Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats?

Re:Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (kevincad)

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 09:37:18 GMT

kbkirksey

I'm going to be travelling to Tampa/St. Pete Florida in a couple of weeks, and I'm dying for some good fried mullet. I haven't had any since I moved from Florida 15 years ago. Any suggestions? Any suggestions on other good places to eat in the area? TIA!

Having lived there for many, many years one place that always has very good SMOKED mullet is the Crab Shack. You'll need to go across Tampa Bay on the Gandy Bridge but it's a nice drive and worth it for the mullet. Skipper's Smokehouse is a cool place to hang out and they have pretty good mullet there as well. It has a grea vibe. North part of Tampa.

http://www.skipperssmokehouse.com/venue/menu.html

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (RibDog)

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 07:49:21 GMT

sayhonk, two places I would suggest trying for the fried mullet is Skyway Jack's and Munch's with both of them being in south St. Petersburg. Both places have fried mullet and eggs available for breakfast. That is if they can get the mullet.

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (sayhonk)

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 23:12:18 GMT

Michael Hoffman

People eat mullet? We used them for bait.

Mullet tastes better than any other fish when it's fresh and cooked in a cornmeal batter in peanut oil at the correct temperature.
Sardines are used for bait in Norway, but they are delicious and healthy.
What we need are clean waterways for our fishing industry. How many cities are dumping their treated waste into our rivers and streams?
...and Mullet are vegetarians; the other fish eat just about any organism.

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (kevincad)

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 11:00:35 GMT

bravehearteire

Try Skipper's Smokehouse. It's pretty close to USF. It's been 20 years since I was there, but I noticed it still gets a lot of awards for best seafood in Tampa. I'm not sure what it's like now, but back then it was just a downhome seafood shack, with the best shark and gator I ever tried.

Skipper's is a great place! Love the atmosphere, and stay for the music, they have really good bands out back.

Re:Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (kevincad)

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 08:59:25 GMT

I don't know if they have fried mullet, but for some darned fine smoked mullet, try the Crab Shack, on Gandy.

Re:Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (sayhonk)

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 23:35:30 GMT

I have lived here in the Tampa area since 2005 and have yet to find any restaurant that knows how to fry mullet correctly. Seems like they all want to put flour on it, when anyone should know that cornmeal and just a very small--VERY SMALL amt of flour is mixed with the meal, salt and pepper, and the grease should be at least 375 degrees F. and deep fried, not pan fried. I am from lower alabama and the panhandle of Florida and was raised on fried mullet and mullet roe. If anyone gets the chance, there used to be and maybe still is a restaurant called Gators in the Milton, Fl. area not far off the I-10. They have the most perfect mullet, next to MaMa's that I ever tasted. And it does matter what body of water the mullet was caught in---because if they grew up in a muddy bottom water, they will taste bitter. You want to get mullet in a sandy bottom area like Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, Fl. That's good eatin'.

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (JimInKy)

Sat, 07 Feb 2004 02:48:00 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Sundancer7

JimInKy: Do you plan on attendance? It is close for me and sounds like a neat weekend trip for me. I hope the experts on this site will be there.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Paul, I would like to attend either the Tryon or Dillard event this summer. The Dillard event is the most likely choice for me as it's in early August and I will be in the Carolinas or Georgia then. An added bonus is a chance to meet John. Incidentally, the Dillard House still has a good reputation. I check on that all the time.

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (RibDog)

Fri, 06 Feb 2004 22:28:45 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by JimInKy

John, Do you plan on being at Tryon this June?

There is a strong possibility that I will not. It will be the first one I have missed in 6 years. I have had to cut back on my contests this year as my wife is not doing so well and I can't leave her alone too much. But she will probably be coming with me to Dillard so that one is for sure.

