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  1. St. Eaters-burg

    Sunday, August 8, 2010

    Yesterday, while shopping for wedding dresses (HOLY canoli!), my Mom and friend brought up (again) the need for me to write a guide to eating one's way around St. Petersburg. After 4 1/2 years living, working, and eating in this fine Sunshine City, I have quite the backlog of recommendations for my friends and family. With the upcoming nuptial event luring in many out-of-town guests, I figured I would make my first stab at collating all my favorite eateries and restaurants in one location. Stay tuned to this series. You won't find a chain restaurant among the bunch.

    Casual St. Eatersburg
    This first category is for the shorts, t-shirt, scrappy flip-flop, baseball hat-wearing crowd. No frills, no pretense. Just good eatin' at a fair price.

    Chattaway's - 358 22nd Ave S
    Slide yourself onto the bench of one of the many umbrella-covered picnic tables at this eclectic garden oasis in South St. Pete. Bathtubs filled with shrubbery, brick-lined patio, and a charming water feature give this place its fun ambience, but the burgers make you keep coming back. I love this place at lunchtime. A Chattaburger and a beer and I'm ready for afternoon.

    Fortunato's - 259 Central Ave
    Pizza just the way I like it -- oversized slices that barely fit onto a paper plate, delicious crust, stringy, gooey mozzarella, and not too much sauce. And the garlic rolls are SO good. You can get more than enough to eat for 8 bucks or less.

    Ringside Cafe - 2742 4th Street N
    Who doesn't love sweet potato chips with horseradish dipping sauce?? Oh, and the place is a haven for lover's of live blues bands. Just don't mind the obvious years of smoking patrons frequenting the place. The tobacco patina gives this place its charm!

    Old Northeast Pizza - 718 2nd Street N
    Right next door to the Old Northeast Tavern (stay tuned), this place offers up more of my kind of pizza (see Fortunato’s), except in whole, huge pies. This is my go-to for pick-up orders for nights in.

    Athenian Garden - 21 3rd St. N
    When I’m craving a gyro, there is no where else in town to go. ‘Nuf said.

    The Tavern - 121 7th Avenue S
    On the campus of The University of South Florida - St. Petersburg, this small outpost offers up great beers at a great price for the frugal undergrad/graduate student. Here you'll find the great minds of the Bayboro marine science community - professors of marine science, NOAA Fisheries staff, and research staff at the Florida Fish & Wildlife Research Institute – talking shop over pints and baskets of food. For lunch have a yummy handmade sandwich (I like the Tennyson Sandwich) and for happy hour have some loaded nachos with your beer of the month. This spot is also great for a post-workout reward ;-)

    I hope this got your taste buds tingling. Up next are my favorite spots for date nights, whether with your honey, your best buds, out-of-town visitors, or the new love interest.

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