Blog - homeandawaywithlisa

When Frank and I headed to Florida for the Outback Bowl we only had two days to relax which we spent on Treasure Island. After our hectic drive down we were in the mood to sleep in and then lounge on the beach. Although we weren't very active over those two days we did leave our beach chairs to eat some great food. I thought I would share a few of our favorite places that we would recommend if you find yourself in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.

Lisa's Cafe
13331 Gulf Boulevard, Madeira Beach, Florida

First up is Lisa's Cafe where we went to breakfast. Located in a small, unassuming green building the food was fantastic and the owner, Lisa, was a wonderfully friendly hostess. I also can't help but think that she has an awesome name.

I decided to order the bananas foster French toast which was out of this world. The pictures don't do it justice, but the slices of bread were almost as big as my head. The bananas foster topping was delicious and it was like eating dessert for breakfast.

Frank had corned beef hash with scrambled eggs and grits. The portion of the hash wasn't the biggest but it was almost all corned beef and delicious.

We also couldn't resist splitting an order of biscuits and gravy and I am so glad that we did because it was one of the best sausage gravies that we ever ate. The gravy had sage in it which leant it a little bit of sweetness to offset the savory sausage. When we commented on how much we loved the gravy it turned out that Lisa herself made it. Delicious!

We had a wonderful breakfast at Lisa's Cafe and would definitely recommend it. They also serve lunch and dinner and the menus for those meals looked delicious even though we didn't have a chance to try it. Hopefully we can on some other trip!

Ted Peter's Famous Smoked Fish
1350 Pasadena Avenue South, South Pasadena, Florida

Frank and I stopped at Ted Peter's Famous Smoked Fish for a late lunch/early dinner one day. Opened in 1951, the roadside restaurant has a wonderful vintage vibe. We ate at shaded picnic tables, enjoying the warm weather with the wonderful smell of the nearby smoker in the air.

We were starving so we decided to start with a smoked fish spread dish with saltines. It was awesome and we agreed that if we lived in the are we would be bringing home take out containers of the fish spread every week.

Frank also tried the Manhattan chowder which was homemade and delicious.

With so much food, I decided to get a smoked mullet luncheon platter that didn't have any sides. Mullet has a lot of bones, but I have a lot of practice deboning fish from living in Japan so that didn't deter me. It was worth the small extra effort as the mullet had a wonderful flavor.

Frank ordered the mackerel smoked fish dinner which included cole slaw and German potato salad as sides. The mackerel was fantastic and so were the sides, especially the potato salad. Amazing!

We loved Ted Peter's and if we lived in the area we know we would be regulars. There are two things to note if you head over there. First, they only take cash so be prepared to have some on you before you go. Secondly, they close at 7:30 pm so if you want to grab dinner there, make sure to go early. You won't be disappointed!

The Floridian
230 107th Avenue, Treasure Island, Florida

Being in Florida Frank and I had to grab Cuban sandwiches for lunch one day so we decided to try out the Floridian, located in a bright, cheerful building. The restaurant was bustling at lunch but after ordering at the register it didn't take too long to for our food to arrive at our table.

I got a combo with half a Cuban sandwich and a bowl of Floridian bean soup. My sandwich was loaded with meat and the bread was great. I also really enjoyed the soup which was tasty and hearty.

Frank got a spiced pork sandwich and a bag of plantanos chips. Delicious!

We also couldn't resist sharing a side of rice and beans (awesome!) and a "Tampa style" devil crab, deep fried dough roll with blue crab inside. The devil crab was tasty and reminded me a little bit of a Brazillian coxinha, but with crab instead of chicken.

The food was great at the Floridian making for a wonderful lunch. It's no wonder that the St. Petersburg Times rated it as having Tampa Bay's best Cuban sandwich!

Saturday, January 12, 2013 at 11:50AM | Posted by

Lisa |

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