Salt Rock Tavern - Tampa

My friends from Tampa took me out to Salt Rock Tavern.

It has a sports bar feel to it, but I feel like most of the people were there for dinner rather then just a drink.

We started looking at the abundant appetizer menu and were finding some interesting sounding things on it when our very friendly waiter pointed out that many of the appetizers were on special for just $5.

With this new information we decided to get three of them.

Coconut Crusted Shrimp

These were quite large and tasty and came served with an orange-ginger dipping sauce.

Tyson’s Makin’ Bacon

(candied nueske bacon with brown sugar, cinnamon and cayenne)

Although the taste was good, an order is just three small pieces (each served in a shot glass). I feel like even at this discounted price that there was not enough of it to make it worth it.

Southern Hushpuppies.

This was my favorite of the three appetizers. The adorable little basket was filled with delicious cornbread hushpuppies, and it was accompanied by a pimento cheese fondue for dipping.

I could go back for more of those at any time!

Then for my entrée I ordered the Ybor Burger.

Topped with guava jelly, melted gruyere, potato sticks, nueske bacon and tavern sauce. This was normally $10, but for a $1 upcharge I switched my regular fries to truffle-parmesan fries.

 The fries were good, definitely worth the extra buck, but it was the Burger that shined.

Everything tasted really fresh, and the guava jelly gave it a little sweetness that I was a big fan of.

To be honest it was one of the better burgers that I have had in a while!

Thank You Salt Rock Tavern! You were really delicious!

El Paso - Tampa

My friend and I love going to Mexican restaurants and are always looking to find one that is new to us. Well she recently introduced me to one of her favorite “new” places called El Paso in Tampa.

On a side note she pointed out that the logo on the door was practically a direct rip off from the “Old El Paso” brand of salsa. I thought it was kind of funny.

The interior was quite cute and spacious, and the server was friendly and efficient.

Like most Mexican restaurants they brought out complimentary chips and salsa, and it was pretty good with a slight kick.

We both opted for what the menu called “Super Lunch”

A little bit of everything: 1 Taco, 1 Burrito, 1 Enchilada, 1 Quesadilla. Served with Beans and Rice. $8.75

It was delivered quickly and was very satisfying. Nothing on the plate was amazing by any means, but it was all quite good and the quality of the ground beef was above average.

I would have no problem going to El Paso again.

In fact I think I would enjoy it.

Southern Moon

I have been seeing reviews for Southern Moon Smokehouse and figured that it was something that I needed to try. When I looked it up on line I realized that Southern Moon has taken over the residence of the BBQ joint that use to be there (went out of business) next to the Winn Dixie on Curry Ford.

My friend that joined me at the last incarnation of this building joined me again for this one to see if and how things have changed.

The décor was pretty much the same, and I must say that I think the layout of the building is a little strange. The environment seems a little stale and the place is so big that it doesn’t seem to be very busy. (Please let the food be good)

My understanding is that they had a local food truck business and this is them branching out and opening their own restaurant. (Not sure of any specifics)

The server and the guy (who I’m assuming is the owner) that seated us were both extremely nice.

As we looked over the menu we noticed that BBQ-wise you just ordered your meat by the pound. We saw several appetizers and sides that caught our eye and decided to just order a few things a la carte.

We started with Fried Green Tomatoes and Pork Skin Nachos.

The Fried Green Tomatoes (6 corn meal battered and crispy fried juicy green tomatoes served with horseradish bama sauce $5.99) were rather hearty. Not being a fan of horseradish I didn’t care for the sauce. I did like the crispness and the quantity and had they been slightly more seasoned they would have been just about the best fried green tomatoes I have ever had.

However the Pork Skin Nachos (pork skin nachos with house cheese sauce, brisket, chili, sour cream, cilantro and jalapeno $8.99) were definitely the winner of the “Favorite Appetizer” award. This was an interesting concept to both of us using the fried pork skins as the tortilla (making it carb free LOL) and the flavors of the meat and cheese sauce were really satisfying and filling.

Knowing we would probably be full from the appetizers we just ordered a couple of sides and then a dessert to share rather then ordering big plates.

2 Potato Fries (sweet and beer battered yukon gold waffle fries served with out house balsamic ketchup $3.99)

The fries themselves were ok (but nothing special) but unfortunately neither of us liked the balsamic ketchup. We thought it had too much balsamic and we wished we could have just had regular ketchup instead.

Mac & Cheese (elbow macaroni tossed with our 4 cheese blend cheese sauce, topped with our house seasoning $3.99)

Loved the fact that it was served in it’s own cast iron skillet, but the flavor was not that great (a little on the bland side). This being said I am probably just a Mac & Cheese snob and it is one of my favorite things in the world, so this one was just a little underwhelming to me.

And finally the Seasonal Bread Pudding (country loaf baked in custard, ask you server about tonight’s flavor $5.99)

Either we didn’t ask about the flavor, or else I can’t remember what it was.

What I do remember was that the portion was large and it was neither good nor bad. By this point in our meal we really didn’t need anything else, and it was not memorable enough for us to order it again.

I am anxious to see if Southern Moon can break the curse of this building and be a success. The service is good and the appetizers were great. I’m not sure if this is the best location for traffic. Hopefully they will have good marketing and can get the customers to come in because I would really like to see them succeed.