John

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (RibDog)

Fri, 06 Feb 2004 22:26:53 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Sundancer7

Ribdog: I will be in Tryon in June. I looked up their web site and I cannot wait. It ain't far from Knoxville, TN. I have attached their website for your convenience.

http://www.blueridgebbqfestival.com/

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

One suggestion for you Paul. Try and get there on Friday afternoon and night. On Saturday, the teams get pretty serious up until about 2 PM when they have sent in their last turn-in for judging. Then it is the proberbial "Miller" time.

Make sure you stop by and say hi to Lee and Bobbie McWright of the Music City Pig Pals team. They are out of Nashville and will be there in the vending section. I was there with them last year working warm-up grill for the ribs. Tell them RibDog said to say hi.

You will have a great time.

John

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (Sundancer7)

Fri, 06 Feb 2004 18:36:22 GMT

JimInKy: Do you plan on attendance? It is close for me and sounds like a neat weekend trip for me. I hope the experts on this site will be there.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (JimInKy)

Fri, 06 Feb 2004 18:20:26 GMT

John, Do you plan on being at Tryon this June?

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (Sundancer7)

Fri, 06 Feb 2004 18:04:00 GMT

Ribdog: I will be in Tryon in June. I looked up their web site and I cannot wait. It ain't far from Knoxville, TN. I have attached their website for your convenience.

http://www.blueridgebbqfestival.com/

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (RibDog)

Fri, 06 Feb 2004 17:25:25 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by JimInKy

John, Is the Dillard you mention the one in Georgia? If so, what's the name of the event? I go the Highlands, N.C. at least once every year on a route that takes me within a few miles of Dillard, Georgia.

I'll look into the Blue Ridge Barbecue Festival at Tryon, N.C.

Yes Jim, that is the one. It is during the first weekend of August and the contest is always filled up as they have limited spaces. During the contest, they always have bluegrass music being played.

Hope to see you there.

John

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (RibDog)

Fri, 06 Feb 2004 17:23:45 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by clothier

Hey John, the fact that you wrote the the Jack Daniels is an invitational made me wonder. Can anybody enter these events? Do you have to qualify in some way?

No, the Jack Daniels is purely by invitation only. To get an invitation, you have to first start by winning a "qualifying" contest. This is usually a contest that has been declared a state championship by proclamation by the govenor. If there is more than one in a state (please don't ask the obvious question here as many states have more than one), then the winners go into a drawing for that state. Some contest winners have automatic entries such the defending champ of the JDI, the winner of the American Royal, the winner of the MIM, etc.

In the end, there are only so many spaces in the park behind the town square in Lynchburg. As such, the number of invitations are limited.

Hope this made it clearer than mud.

John

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (zothhh)

Fri, 06 Feb 2004 10:01:17 GMT

"Those are just a few of my favorites of the bigger contests. If you come to the Jack, make sure you look me up as I am always there as a volunteer worker for Jack Daniels in the contest."

Will do!

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (JimInKy)

Fri, 06 Feb 2004 09:43:11 GMT

John, Is the Dillard you mention the one in Georgia? If so, what's the name of the event? I go the Highlands, N.C. at least once every year on a route that takes me within a few miles of Dillard, Georgia.

I'll look into the Blue Ridge Barbecue Festival at Tryon, N.C.

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (RibDog)

Fri, 06 Feb 2004 09:05:28 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by JimInKy

quote:
Originally posted by RibDog

Hi Jim.

When you come down, let me know and I will meet you at Ted's.

John

Absolutely, John. Ted Peter's it will be.

You know we may just cross paths on the barbecue circuit this year. I'm thinking of attending Memphis in May, or maybe the competition you and I talked about in Georgia.

That would be great Jim. While I will not be at Memphis this year, I just got on the judging list for Dillard last week.

John

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (RibDog)

Fri, 06 Feb 2004 09:03:19 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by zothhh

Speaking of the BBQ circuit, I was going to take my Dad to one of the "Grand Slam" events in the next year, but probably not Memphis in May because we just got back from Memphis. Which would you recommend?

