If you’re in the mood for authentic Cantonese on the St. Pete side of the bay there’s really only two places: ABC Seafood, reviewed earlier in Inkwatu, and the Lucky Star Hong Kong Style Chinese Restaurant (4175 66th Street North, St Petersburg, FL 33709-4915; 727-381-8888‎; map).

On the Tampa side of the bay, my favorite is China Yuan, but over here in St. Pete, I’m partial to Lucky Star, not only because of its food, which is so flavorful you never even think of reaching for soy sauce, but also because Lucky Star, in its earlier incarnation on 34th Street before their fire and relocation, was my introduction to authentic Cantonese food in St. Pete. The earlier restaurant was one of the many little experiences that accumulated to inspire me to move to St. Pete.

I was introduced to it by a friend whose father had had a similar restaurant while my friend was growing up. He showed me the dishes that the Lucky Star had that made it a special place and helped me to feel comfortable there. Sadly, by the time I moved to St. Pete my friend had, himself, moved to a different city and the Lucky Star had closed because of a kitchen fire. Then, the owners finally reopened up on 66th Street, north of Tyrone Mall. It’s been a favorite of mine ever since and I’m remiss in not having reviewed it earlier.

It’s open 7 days a week, but only in the late afternoon and evenings (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 3pm to 1am; Tuesday 3pm-11pm; Saturday and Sunday 1pm-1pm). Notice that it’s open into the wee hours for late-late dining. That truly makes it a special place.

But, it’s the food that really makes it special. Here are just a few of the dishes, from their large menu, that you won’t find on less authentic restaurants around town:

• Shark Fin Soup
• Jelly Fish
• Spicy Duck Feet
• Fried Chitterling
• Spicy Chicken Feet
• Preserved Duck Wing
• Blue Crab
• Pepper Corn Squid
• Sautéed Conch
• Bird’s Nest Seafood
• Razor Clam
• Braised Sea Cucumber
• Snail w/Black Bean
• Frog with Chinese Chive
• Steam Salted Fish with Minced Pork

Lest you think the Lucky Star’s appeal rests only upon these more exotic dishes, let me stress that it’s the taste that keep me coming back there. And, the dishes that I, myself, order are the ones that are a little less adventuresome: the casseroles, vegetables, and sizzling plates.

A friend and I, who have, several times, gone there for their whole roast duck, which is spectacularly crunchy, were there again recently and were blown away by two of their sizzling plates: Sa Cha Eggplant and Garlic Shrimp. There wasn’t anything left by the time we were finished eating. We were dickering over who got to lick the plates.

They also have a number of fried rice and noodle dishes. I’m a fan of both those, especially noodles, so I’m slowly working my way through them. Next time I go, I’m going to try the Cantonese Pan Fried Noodles.

They seem to have two menus, one that’s more authentic foods and one that caters to the typical American-”Chinese” fast food tastes. It’s fun looking at that second one, too. That one actually has five chop suey dishes!

The origins of the dish, “chop suey,” are not clear. I make that plural because, as the Wikipedia entry (Chop suey) points out, some think it originated in San Francisco during its early days and some say it came from Taishan, in Guangdong Province. Adding to the confusion is that some early Chinese restaurateurs in the US served a dish of mixed entrails, calling it “chop suey.” This, the Chinese, themselves, did not eat. So, there’s a lot of confusion around the term.

I assume that chop suey is really kind of a late-19th century/early 20th century American-Chinese food, much lacking in authenticity…about as authentic as the game mah jong, which is to say, Not much! But, for me, there’s considerable nostalgia in the dish. When I was a little kid, when our parents would take us into the city (St. Louis) to eat, chances were we’d eat at a huge, Art Deco style cafeteria. My favorite dishes there were egg fu young and chop suey. I’m not sure why. I think it was the sound of the words and a taste for the exotic even at age 5.

