Where the Heck is the Good Seafood?

Ok, so I moved here from the Boston area thinking that the seafood will be good here…I mean after all, we are on the same coast, on the water, it has to be good…wrong!  I have searched high and low for good seafood restaurants in and around Tampa Bay and its surrounding area.  What I am looking for is not glamour, or pretty pictures on the walls, or a waiter that is going to refill my water glass every 2 minutes.  I want hole in the wall, paper table cloth, get your hands dirty, good seafood.  I could go to almost any hole in the wall, even non seafood restaurants in the Boston area and could get excellent seafood.  I could even go to the grocery store and buy clam chowder that would make your taste buds jump for joy.  But I have a hell of a time finding anything here.  But I did find a few that at least requires mentioning.

Taste of Boston (Tampa)- I know I mentioned it before, but it is the closest to boston fried clams I can find.  The owner is from up north and they claim they have ipswich clams, the even showed me the bucket that said ipswich on it.  The size seemed wrong and the taste was a bit off…maybe they mixed some Jersey clams in there or something…I don’t know, but what I do know is that I will be back.

The Island Bar and Grill (Apollo Beach) - Went there about 4 times and each time was worse than the time before.  Food was OK, service was beyond repair.  I mean how long does it take to bring out a bowl of chowder?  It shouldn’t take 45 minutes, should it.  Even made to order is faster than that.  And to top things off, it wasn’t crowded.  But wait, before you say no to the Island, I went back again because they claim it is under new management.  So I went back for the “All you can eat” Crab Legs.  I must say, I was very impressed.  The crab legs were nice and hot, they were unlimited (I had 12 plates) and the waitress was excellent and fast.  Much improved…bravo!  I will be back again!

Sunset Grill (Ruskin/Little Harbor) – They have cut way back on their buffets on the weekends.  They use to have an all you can eat seafood buffet on Saturday nights, that’s gone.  But there are 2 reasons why I bring them up.  First off, they are on the beach so after a lunch, dinner or drink, take a walk on the beach…great!  Second, their grouper is very good.  I usually get it fried but they will prepare it whatever way you want.

Monsta Lobsta (Tampa) or whatever they call themselves.  I had heard and read great things about this place so I had to have a Maine Lobster…so where else, this place.  Well, their hay-days were over.  I guess they use to have some beautiful locations, now they have some little hole in the wall, bars on the windows joint.  This is OK, I don’t usually mind…but the price has to reflect the surroundings…it did not.  They were over priced, their chowder, which should have been good, was some of the worst I have had in a long time.  Their fried clams were OK, but the Taste of Boston clams are much better.  I wanted a 2 pound lobster and all they had was chicken lobsters.  To top things off, they had no AC and it was like 95 outside so you do the math.  The staff there are kinda smart guys, as I asked what was going on with the AC and they said “Don’t know…you tell me!”  One of the guys that worked there was OK and told me a few things about their food.  He sounded like he was from Boston, so we got along well enough.  It was a very expensive meal for chicken lobster.

Crab Shack (Any Location) Not good.  It was probably very good at one time, but to have to wait 45 minutes, with no one in the restaurant, then wait another 30 minutes for drinks, then another hour for your food that comes out cold and tasteless…forget it, save your money.  The ambiance is that of your typical New England Seafood place with crap on the ceiling and walls, so I felt like it was going to be good…Not!

So here are a few, I guess I just have to keep looking.  Someday I will find what I am looking for, but for now, I guess I will only have bits and pieces from multiple locations…and the search goes on!

~ by ToughGuy on November 3, 2008.