FloridaFoodHound

First Choice BBQ in Brandon: King of Tampa Bay 'Cue

Thanks to persistent praise from Sticks of Fire readers, we drove over to Brandon this past Friday to check out First Choice Southern BBQ for dinner. We thought we had arrived early enough to beat the dinner crowd, but instead found the line already out the door when we walked up.

The first thing we noticed while waiting in line, besides the great smells coming out of the kitchen, was that people were being friendly to each other. One guy turned around to the lady in front of us and said this was "the best bbq he's ever had." She agreed. Maybe great food puts everyone in a good mood. Whatever the reason, it was nice to see strangers getting along.

Listening to the chopping of the meat and the buzz of the kitchen just made me hungrier as we waited in line. The line moved quickly and after getting to the counter I ordered a pork and beef combo plate with sides of spicy macaroni salad and cole slaw. Traci ordered smoked turkey with fries and macaroni. Service is fast and next thing we knew we were paying for our orders and grabbing an open table. From our table we watched as the line built even further out the door.

The pork and the beef were both excellent (juicy and moist) and I loved the spicy macaroni, which was indeed spicy, but not too much bite to ruin things. I was tempted to order some macaroni to go. The smoked turkey was some of the best I've ever had. The coleslaw was good- not too sweet, but not bitter either.

My only complaint was that the two sides of bread that come with each meal tasted like ordinary hamburger buns. I would have preferred garlic toasted bread, but the great barbecue and macaroni on the side more than made up for it.

We left First Choice stuffed and only a little lighter in the wallet. While I haven't tried Big John's yet, I'm willing to go out on a limb and say First Choice is the best barbecue in Tampa Bay. This comes after trying Jimbo's (still good in a pinch and I like the inside dining room), Hickory Hollow (good food overshadowed by poor service), Kojak's (food was disappointing, but cool atmosphere), Fred Fleming's, and yes even Sonny's a few years ago.

I know I've reviewed a lot of barbecue places lately and that barbecue isn't for everyone. So drop me a line and let me know what restaurants around the area you'd like me to check out.

Bottom-line: When I first heard about First Choice, I thought the place was over-hyped. After eating there, I actually think this place isn't talked about enough. Simply great barbecue!

Inspection Scorecard: Last Inspection - August 2006 violations - Critical (0), Non-Critical (1).

El Toro Negro: Hidden Gem in Kenneth City

This past Saturday for lunch we decided to check out El Toro Negro in Kenneth City. I had previously read an online message board debating the best "real" Mexican restaurants (no Tex-Mex) in Tampa Bay and El Toro Negro was a consistent favorite. For those of you scratching your heads about Kenneth City, it's a small town between St. Pete and Pinellas Park.

Let me say up front there is nothing fancy about El Toro Negro. It's a no-frills neighborhood Mexican restaurant and grocery. After grabbing a booth, our server greeted us, took our drink order and invited us to help ourselves to the complimentary chips and salsa bar in the back.

Traci and I are both fanatical about sauces so we were quickly in pig heaven at the bar trying the different salsas. While the salsa set-up at El Toro Negro is very humble, Tijuana Flats, Moe's and Chipotle could all take lessons from El Toro's great selection of flavors.

I ordered beef enchiladas in red sauce (each plate also comes with rice and refried beans) and Traci ordered three chicken gorditas (get the bastardized Taco Bell image of gorditas out of your head, read about the real deal here). We also shared chicken quesadillas as an appetizer. This ended up being more food than we could eat thanks to all the chips and salsa we scarfed up.

My enchiladas were very tasty and I had fun trying more of the different salsas on my rice and enchiladas (I told you I am a sauce junkie!). Traci's gorditas came out piping hot and were delicious. Each gordita was stuffed with chicken, beans, lettuce, sour cream and cheese. I think the gorditas taste best when they're still hot and before the corn tortilla has had a chance to cool.

Service was friendly and the owner checked on us after we were served to make sure that we were happy. Happy was an understatement. Great food and big portions for a small price in an authentic setting- what's not to like. We'll definitely be back. When I hear Kenneth City now I'll think of El Toro Negro (before all I thought of was Kenneth City's notoriously ticket-happy cops).

