10 Best Luxury Bbq Grill

Best Luxury Bbq Grill in 2023

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More Family Treats in Tampa Bay: BBQ, Sandwiches, Fried Clams

The best BBQ ribs in the world (Kojaks), hamburgers, fried clams and sandwiches await the interested diner, all at affordable prices. A collection of non-chain family places that deserve a visit.

First, I must have eaten there and been satisfied; second, the place should not be part of an impersonal chain but reflect the idiosyncrasies of the owners; third, there must be value; and, fourth, they each must be unique enough to warrant a closer look!

With that in mind, let us proceed.

I love Bar-B-Que

Kojak's House of Ribs has been family owned and operated since 1978. It sits at the south end of Bayshore Boulevard (2808 Gandy Boulevard) in a converted southern bungalow-style house beneath the shade of huge live oak trees. One can sit indoors, but if the weather permits, the choice place is the fan-cooled verandah. Get a slab of the best pork spare ribs, anywhere, with a pitcher of cold beer. They have the usual BBQ dinners of pork, chicken, beef and smoked link sausages that will knock your socks off. (I have family living in San Antonio, Texas, but I'd put Kojak's to any test. Whatever one does, room must be left for homemade chocolate cake or fresh apple pie, with ice cream.

Kojaks is said to be named after the original owner, Bill Forney who had been chief of detectives in Oklahoma before he decided to go from catching felons to making the best BBQ in the world.

There are other acceptable BBQ joints in the Tampa area, not including the giant chain, Sonny's. One could find BBQ happiness at Jimbo's on Kennedy Boulevard in Tampa and First Choice on Route 60 in Brandon. But nothing surpasses Kojak's. Nothing.

I am a lover of hamburgers, too.

There are several places in the area that serve up fairly decent hamburgers. One that does not meet my criteria is the Outback chain restaurant, located everywhere. They serve up a truly great hamburger. But it fails the second quality that I require, it isn't cheap!

On occasion, especially when going to a baseball game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, we venture over a bridge and visit the city known as "God's Waiting Room". When there, on Fourth Street, is a restaurant that is part of the history of the area, El Cap.

To get a real good hamburger, cheap and juicy, one has to travel to St. Petersburg and visit El Cap! The first time we entered this place, a small red brick building with an old fashioned neon sign the delightful smell of cooking burgers attacked my nose! Joan and I both ordered a draft beer, a cheeseburger (onion amp; pickle) and fries. What we received were one of the coldest beers in town, a multi- napkin burger (they only use black angus beef) cooked to perfection (the cast iron grill has been being 'seasoned' since 1964) and some really, really good fries. El Cap has some other food, mostly sandwiches, but, in reality the sloppy, greasy, delightful hamburger is the way to go!

As long as you're in St. Petersburg…

I grew up in New England and despaired of ever finding true "belly" clams in Florida. All too many places served the old Howard Johnson "clam strips" but only on trips north could we get true fried clams. (Actually, fried clams should be served in a paper take-out box such as used in Chinese restaurants.) On Martin Luther King (9th Street North) at 33rd Avenue, beneath a rather funky sign, is The Casual Clam. This restaurant has fried clams and rolls flown from New England, along with a multitude of seafood treats. But the clams are king, as close to New England as is possible.

A clam roll or basket, a cold beer and the outdoor patio makes my day complete. If the weather is a bit chilly, then a bowl of real New England clam chowder is really fine. There are other foods, seafood mostly, but here the clam is king.

Ever feel like a sandwich for lunch?

I toiled, for many years, for the Department of Revenue, Office of Child Support Enforcement, at its offices near the junction of I-4 and Martin Luther King Boulevard. Even now, Joan and I take the occasion to join our former co-workers for lunch, It is our task, invariably, to bring sandwiches from Papa Joe's, a source of great sandwiches and never a disappointment. This is a small wooden building at 9520 East MLK Boulevard. Inside is a small waiting area and a counter to pick up sandwiches requested earlier by telephone or fax. There are two or three metal tables outside but the street is noisy and not conducive to eating some of the best sandwiches, ever.

The orders our friends request are always the same. Some prefer the pressed Cuban, others the great salads, and a few pick my personal favorite, the roast shredded pork sandwich. All sandwiches are on Cuban bread and come in two sizes, the "small" about 8 " long which will satisfy the hungriest customer, and a "large" which really must be shared or saved for dinner.

The other truly great sandwich place is The Old World Cheese Shop (11001 N. 56th Street in Temple Terrace). This is, I believe, the only shop remaining from the original Old World Cheese Shop group founded by Bob Ross in the 1970's. The sandwiches here are permutations of roast beef, turkey, ham, various cheeses. Some of them are truly works of art - as, for instance, the Sheriff of Nottingham: Roast beef, turkey, ham, cheese, crispy bacon, lettuce, tomato and Russian dressing, piled high on five slices of pumpernickel bread. Or the Tinkerbelle - roast beef, marinated mushrooms, crunchy bacon with garlic sauce on pumpernickel bread. I admit that these sandwiches are not cheap - but each sandwich easily will feed two people.

There are other sandwich places in Tampa that are worthy of merit, if not acclaim, notably Wright's, where the Cuban sandwich is an art form along with, my favorite, the Beef Martini, a treat made up of rare roast beef, bacon and garlic butter. The Old World Cheese Shop and Papa Joe's, however, cannot be surpassed.

Next time. . .

The Tampa Bay area has notable family-friendly breakfast and brunch places and next time, I'll explore a few. And maybe a trip to the Greek community at Tarpon Springs for really good eatin'!

I'm getting hungry already.