In order of preference:

1. Jack Daniels Invitational Lynchburg, TN/late October.

2. American Royal, Kansas City, MO/Early October.

3. Blue Ridge Barbecue Festival, Tryon, NC/Early June.

Those are just a few of my favorites of the bigger contests. If you come to the Jack, make sure you look me up as I am always there as a volunteer worker for Jack Daniels in the contest.

John

John

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (zothhh)

Fri, 06 Feb 2004 08:52:58 GMT

Speaking of the BBQ circuit, I was going to take my Dad to one of the "Grand Slam" events in the next year, but probably not Memphis in May because we just got back from Memphis. Which would you recommend?

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (JimInKy)

Fri, 06 Feb 2004 05:32:49 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by RibDog

Hi Jim.

When you come down, let me know and I will meet you at Ted's.

John

Absolutely, John. Ted Peter's it will be.

You know we may just cross paths on the barbecue circuit this year. I'm thinking of attending Memphis in May, or maybe the competition you and I talked about in Georgia.

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (JimInKy)

Fri, 06 Feb 2004 05:22:50 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Rusty246

quote:
Originally posted by JimInKy

Sushi Girl, Do you ever visit the real good seafood restaurant on the south side of town? I can heartily recommend them but the name escapes me (I think its on highway 441/25). It's across the street from a popular Thai place where I've also had some good food.

Does Gainesville and vicinity have some roadfood gems we haven't heard of? If so, we'd really like to hear about them.

By the way, you can get smoked mullet and mullet spread in Cedar Key restaurants.

Are you speaking of Cedar River??

Nope. I'm referring to Cedar Key, the resort island in the Gulf.

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (RibDog)

Thu, 05 Feb 2004 22:22:31 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Kristi S.

quote:
Originally posted by RibDog
Hi Jim.

When you come down, let me know and I will meet you at Ted's.

John

Can I join in? This can be the Florida version of Roadfood Convention (mini-me)!

You and any other Roadfooders are welcome to join in. The more the merrier. Sorry I had to slip that in.

John

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (Rusty246)

Thu, 05 Feb 2004 13:49:30 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by JimInKy

Sushi Girl, Do you ever visit the real good seafood restaurant on the south side of town? I can heartily recommend them but the name escapes me (I think its on highway 441/25). It's across the street from a popular Thai place where I've also had some good food.

Does Gainesville and vicinity have some roadfood gems we haven't heard of? If so, we'd really like to hear about them.

By the way, you can get smoked mullet and mullet spread in Cedar Key restaurants.

Are you speaking of Cedar River??

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (Kristi S.)

Thu, 05 Feb 2004 13:04:12 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by RibDog
Hi Jim.

When you come down, let me know and I will meet you at Ted's.

John

Can I join in? This can be the Florida version of Roadfood Convention (mini-me)!

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (Cakes)

Thu, 05 Feb 2004 11:37:20 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by JimInKy

quote:
Originally posted by Cakes

The Columbia is still there and elsewhere. Fun place to eat unless you get a grumpy waiter. The 1905 salad is great as is the Australian lobster. Little pricey.

Cakes, There's a Columbia Restaurant in St. Augustine where I had a Cuban dinner so good, I returned the next day to do it again. That Columbia's was one of several in the state owned by the same people. Is the Tampa area Columbia part of this group?

Brief description of the St. Augustine place:
Columbia Restaurant - Spanish Cuisine since 1905. A big selection of authentic food. A blend of Cuban, South American, Spanish dishes featuring chicken, steak and seafood. Lunch and dinner. $5.95-$20.95 98 St. George Street. (904) 824-3341

Jim and Kristi,

They are all owned by the same people. The one in Sarasota is on St. Armands Circle which is a ritzy shopping area on Lido Key. You won't get the Australian lobster for $20.95!

Most of the waiters in Sarasota have an attitude. That is part of the ambiance. They are proud Latino men. Just once did it interfere with the great food. There is or was a waitstaff member that filled water glasses and such that would do bird calls like a ventriloquist.
Once you figured it out it was a lot of fun watching the other people looking around for the birds.