Let me know what other Mexican joints in Tampa Bay you think I should check out.

Bottom-line: If you're looking for authentic Mexican food made with lots of love in a no-frills setting that is light on the wallet and big on taste, check out El Toro Negro in Kenneth City.

Pane Rustica in South Tampa: Good Food, We'll Be Back

This past Friday we decided to try Pane Rustica Bakery & Café on S. MacDill Ave. in south Tampa for dinner. I had always heard good things about Pane Rustica. After eating there this past weekend I now understand why and am glad we checked it out.

Pane Rustica started out in a small space on MacDill where the bakery developed a strong following. After moving down the street into bigger digs, Pane Rustica expanded last year beyond bread, coffee and sandwiches into a full dinner menu with table service.

While Pane Rustica is nondescript from the outside, inside the place is deep and open with hints of trendiness (but not over the top where it would turn me of). After taking in the menu and surroundings, Traci and I both ordered a bowl of gazpacho (a chilled tomato based soup) as a starter and split a mixed green salad with apple slices, pecans and a sweet vinaigrette dressing.

For our main course we shared a flat bread pizza topped with sausage, mushrooms, onions, peppers and mozzarella. We gobbled up the complimentary fresh bread with olive oil and a creamy hummus as we waited on our order.

The pizza and the salad were both enjoyable. The gazpacho was solid, but the taste was a little on the bland side. Our favorite gazpacho is at The Columbia. My only other minor gripe was that, in the area where we sat at least, the other tables are practically on top of you. A little more privacy would have been nice. The couple next to us bickering got annoying very fast.

I've read some comments about Pane Rustica's servers being slow and disorganized, but at least on our visit last Friday the server was friendly and attentive. My favorite meal over the past few months remains Red Mesa on 4th St. N. in St. Pete, but Pane Rustica comes in a solid second. We definitely plan to eat at Pane Rustica again and explore more of its menu.

Bottom-line: We had an enjoyable meal on our first visit to Pane Rustica last week and look forward to going back. Prices are reasonable for the food quality and we didn't run into poor service.

Inspection Scorecard: Last Inspection- June 2006 violations - Critical (6), Non-Critical (7).

Hickory Hollow in Ellenton: Crotchety Servers Overshadow Food

We had been hankering for some good barbecue so Friday night we decided to try out Hickory Hollow, a barbecue joint best-known for its east-Carolina style barbecue. Hickory Hollow is located in Ellenton, a small town north of Sarasota that's best known for its outlet mall. A few months ago, Hickory Hollow made USA Today's list of the Top 10 barbecue joints in the U.S.

Now, I don't know how USA Today compiled their list and maybe we just caught Hickory Hollow at the wrong time, but after our visit last Friday this isn't a place I would put on any Top 10 list. While the 'cue was tasty and the vast selection of 25-plus side items was a neat surprise, the service was poor and the atmosphere (what is the deal with butterfly decorations all over the walls in a barbecue place?) was just average. Overall, I didn't dislike Hickory Hollow, but I wouldn't drive out of my way for it. It's okay if you're already in the area.

I ordered the east-Carolina style pork with cheese squash and creamed spinach as my two sides, while my fiancee Traci went with smoke turkey, roasted corn and steak fries. Both meals came with delicious corn fritters. I was happy with the pork and the squash, but the creamed spinach was missing something. Traci's turkey was very good.

While the food was above average, it was overshadowed by the poor service from the moment we walked in the door. We've eaten at lots of barbecue joints and these aren't the kind of places where you expect to find award-winning service, but that doesn't mean we should feel like we're bothering the waitstaff for eating there.

The level of service was night and day between Hickory Hollow and our visit to Newberry's Backyard Bar-B-Q a few weeks ago. I am still looking for an excuse to go back up to Gainesville to eat there again. While Hickory Hollow didn't knock my socks off, I still have high hopes for reader-suggested Big John's Barbecue in Tampa and First Choice in Brandon. Both are on my list. I still think Jimbo's on Kennedy is a good choice for 'cue in a pinch.