Now, that version was definitely of the non-authentic (but not entrails!) type, typified by this Woolworth’s recipe. I love the opening ingredient in that recipe: “1 tablespoon lard or Crisco shortening.” This was in the days of a St. Louis that still had electric buses that click-click-clicked around town. I tried to identify the name of that old Art Deco cafeteria (it wouldn’t exist now, of course), but couldn’t. However, my searching did turn up a neat page–a list of defunct restaurant chains (see Defunct restaurant chains of the United States).

I was also pleased to discover, during my couple years residence recently in Hawaii, that Honolulu sports a number of restaurants exclusively devoted to chop suey (see this Google search). So, if you get a hankering for chop suey, check out what they have at the Lucky Star.

However, I recommend you try one of their more authentic dishes. Everything there is good. You simply can’t go wrong. I very, very highly recommend the Sa Cha Eggplant sizzling plate.

If you’re interested in fresh produce you definitely want to make it to the Saturday morning market. Here’s their website, www.saturdaymorningmarket.com/, a map, and some pretty pictures I took at the market: German bread, pastries, and very fresh fish and Saturday Morning Market.

Midweek, my favorite places to buy fresh produce are City Produce, any day, and Gulfport Fresh Market on Tuesdays.

For very, very fresh seafood, I recommend Island Seafood Market and Bistro.

There are other markets and specialty shops–too many to easily mention–but, the above are my usual produce and fish shopping haunts. For more possibilities, visit the Index page of Inkwatu at inkwatu.com/index/ and look under the Food category.

AMBERJACK PHILLY CHEESE SANDWICH

SADLY, ISLAND SEAFOOD MARKET & BISTRO IS NO MORE–IT WAS A CASUALTY OF THE DIFFICULT ECONOMY. IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL IDEA AND CONCEPT THOUGH. IT WILL BE MISSED

At a recent St. Petersburg community event, I saw a booth for a new fish market near downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. This, I had to know more about. The fish section of Publix isn’t all that bad, really, but nothing beats a small, good fish market with fresh fish. One good one, locally, is the Mid Peninsula Seafood Market and Restaurant, but it’s not near downtown. This new place is. Like Mid Peninsula, it is a restaurant as well as a fish market. I’d carefully saved the literature I’d picked up about the new place and went there for lunch the other day. Boy, am I glad to have found this place!

It’s the Island Seafood Market (www.islandseafoodmarket.com), 2057 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, FL 33713; 727-821-8181. Owners, Linda Schuch and Elizabeth Moch have only been open about two months. I truly hope their market/bistro is successful. It deserves to be. They’ve got an excellent product: “fresh, locally caught fish, shellfish and live cold water lobster from Maine” and a bistro with some very inventive, great tasting light meals. One such meal is the novel sandwich idea pictured above (click on the image for a mouth-watering closeup).

ARTWORK FOR SALE

I adore inventive recipes that combine familiar elements in new ways, such as Nitally’s Thai-Mexican Fusion Cuisine dishes (like her panang burrito), the grouper mole at Tangelo’s Grille, (both St. Pete establishments) or the blackened grouper Reuben sandwich at Skipper’s Smokehouse over in Tampa. Along these lines, Island Seafood had a special the other day that I just had to try: a Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich made with amberjack tuna instead of beef. Wow! It was terrific. The sauce (also of their invention), the cooked peppers and onions, the cheese, and the grilled tuna were a perfect match on a light, crispy roll.

Be sure to check out their online menu and specials. Among the things I want to try are their fish tacos (an example of a unique combo that’s now standard fare everywhere) and their crab pita…doesn’t that sound good?

AN INTERIOR WALL

Their website (www.islandseafoodmarket.com) has a link to vote for Island Seafood Market as Creative Loafing Best of the Bay 2009. That’s what I’m doing right now! There’s also a useful link to Florida Seafood Recipes; their recipe cards are also available for free at the Island Seafood Market.

The Island Seafood Market is part of the Grand Central District Association, a collection of unique, independent businesses along a stretch of Central Avenue that has been revitalized by entrepreneurs with a contemporary vision. I strongly encourage you to visit the Grand Central district and while you’re there pick up something to eat in or take home from the Island Seafood Market. You might also, as I did, go right next door to Haslam’s Book Store, Florida’s largest bookstore, and pick yourself up some mental nourishment, too.

