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Side dish
By CHRIS SHERMAN
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 21, 2000
NEW IN TOWN
Dish, the u-pick/they-cook place drawing big crowds in Centro Ybor, serves up a second helping at BayWalk (196 Second Ave. N, St. Petersburg; 727 894-5700) this week. It's the first of the big production restaurants at Bay Walk. Format's the same as Ybor, and decor's just as wild, but grill's even bigger (9.5 feet in diameter), so the grill crew can cook more meals faster.
IN THE OVEN
CK's, the revolving rooftop restaurant of the Tampa Airport Marriott, will close briefly for a super revamp the day after Christmas (Garden Cafe remains open). Three weeks and $1.2-million later, CK's will reopen in time for the Super Bowl. The new CK's will be brighter, with an early aviation theme, and a bigger selection of Florida seafood, including a large raw bar, but Marriott food and beverage chief Abeer Kronawetter assures CK fans that the 10th floor will still rotate and steaks will continue to be Certified Angus Beef.
NOT SO FAST
McDonald's has gone too far: Philly cheesesteaks! Not to worry about taste. This is no closer to the real thing than McRib was to barbecue. It's the principle: Make a gazillion identical burgers but leave hometown faves alone. It's a cheesesteak in Philly, hot dogs in Chicago, chili in Cincinnati, crab cakes in Maryland, boudin in a Louisiana gas station. Native sons and daughters share these treats all over America nowadays, but at least they're brought to us by people who knew the real thing. Fast food chains ought to stay out.
I'LL HAVE ANOTHER . . .
Cheese course. Good cheese is better than chocolate at meal's end for me, but here it's usually way too cold. Cafe Largo has one of the best selections from brie and blue to Pont-l'Eveque and St.-Nectaire ($9.50) for the holiday season, kept at the right temperature.
-- CHRIS SHERMAN, Times food critic
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