brew. In Ybor city, sample home made beer at the Tampa Bay Brewing Company. Established in 1997, they are the only brewpub in Ybor that still brews their own beer. If you’re a little farther north, you can make a stop by the pub at the Dunedin Brewery where they produce several year round favorites as well as seasonal brews like the Oktoberfest or the Christmas Farm Ale. Or pick up a six-pack at your local liquor store and enjoy at home or have a pint at a local tavern.

Honorable Mention: Bang Bang Shrimp, the Bloomin’ Onion and Hooters Wings. Ok, so these three dishes are synonymous with chain restaurants and Anytown, USA, but they were all created and popularized right here in the Bay area. I admit that I can’t step foot in Bonefish grill without the intention of ordering Bang Bang shrimp; fried shrimp coated in a spicy mayonnaise based sauce. I can’t get enough. And there are few indulgences more satisfying than sitting at the bar in Outback Steakhouse and having a deep fried onion and a couple of cold beers. I love Hooters wings but I still keep that quiet from my good friends from Buffalo. Since they’re breaded, they are more like the distant cousin of the famous Buffalo Wing. I’ve enjoyed them since I was a kid and still patronize Hooter’s to this day. Thank you Clearwater!

So what’s next on the horizon for Tampa food? Our biggest battle will be to fight the influence of the chain restaurants and the erosion of the palate. It’s unfortunate that our kids are being raised believing that Carrabba’s is genuine Italian and that the food at Applebee’s is actually good. Sure, we all indulge in a little chain restaurant food from time to time, but without restaurants in the area like Bella’s, El Taconazo, Ceviche and Sidebern’s, what would make Tampa Bay any better for food than any other city in the nation?

Hello Sticks of Fire, my name is Kevin Lacassin and I love to eat and drink. I always wanted to be a writer, but never got around to writing anything until a few years ago when I realized my passion for food. I started writing about New Orleans food on a personal website and when it became too big I registered a domain name and the rest is history.

I lived in and loved the great city of New Orleans until Katrina forced me to evacuate. I spent some time in Chicago, then made my way to Tampa Bay to visit a friend. After only two weeks here I decided it would be my new home. In my opinion, the Tampa Bay region has the potential to be the best at everything. We’ve got great weather, beaches, professional sports and diversity. I say “potential,” because I really miss being in a city that celebrates food. Tampa is a city with plenty of variety, but we don’t “celebrate” food and drinks. I’m here to change that.

Last year I began a website called TampaBayEats with the intention of creating excitement about food in Tampa. It wasn’t long before I lost interest and just let the site become stagnant (it’ll stay active with my archives). Many of you may even remember an article published in the New York Times, one year ago this week, about a guy from New Orleans trying to find a good meal in Tampa. It created quite a buzz with Sticks of Fire readers who thought it to be a critical jab at the food scene in Tampa. That guy was me. I took a break from writing about Tampa food, but I am back.

Matt has been blazing the trail for down-home meals and good food, but he won’t be able to hold down the fort forever. I’m here to team up with him for a while and do my part to “create excitement about food in the Tampa Bay area.” Please join me here on Sticks of Fire for talk about food, drinks, restaurants, taverns, festivals and feasts. If it has to do with food, you’ll read about it here.