Island Seafood is open Tues-Thurs, 11:30am-8pm; Fri-Sat, 11:30-10; closed Sunday & Monday.

STOREFRONT

GROUPER FRITTERS AND BLACKENED GROUPER SANDWICH

This is the place I take out-of-town guests to impress them with the quality of local seafood: Dockside Dave’s! It’s in my personal top 10 favorite places to eat in the Tampa Bay area.

PART OF MADEIRA BEACH DOCKSIDE DAVE’S INTERIOR

Why? Well…

• the grouper is locally caught
• the seafood is as fresh as you can get and tip-top quality
• it’s open grill cooking
• best grouper sandwich in town (prepared choice of 5 ways)–huge!
• seafood bisque (with grouper, scallops, and shrimp)
• grouper or chicken Caesar salad (for when I’m feeling the need to diet)
• wine and beer (draft & imported)
• soft drinks like raspberry tea
• stellar appetizers (entree sized portions in my opinion) like…
• U Peel-em shrimp
• grouper bites
• grouper fritters (I almost always buy some to take home)
• crab cakes
• fried calamari
• smoked amberjack fish spread and others
• plus…
• black grouper, jumbo shrimp (a variety of ways), scallop, and whole belly clam dinners
• and various pasta and landlubber dinners

It’s my opinion, but also the opinion of many others, that Dockside Dave’s has the best seafood in town.

MADEIRA BEACH DOCKSIDE DAVE’S FRONT PORCH

Now remember, this is a beach bar. Very casual. It’s rustic (but very clean). The food is served in baskets (but with real tableware). If you’re sitting outside in front at the Madeira Beach location, the traffic noise can be intense and the view of the Gulf is only what realtors would call a “peek-a-boo view.” But, I put up with that because the food and the service at Dockside Dave’s is SO good. I’ve yet to have a server that wasn’t a delight. The food never takes a long time coming. And, it’s great food.

Please remember, as the Inkwatu Restaurant page says: “These restaurants fit my taste for independently owned establishments with tasty food, pleasing ambiance, friendly staff, ethnic authenticity, inventive dishes, and reasonable prices.” I don’t critique restaurants; I report on the ones I like. (I ignore the rest.) So if it seems that I like all the restaurants reviewed in Inkwatu in some way (not always in the same way), that’s because I do!

However, even among the ones I like. There are some I like better than others. When it comes to seafood, Dockside Dave’s is my personal favorite.

EXTERIOR VIEW OF MADEIRA BEACH DOCKSIDE DAVE’S

There was an item among the daily specials last time that almost tempted me away from my usual grouper sandwich: “Spicy shrimp tacos!” Sounds wonderful. That’s the kind of problem to have, right? Now some might think the following is also a problem (I sure don’t): they only serve one dessert: “Barbara’s Homemade Key Lime Pie!”

Dockside Dave’s is at two locations: 14701 Gulf Blvd., Madeira Beach, FL 33708 (727-392-9399) and 7141 Gulf Blvd., St. Pete Beach, FL 33706 (727-360-4200). Hours are Mon-Sat 11-10, Sun 12-10. They take Visa and MasterCard.

EXTERIOR VIEW OF ST. PETE BEACH DOCKSIDE DAVE’S

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The 4th Street Shrimp Store, which has a first rate website complete with menus and history and photos, is one of those places that’s all dolled up like a tourist trap but isn’t really: it serves pretty good seafood and is crowded with locals at all times. It is a “store,” too. In addition to the seating for meals at the full bar, outside in front, in an area inside near the bar and in a large back room, there is a small fish market where you can buy whatever is fresh that day, which usually includes basics such as shrimp (of course) and snow crab.