Bottom-line: Good food was overshadowed by poor service with the net-result being I can't see myself eating there again unless I already happen to be shopping in Ellenton and am in need of a major barbecue fix.

Inspection Scorecard: Last Inspection: April 2006 violations- Critical (4), Non-Critical (1).

Island Flavors and 'Tings: A Big Disappointment in Gulfport

After having a great meal last week at Red Mesa, thanks in part to sampling the restaurant at the Taste of Pinellas food festival, we decided to give another Taste of Pinellas restaurant a try. On Saturday, we stopped by Island Flavors and 'Tings on 49th St. S. in Gulfport for lunch. Big mistake.

I now wish we would have kept driving and made lunch at home.

I was quite optimistic when I got out the car. Island Flavors has the hole-in-the-wall look on the outside that can often signal good eats. Inside there is a small Jamaican grocery in the front and a counter to order food in the back. We decided to dine-in (there is a set of tables down one wall), which probably only made our experience worse. A trickle of customers came in to pick up orders.

Traci and I both ordered the jerk chicken salad. The server never asked us for drinks so we settled for glasses of water with meager ice which weren't refilled until the end of the meal. Since the server warned us it would take 10 minutes for our salads and the plantains we ordered to come out, we ordered two meat patties (one beef and one supposedly chicken) out of the case at the counter. The beef was okay, while the chicken was in fact a vegetable patty. This was not a good start.

When our salads finally came out Traci's had chicken on top while mine was chicken-less. The server apologized and said they had just forgotten to put chicken on my salad. Huh? After my salad came back out with chicken, we realized that they had also forgotten about our plantains.

However, after tasting the salad (the presentation was beautiful at least), we decided it wasn't worth bugging them for the plantains. The salad was average at best with the jerk chicken surprisingly lacking in flavor. I could have gotten this chicken at Boston Market.

The server didn't clear our plates after we were done eating; we eventually walked up to the counter to pay. I am all for a laid-back Caribbean attitude and I've dined at many a hole-in-the-wall, but come on. Even paying was a drawn-out process. I don't know how they're still open.

Bottom-line: Maybe we just caught Island Flavors on an "off day" and salads aren't their thing, but I can't recommend anyone check this place out. Get your Caribbean food elsewhere.

Red Mesa: An Excellent Southwest-Style Surprise in St. Pete!

Last Friday we decided to try Red Mesa on 4th St. N. in St. Pete for dinner. My interest in Red Mesa and its self-described "regional Mexican & Southwest cuisine" was piqued after I had sampled some of their food at the "Taste of Pinellas" food festival back in June (If you've never been to Taste of Pinellas before, it is a great way to sample lots of area restaurants all at once).

I can't thank Taste of Pinellas enough for introducing me to Red Mesa. Our dinner at Red Mesa was easily one of the best, if not the best, meals we've had in Tampa Bay in the past few months. It's easy to see why Red Mesa has been in business for nine years and regularly makes the lists of top Southwest-style restaurants in the area. These guys know what they're doing.

For our appetizer we ordered stuffed artichokes to go along with our chips and salsa. For dinner I ordered two appetizers as my entree- crab cakes and Ceviche Mixto (a mix of grilled seafood) and my bride-to-be Traci ordered the Chicken Fernandez (chicken marinated in oil and garlic with a chipotle cream sauce).

The Ceviche Mixto was top notch and the crab cakes had just the right kick to them and not too much breading. I also tried the Chicken Fernandez and loved the sauce.

Our server wasn't overly social, but was knowledgeable, polite and very busy. Prices aren't cheap, but worth it. My only gripes would be that the hostesses appeared disorganized when we first walked in and the tables in the back room where we sat were a little too close for comfort (granted the place is pressed for space). The great meal, though, more than made up for these minor issues.

Bottom-line: Next time you're in the mood for good Southwest-style cuisine, you owe it to yourself and your taste buds to give Red Mesa a try. We certainly plan to be back soon.

Inspection Scorecard: Last Inspection: May 2006 violations - Critical (2), Non-Critical (0).