Tag Archives: beer

Nov28

The Burg Bar and Grill: 1752 Central Ave St Petersburg, FL

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Gabriel and I had to go up to St. Pete to meet with our wedding photographer (EEEeEEEEeee!!!) so we decided to make a day of it and head to the Dali museum afterwards. We’d been wanting to check it out for a while and were excited to spend the afternoon there. It was a very interesting way to spend some time, and we thoroughly enjoyed not just the art and the guided audio tour, but also the amazing architecture of the building itself as well as the beautifully manicured grounds and awesome views of boats on the water.

When we finished looking around, it was after 3:45pm and our stomachs were growling. Although the cafe in the museum looked great, I was craving iron and feeling deprived since we skipped our post-blood-donation burgers the week before. We decided to check Yelp for local burger joints and found 5 star reviews for the Burg Bar and Grill.

We arrived to find a tiny, dive-y bar with a few tables and a friendly bartender/waiter happy to seat us. Apparently, during ‘normal’ meal times, it’s nearly impossible to get a table so we were lucky that hunger stuck at an odd hour. We looked over the menu and quickly chose our burgers. I love that they have a small and large size so that I don’t eat an 8oz just because it’s on the plate in front of me when I’m perfectly satisfied with a 5oz. I ordered mine cooked medium and topped with american cheese, grilled mushroom and grilled onions and Gabriel got his with blue cheese and bacon. We both asked for our fries to be very well-done.

About 10 minutes later, our waiter arrived with our lunch/dinner much to our delight. The fries were super crispy and the burgers looked amazing. I was very happy to find that they had malt vinegar for my fries- a preference of mine over ketchup. One bite and I was sold. This absolutely deserves all of the stars it’s been given. The burger was cooked perfectly with just the right amount of gooey cheese and sauteed onions and mushrooms. The roll was fresh and doughy, not the typical out-of-a-package roll at all. I tried a bite of Gabriel’s burger and found that it too was perfection.

Overall, for less than $20 we left feeling thoroughly satisfied, pretty darn fat and totally happy. If we are ever in the area again, we might just have to go back. If you live nearby, definitely give it a shot- you’ll be glad you did.

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Apr25

MacAllisters Grill & Tavern: 8110 Lakewood Main St. Lakewood Ranch, FL

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Gabriel was teaching yoga until pretty late last night so we’d decided to go out for dinner when he got back. We had a $10 coupon to MacAllisters since we’d moved to Lakewood about a week ago and the info/welcome center gave us our choice of restaurant gift certificates. We’d heard it was one of the only places close by that serves dinner until 10pm, so this was the perfect opportunity to try it.

We were seated right away and were surprised to see that it was fairly crowded. Apparently, Tuesday night is trivia night and a bunch of people were there to play and drink $1.99 beers.

We noticed right away that they also offer $3.99 martinis (!!!) so we decided to have a toast to our new Florida Driver’s Licenses and our 11 month-i-versary. I ordered a dirty martini with extra olives and I must say, it was excellent. The olives were gigantic and delicious and the martini was super dirty, just like I like it.

Our waiter Chris was extremely personable and friendly and we enjoyed chatting with him throughout the meal. He made some recommendations and took our orders and then our rolls and salads were brought out quickly.

I ordered the chicken marsala which came with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli and a side salad with blue cheese to start with. The dressing was SO good with a little spicy kick to it that’s unusual in blue cheese. The rolls were warm and fresh- but we found it odd that they only brought 3 of them for the 2 of us.

I asked for more broccoli and less mashed potatoes so as not to have the carb-loaded side tempting me. He happily took care of that for me and the portions were perfect. The chicken was cooked nicely, tender and very flavorful in it’s marsala sauce, but I would have like a few more mushrooms.

Overall, for about $15 I had a hearty and filling meal and a great cocktail. Add that to the friendly service and late hours and we will surely be back soon.

Apr5

Siesta Key Oyster Bar (SKOB): 5238 Ocean Blvd, Sarasota, FL

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I was invited to sing at an open mic here hosted by Ben Hammond so my boyfriend and I made it into an impromptu date night and went for dinner and drinks before I performed.

There was a 30 minute wait for a table at this hopping place- full of fun-loving tourists in casual beachy clothes. We went to sit at the bar while we waited and ordered cocktails from the bartender. Watching her make the drinks we realized that they don’t skimp on the booze here the way they do in NYC, and for half the price, we got double the size.

Once we were seated, we ordered a dozen oysters, sweet potato fries and fish tacos- all which were recommended on yelp.com or by the waitstaff. The oysters, though cheap and fresh, were fairly flavorless and really needed the horseradish and cocktail sauce that they were served with. The fish tacos were okay but pretty skimpy on the fish- and could have been much better if they’d added a bit of avocado or guacamole to them. They were served with a creamy cilantro sauce and salsa, but I really couldn’t taste the cilantro at all. The blacked grouper was fresh and flavorful, just too small to fill the tacos. The sweet potato fries were awesome. Super thick and crunchy and fried to perfection.

Overall, I felt that the prices were reasonable but the food was only so-so. The service was friendly and efficient, and very nice to let us sit for a long time after we finished eating to listen to the band. This is a place you come to for great drinks, a fun scene and awesome music…but not for fantastic food. I’ll be back for the music again for sure…but I think I’ll eat elsewhere next time.