In the tradition of any southern seafood restaurant, they have all-you-can-eat specials on different days. Mondays are all-you-can-eat fried clams. (I’ve done that several times which is why I’m dieting now.) Tuesdays are all-you-can-eat snow crab, which is what I had last time. Now, if you’ve never eaten snow crab, do try it. Dip its sweet meat into your cup melted, salted butter and it’s a beautiful taste. But be forewarned: eating a snow crab is a bit of a challenge. It’s not as simple as breaking into a lobster or into the monster claws of an Alaskan king crab. Breaking the arms of a snow crab at exactly the right mid-point, and gently pulling until the meat comes out in one big piece is an acquired skill…and a messy learning experience. Fortunately, the Shrimp Store provides you with a complete roll of paper towels for damage control.

If you check out the menus on their website, you’ll note that they have early bird specials (3pm to 6pm), a kids menu, and some food for landlubbers, plus every traditional Floridian seafood restaurant favorite you can think of. Of course, being true to their name, they have shrimp prepared almost any way you can imagine. My favorite shrimp deal there, and also their best meal value, is on Wednesdays, when it’s all-you-can-eat shrimp either boiled or fried. When I go for that, I’m sure they lose money.

The Shrimp Store is located at 1006 4th St. N., St. Petersburg, FL 33701 (727-822-0325). They’re open for lunch and dinner, Sunday and Monday, 11am-8:30pm, and Tuesday through Saturday, 11am-9pm.

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If you look back over the different Inkwatu food posts, you’ll notice three St. Pete restaurants I’ve covered that have sushi bars:

• 2009/01/31: BKK Thai Cuisine and Sushi Bar
• 2008/09/13: The King and I
• 2008/05/10: Ichiban Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar

Today’s post, Hook’s Sushi Bar and Thai Food, adds a fourth to that list. Interestingly, all four restaurants are Thai owned, but have Japanese sushi bars. Although their sushi is quite good, I tend to think of BKK and The King and I more for their Thai food and not so much their sushi. Ichiban’s and Hook’s are my favorites for sushi and where I head when I’m in the mood for that.

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Owner, Hook Atsavinh, has a motto for his restaurant: “All Fish and No Bull!” That’s very apt. This is a serious sushi palace. (Please the comments section below for information on Mr. Atsavihn’s recent, unexpected death.) My favorite at lunch is the Maki Combo, but occasionally, I venture out into some of the more extravagant rolls. The photos of his sushi “boats” prepared for large parties are impressive. Hook’s website posts both their lunch and dinner menus online. They are so extensive, I would suggest studying them before you go. Plan ahead so you’re not overwhelmed and just order your habitual dish (which is what usually happens to me). I also recommend stopping by to pick up a copy of their takeout menu. Hooks does a very brisk takeout. His menu, including takeout, includes some Korean, Americanized-Chinese, and a number of Japanese tempura dishes. Like, Ichiban, Hook’s is one of the places I go to eat eel: he serves up a very good Unagi Don (barbecued eel on a bowl of sushi rice, topped with eel sauce).

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Hook’s is located at 1210 9th St. N., St. Petersburg, FL 33705 (727-898-4665 Fax: 727-898-4606) and is open 11am to 2pm, Monday thru Friday, for lunch, and 5:30pm to 10pm for dinner; Saturday thru Sunday, dinner only, 5:30pm to 10pm. Be sure to check out Hook’s Wednesday night $1.00 sushi special! You can get a single piece of sushi (from a selection o sixteen different rolls) for only $1.00. Not only is that a good deal, economically, it’s good for experimentation. For instance, if you’ve always wanted to try conch but didn’t want to commit to an entire roll, you can have just one piece. Hook’s also has a large assortment of Asian salads and appetizers. Often, that’s all I want at lunchtime, just something light. Other times, I’m ravenous. Pictured below is what was left of my Maki Combo by the time I remembered I want to take a picture of it!

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(Note: all the pictures in this post link to larger images in Flickr;
just click on the images you see here.)

There are three booths at the St. Petersburg Saturday Morning Market that I didn’t cover in my earlier post about the market. These vendors have become important mainstays of my weekly shopping (the market is open 9am to 2pm, from early October to late May).

