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Old 06-14-2012, 03:47 PM
 
17,477 posts, read 38,904,443 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by planedition View Post
All of the above is subjective, but when someone says St. Pete has "better food" than Tampa, they are simply wrong.

To OP: Please do your research and compare restaurants/food scenes in these areas. Tampa has more 5 star restaurants, more 4 star restaurants, more ethnic restaurants than St. Pete hands down. Just for starters. This makes sense, because Tampa is twice as big as St. Pete in terms of population (and at least that much in terms of affluence).

Tampa has Bern's, the Columbia, Brocato's, Iavarone's, Charley's, La Teresita, La Ideal, etc. These are food INSTITUTIONS that the Food Network sends its stars to visit. Tampa has a Whole Foods, St. Pete does not. Tampa (not St. Pete) is slated to get the first Trader Joes in the area. Tampa has a gazillion natural food marts, 2 Fresh Markets and 1 coming soon, farmers markets, ethnic supermarkets for nearly every ethnic group (Guyanese markets, Indian markets, Halal markets, Cuban, Chinese, Korean, Italian, etc.). In Tampa you can get Southern barbecue, soul food, Vietnamese banh mi, a Cuban sandwich, dim sum, authentic NYC pizza, all on the same street (Hillsborough Avenue). Tampa also has the best authentic Italian restaurants in the region. Where they make the sauces and the pasta from scratch.

For those who swear by Taco Bus (not me), it was born in Tampa. Try finding excellent Peruvian grilled chicken in St. Pete. Not gonna happen.


Tampa is not just the food center of the area, it's also a birthing ground for many chains, like World of Beer, PDQ, Carmel Cafe, other OSI (parent co. of Outback) ventures, etc.

About the only thing I can say regarding the St. Pete food scene is that it has Mazzaro's. About Tampa, you can say that it has the Palm, Capital Grille, the only PF Chiangs in the area, the only Roy's, and every other "quality chain" you can think of, Pakistani food, Indian food to die for, a gazillion Greek places, Turkish food, Lebanese food, Caribbean food, Cuban food that is of course the best in the region, Puerto Rican cuisine, Colombian food, every single type of amazing ethnic food you can think of.

People I know who swear and die by Old Northeast and Downtown St. Pete love to bash Tampa, but they end up having to go to Tampa for the food. They especially love to hate on Tampa and then drive to Wrights Deli in Tampa just for a slice of cake.
You have made some good points. The food area is where St. Pete is lacking. Not that it doesn't have some nice places to eat, but compared to Tampa it pales. Plus as you pointed out, St. Pete doesn't have Whole Foods, (Tampa has TWO!) Tampa will be next in line for Trader Joe's after Sarasota's new store opens, Tampa has all the big chains of everything. St. Pete didn't even get a "Fresh Market" until a couple years ago. Tampa by far has better ethnic dining. As much as I do love St. Pete, these things are what make it #2 for me after Sarasota where I live now, because this small city has ALMOST everything Tampa does as far as food/dining/shopping. We just got Carmel Cafe, there is Total Wine, World of Beer, Roy's and soon to get P.F. Chang's.

At the end of the day, it's about what is important to each - more urban feeling with better food and dining choices, or more Bohemian and beachy with a lot of tropical beauty. This is the great thing about the Tampa Bay area, something for everyone.
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Old 06-14-2012, 03:57 PM
 
485 posts, read 1,008,561 times
Reputation: 471
Thanks for the correction. How could I forget that when Whole Foods decided to open a second store in the region,
it chose to open a SECOND STORE IN TAMPA and completely ignore St. Pete/Clearwater.

Whole Foods

Tampa = 2 stores
St. Pete = 0 stores
Clearwater = 0 stores
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Old 06-15-2012, 07:58 AM
 
Location: South Tampa, Maui, Paris
4,417 posts, read 3,775,936 times
Reputation: 5202
Tampa also has a big food truck scene. St. Petersburg doesn't even allow food trucks. I always thought it was strange that St. Petersburg is the more friendly, artsy, progressive, hip area, blah blah, yet it doesn't wand food trucks anywhere within its boundaries (unless they are parked at a specific festival, fair, event, etc.). They actually have a "food truck ban." In this day and age that is completely stupid.
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