Seafood Lover's Florida by Bruce Hunt

Author:Bruce Hunt
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781493019304
Publisher: Globe Pequot Press

Taste of Boston, 5314 Interbay Boulevard, Tampa 33611; (813) 831-2112; tasteofbostonsouthtampa.com. Imagine this: You can get some of South Tampa’s freshest seafood at the very spot where science-fiction novelist Jules Verne imagined a moon rocket launch. In his 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon, three astronauts launch from “Stone’s Hill” in “Tampa Town, Florida.” Although in the book he miscalculated the longitude and latitude (his numbers are actually closer to Port Charlotte), the spot that Verne identifies is called Ballast Point. His selection was prescient. Nearly a hundred years later, NASA would choose Cape Canaveral, directly across the state, for that same purpose. The “ballast” in Ballast Point refers to ship ballast stones dumped at the mouth of Old Tampa Bay. The stones that litter the bottom here have long been an attraction for fish and crabs, making this a popular fishing spot.

Taste of Boston overlooks the park’s fishing pier, lending a maritime ambience to the restaurant. This is a no-frills, plastic-forks-and-knives kind of place, and the service can be haphazard at times. But the seafood is always very fresh. Preparation is simple but consistently good. The original owners were northeasterners, and Taste of Boston’s creamy, chunky clam chowder is one of their specialties. Be forewarned: If you sit outside for that waterfront ambience, you may find a seagull or two competing for your meal.

Ulele, 1810 North Highland Avenue, Tampa 33602; (813) 999-4952; ulele.com. Ulele, which opened in August 2014, is one of Columbia Restaurant (see above) owner Richard Gonzmart’s most ambitious projects. More than just a restaurant, this was also a complex historic building restoration, and it was key to the revitalization of downtown Tampa’s riverfront Tampa Heights district.

First, the building: This was Tampa’s Water Works Building, built in 1903. And the location: Ulele now anchors the north end of Tampa’s River-walk, a park that follows the east bank of the Hillsborough River from the south end of downtown, up to the new Water Works Park. And the name: Ulele is the name of a legendary Tocobagan native Floridian princess who, in 1528, pleaded with her father, the chief, to save the life of captured Spanish sailor Juan Ortiz (before they might roast him alive), who was on an expedition searching for missing explorer Panfilo de Narvaez. By the way, this happened 100 years before Pocahontas saved the life of John Smith.

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