Fresh Baked German Bread, Amish Butter and More…

The most important of those three for me is the baker, Olga, who sets up shop at the Saturday Morning Market with a stall that doesn’t even have a name, just the phrase, “Fresh Baked German Bread, Amish Butter and More…”. It’s not even listed on the St. Petersburg Saturday Morning Market website. But, my own experiences with these breads have made me a fan of Olga’s baking. Another customer, an older woman with a thick accent (I discovered she’s from Poland), told me “this is the best bread…they make very good bread.” She’s right. It’s real European style bread. I’m going to miss her breads in my diet during the market off season .

I can never decide between my two favorite breads of hers, so I’m “forced” to buy both. One is her gluten free bread, which I buy not because it’s gluten free but for its flavor and texture–sour, dense, dark, chewy. (The last loaf I bought was still warm.) The other is her multi-grain bread which must be the healthiest bread on earth. Take a look at the pictures here and you’ll see the quality of bread they make. I suggest clicking on the pictures for real close-up views. You can almost smell the yeast.

A word of warning: Olga’s bread disappears quickly. Get there early. (That’s true for all the food stalls.) I usually get there a half hour before official opening time. Even then the parking lot is almost full and the other folks like me have started buying their favorites.

Michael’s Extraordinary Desserts

According to the Saturday Morning Market’s website:

“Michael Ostrander brings over 35 years of experience as an award winning executive pastry chef in premier hotels around the US. Come sample items like morning glory muffins, blueberry pound cake, apple strudel, rum almond croissant, tiramisu, coconut macaroons, almond biscotti, pumpkin bread, and more. You’ll be ‘wowed’ by the extraordinary flavors and textures of his desserts.”

They’re not kidding. I had a blueberry strudel there recently that was orgasmic. More blueberry than crust, it was the most extraordinary pastry I’ve ever had. For special orders, contact him at 727-744-6073; 230 4th St. N., St. Petersburg. In addition to appearing at the Saturday Morning Market he also sells at the Green Market in Dunedin (October through April). Also, a number of local culinary establishments carry his work. With 35+ years of experience, his bio takes up an entire column in his brochure. His tag line is “Life is Short, Eat Dessert First.” Good advice.

Fisher’s Seafood Market

From the Saturday Morning Market website:

“If you’re looking for the freshest possible seafood, you’ve found the place. Bringing fish fresh off the docks, Martin Fisher filets fish on the spot including snapper, grouper, and tuna. You’ll also find tasty smoked fish spread, shrimp, scallops, clams and more.”

The fish pictured below was caught by the owner, Martin Fisher (727-418-3129), himself, on his own boat, that morning. That is fresh! The smoked fish spread referred to in the above blurb is why I make a beeline for Fisher’s every Saturday. My traditional Saturday lunch is his smoked fish spread on Olga’s thinly sliced gluten free bread. I’m writing this at about 5:30 on a Saturday morning. I can hardly wait to get to the market and then…have lunch!

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SPICY LIME GROUPER

One of the most convincing reviews I ever read once was, “Just go!” I’m going to quote that author here regard the BKK Thai Restaurant (5267 Park St. N., Pinellas, Florida 33709; 727-545-1781): “Just go!”

BKK is the designation for the Bangkok airport. The last time I had Thai style fish this good was in Bangkok. This restaurant is what my son would describe as a “good restaurant to take a date to”–quiet, dimly lit, nice furnishing, cloth napkins (don’t laugh…not all restaurants have them). The main attraction, for me, of the BKK is its fish menu. Their grouper in a spicy lime sauce with celery, fresh garlic, galangal root (a Thai spice similar to ginger), kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, chilies and lime juice is my absolute favorite. It’s beautiful on the plate. It tastes even better.

Most Thai restaurants have two, maybe three fish dishes. BKK has seven. Next time I go, I want to try their fish in tamarind and pineapple sauce. Doesn’t that sound good? Their menu has a number of dishes that I’ve not seen on other Thai menus about town, such as a red curry fish cake and string bean appetizer in plum sauce on cucumber salad (tod mon pla) or a deep-fried roast duck salad (yum ped yang).