Cakes

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (kbkirksey)

Thu, 05 Feb 2004 10:40:05 GMT

quote:
I'm wondering if you like barbeque and The Woodlands Barbecue Parlor in Blowing Rock, N.C.?

I like it, but it's not my favorite BBQ place. Truth be told, I haven't found too many BBQ places around these parts--Boone, NC--that really turn me on. I grew up in NW Florida and went to school in Alabama, so the NC style of BBQ isn't what I grew up thinking of as BBQ. I _love_ Sonny's BBQ, and I the best ribs I've ever eaten were at Mark's Feed Store in Louisville, KY.

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (RibDog)

Thu, 05 Feb 2004 09:42:10 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by JimInKy

quote:
Originally posted by kbkirksey

Well, I got to try a couple of places while I was in Tamap/St. Pete:

Ted Peter's Smoked Fish - The inviting aroma of wood smoke was present the second I stepped out of the car. I sat down at the nearest wooden picnic table under the awning, and I ordered the smoked mullet dinner. The waitress brought out a plate that was a thing of beauty. A whole mullet, split and smoked over red oak, german potato salad, cole slaw, tomato slice, onion slice, and pickle spear. The mullet was simply the best piece of fish I have ever eaten! It was moist, tender, and wonderfully smoky. Eating smoked mullet at Ted Peter's is a religious experience. I picked out every little piece of meat with my fingers and licked off the divine smoky mullet grease. I went back again a couple of days later and had the mullet again, and I took home a couple of pints of that fabulous smoked fish spread.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions!

Thanks so much for sharing these detailed reports. Before you used the word, "religious", in your description of Ted Peters, I was thinking you might wind up saying that.

Now, I simply must get there sometime.

I'm wondering if you like barbeque and The Woodlands Barbecue Parlor in Blowing Rock, N.C.?

Hi Jim.

When you come down, let me know and I will meet you at Ted's.

John

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (Kristi S.)

Thu, 05 Feb 2004 08:26:14 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by Cakes

The Columbia is still there and elsewhere. Fun place to eat unless you get a grumpy waiter. The 1905 salad is great as is the Australian lobster. Little pricey.

Sorry you got grumpy service. I assume that was the Ybor location. The last time I ate at the Columbia in St. Pete at the Pier, we had excellent service and in kind, tipped heartily. You may want to try the St. Pete Columbia for a change of pace. Ask for a waterview table...

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (Michael Stern)

Thu, 05 Feb 2004 03:59:37 GMT

A Florida fast-fast food chain that never made it beyond the single, original restaurant:

RE: Tampa/St. Pete FL - Fried Mullet? Other Good Eats? (JimInKy)

Thu, 05 Feb 2004 01:59:42 GMT

quote:
Originally posted by kbkirksey

Well, I got to try a couple of places while I was in Tamap/St. Pete:

Ted Peter's Smoked Fish - The inviting aroma of wood smoke was present the second I stepped out of the car. I sat down at the nearest wooden picnic table under the awning, and I ordered the smoked mullet dinner. The waitress brought out a plate that was a thing of beauty. A whole mullet, split and smoked over red oak, german potato salad, cole slaw, tomato slice, onion slice, and pickle spear. The mullet was simply the best piece of fish I have ever eaten! It was moist, tender, and wonderfully smoky. Eating smoked mullet at Ted Peter's is a religious experience. I picked out every little piece of meat with my fingers and licked off the divine smoky mullet grease. I went back again a couple of days later and had the mullet again, and I took home a couple of pints of that fabulous smoked fish spread.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions!

Thanks so much for sharing these detailed reports. Before you used the word, "religious", in your description of Ted Peters, I was thinking you might wind up saying that.

Now, I simply must get there sometime.

I'm wondering if you like barbeque and The Woodlands Barbecue Parlor in Blowing Rock, N.C.?