There are even inventive fried rice dishes such as black-olive fried rice with minced pork, Thai sausage, cashew nut and string beans, or their BKK Supreme fried rice with crab, shrimp, chicken, Thai sausage, cashews, pineapple and raisins. The four different duck entrees (tamarind, panang, red curry, basil sauce) are all moderately priced and look interesting. Of course, the BKK has all the usual dishes including Drunken Chicken, another one that’s usually not on menus.

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BKK INTERIOR

Often, desserts are the shortest suits for Asian restaurants. Not so, BKK; they have nine. I adore their green tea ice cream. If I can ever tear myself away from that, I hope to try their pumpkin custard, or fried cheese cake…or maybe the mango and sticky rice.

I guess you can tell I like this place. It’s a bit out of the way–it’s in a strip mall just south of the intersection of 54th Ave. N. and Park St. N. It’s a bit of a trek from downtown, but if you’re at the beach, it’s much closer than you think–just come across 150th Ave (Bay Pines Blvd.) to Park St. and turn north, or come across Park Blvd. from Redington Shores through Seminole to Park St. and turn south. If you’re downtown or in south St. Pete, you’ll have your favorite ways to get to Park Street, then just head north.

They’re open for lunch Monday-Sunday, 11:3am-3:00pm and dinner Monday-Thursday, 4:30pm-9:30pm, Friday-Saturday, 4:30pm-10:00pm, and Sunday, 4:30-9:00pm. That it’s open for late suppers is another plus. I’ve never tried their sushi but it’s an extensive list and even includes several eel selections (I love eel); I would assume their sushi is of the same quality as their Thai dishes.

They take credit cards, and their entrees are mostly between $15 and $20; however, there are a number of simpler entrees in the $10-$12 range and I’ve seen families with kids there more than once, so it is possible to dine there quite affordably. The portions are large. I always take home half for lunch the next day!

I recommend this restaurant very highly.

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BKK EXTERIOR

SIGN AT ABC SEAFOOD

After having been totally spoiled from my years in Tampa with access to China Yuan, one of the first questions I asked upon moving to St. Pete was, Where’s your most authentic Chinese restaurant. At that time, an extremely authentic St. Pete Chinese restaurant (Lucky Star) was still out of business after its kitchen had burned and I had no idea where to go. There are the usual Chinese take-out places, which are fun, but not authentic, and there are a few of the dreaded Florida-style Chinese buffets. But was there any authentic Chinese restaurant?

Fortunately there was: ABC Chinese Seafood Restaurant (2705 54th Ave. N. #3; 727-522-1888). As is often the case with culinary gems, its location and outward appearance is deceiving. Nestled in a long, strip-mall just west of I-275 with a tattoo parlor its next-door neighbor, you’d be more than likely to give the ABC a pass if you didn’t know it is extremely authentic.

Like the China Yuan, all its seafood is still live, swimming in tanks, for you to choose. The roast ducks hang by the kitchen. It’s filled with huge round tables with large lazy-susans in the middle for extended families to sit around, sharing dishes. The numerous times I’ve been there every dish has been perfect. My favorites are the spicy eggplant with tofu and the honey walnut shrimp, but their selections are much wider than that: more than a dozen different selections from each of the following categories: appetizers, soups, lobster & crabs, oysters & clams, frog & conch, seafood (shrimp, scallop & calamari), and various fish; plus, casseroles, poultry, beef & pork entrees, tofu & vegetables, and various rice and noodle dishes. It’s an enormous menu.

The authentic Chinese restaurant I’d mentioned earlier than had burned, Lucky Star, has reopened in a new location (4175 66th St. N., St Petersburg, FL 33709; 727-381-8888‎). I’ll be reporting on it soon. It’s as good as ever. Now that it’s open again St. Pete has two first rate, A++, authentic Hong Kong-Cantonese style restaurants. I recommend them both to you very highly. When you try the ABC Seafood, try to arrive a little early to enjoy nosing around the other shops. There are several of interest.

BUNS FROM JOANS ANN BAKERY

Joans Ann Bakery (2705 54th Ave. N. #14, St. Petersburg, FL 33714; 727-525-0632), just a few doors down from the ABC, has freshly made selections. I picked up a mung bean bun and a savory ham and corn bun (pictured here). If you’ve never had mung bean paste, it’s difficult to describe. It’s both sweet and savory at the same time. One quickly develops an addiction to it.

The ABC is only open in the evenings, but the Jung-Il Oriental Food & Gift (2705 54th Ave. N. #10, St Petersburg, FL 33714; 727-528-9010), another of its neighbors in the strip mall, is a Korean grocery and deli lunchery. The last time I was there it was advertising lunch specials of bibimbab, bulgogi (a dish I’ve written about before here and here), and hot fried squid.

It’s nice to know where you can get good Korean food. St. Pete has many excellent Thai restaurants and the two excellent Chinese restaurants mentioned here, but–other than the Jung-Il–I’ve yet to find a good Korean restaurant in St. Pete (Tampa has several). Authentic St. Pete Japanese restaurants also hard to find (I’m not counting sushi places, of which there are several, or Japanese steak houses).

The Jung-Il also has a quite respectable offering of Asian groceries including some that even the larger stores don’t carry, such as a wide assortment of Furikake, various mixtures of seasoned seaweed & sesame seeds used to flavor rice and to coat seared meat and fish. I made its acquaintance when living in Hawaii and it’s become a standard item among my spices right next to the garlic and ginger.

So, head up to 54th Ave. N., soon. You’ll enjoy your experience in this taste of authenticity of St. Pete’s small, but wonderful Asian community.

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STRIP MALL WITH ABC SEAFOOD, JOANS ANN BAKERY, S& C WEST INDIAN FOOD,AND JUNG-IL ORIENTAL FOOD & GIFT STORE

NOTE: I’ve upgraded the Index page (one of the tabs underneath the banner) to include a listing of all posts by major category as well as the reverse chronological order listing. I’ve also added my favorite restaurant listings, grouped by type, in a Restaurants page. For now, that page is just St. Pete, but I’ll eventually expand it to include Tampa. Where a restaurant has a corresponding Inkwatu article, I’ve given a link to that article from the Restaurant page.

It’s a good sign you’re in for ol’ time Florida fried seafood if your table has paper placemats featuring a map of Florida. That’s the Mid Peninsula Seafood Market and Restaurant (400 49th St. S., St Petersburg, FL 33707; 727-327-8309). Almost all Google reviews agree that fried fish is the specialty of the house; I concur. My last visit there, I had the farm raised fried catfish with hush puppies and rice pilaf (i.e. dirty rice, minus the chicken livers and gizzards). The fry was excellent: light batter, crisp, the fish moist within. This is the place I return to for southern fried seafood.

Mid Peninsula Seafood is a restaurant, but it’s also a fresh fish seafood market. That’s how I first made its acquaintance. I was looking for some crab to make crab cakes and this was where friends sent me. Mid Peninsula Seafood has a pretty large selection of seafood. Of course, as in any seafood market, it’s incumbent upon the buyer to give the cut a thorough sniff test. As I’ve heard countless times, “fresh fish should smell like the sea, not like fish.” Even though Publix, indeed, has pretty darned good fresh fish in its stores, I just enjoy going to a small, independent fish market to get my fish. Cooking isn’t just a matter of expediency, it’s also the totality of the experience. So, for vegetables I like a road-side veggie stand or farmer’s market; for fish, a fish market, especially Mid Peninsula Seafood.

The very informal eat-in restaurant portion has a definite New Orleans motif which fits well with the menu. In addition to fish sandwiches, tacos, and lunches of six different kinds of fish–fried, grilled, or blackened–plus oysters (fried), shrimp, clams, scallops, and chicken (is your mouth watering yet?), they have calamari, crab, gator, and conch. You can get beer and wine in the restaurant. They also have a number of “big orders” for feeding large crowds like tailgate parties. They take major credit cards (important to know, since many St Pete independent businesses do not). Everything is Dine In or Take Out, and they’re open Monday through Saturday, 11 am til 9 pm, closed Sundays…or, as their card says, “Sunday: Gone Fishin!”