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Home » Fresh Florida Fried Grouper Sandwiches ~ ~ On The Road Again

Fresh Florida Fried Grouper Sandwiches ~ ~ On The Road Again

March 23, 2012 16 Comments


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These are some seriously crazy huge freshly beer-batter dipped onion rings that we joyfully noshed on while overlooking one of the inland waterways off of Treasure Island near St. Petersburg, FL, USA!  What a fun and definitely popular place!  Goodness, it was happy hour and there wasn’t an empty seat in the 3 room establishment . . . mostly senior citizens drinking around the lengthy bars too!  Ahhhh, to be retired and living in the warm sunshine!

Anyhow, whenever we travel, our plans always include asking where the locals go for good food (you know, the places that never have to advertise and that are so popular that there are never any specials or coupons offered . . . essentially the ancient old ‘gold-mines’)!  For the first night dining here in St. Pete Mr. M. and P. and I were directed to a delicious dump called Sea Hags Bar and Grill on St. Pete’s Beach.  We totally loved it!  Live music, lots of happy people, great food, and cocktails to satisfy the souls of these two travelers!

We’re suckers for hand-made, on-the-premise breaded onion rings . . . and the bigger the better we say!  This platter of  O-Rings was almost nabbed by every character sitting at the bar before it made it’s way to our table and was nearly a meal in itself.  But alas, we couldn’t stop there for “Pete’s sake”!

So on with the next course:  A huge fresh-out-of-the-gulf fried grouper sandwich so tender and sweet!  And surprise of all surprises!  Something that I rarely see on a menu south of the Midwest:   a monster-sized breaded pork loin sandwich!  HEAVEN ON A BUN!  These sammies were so huge that we saved half of each for today’s lunch and then some!

Perfectly unhealthy fried food . . . but fresh unhealthy fried food!  😀

 
Above:  The Fried Breaded Fresh Grouper Sammie!
 
Above:  The ultra-huge monster-sized Fried Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sammie 
(compare to the size of the large hamburger bun!)
 
 
A view of some gorgeous boats floating in the docks along with a few happy people at the end of the outdoor section of the restaurant where there were literally only a few tables left for strangers like us who arrived a bit late for happy hour!
 
Cheers from St. Pete/Tampa Bay, Florida!
 

Previous Post: « Panko and Italian Herb~Crusted Perch Filets
Next Post: Italian Market Nirvana: Mazzaro’s of St. Petersburg, Florida »

Reader Interactions

 

I read each and every comment and respond to questions asap, so ask away!  As I always say, “If you’ve made a recipe, please take a photo and I’ll be happy to share your experience and photo of the recipe with all of us in this blog community!”

The kindness of giving a thumbs up 5-star rating is greatly appreciated!

~ Roz

Comments

  1. [email protected] says

    March 23, 2012 at 7:10 PM

    Great food and awesome view. I love onion rings =)

    Reply
  2. Big Dude says

    March 23, 2012 at 8:52 PM

    You find local restaurants the same way we do and your meals look awesome. We had your recent fish and baked sweet potato fries last night and it was delicious – will post it on Mon or Tues.

    Reply
  3. Pegasuslegend says

    March 24, 2012 at 9:34 AM

    I love grouper! I make it all the time grilled but this really does look wonderful! Glad you had a great time!

    Reply
  4. anniebakes says

    March 25, 2012 at 9:39 AM

    i love st. pete and love all of the hole in the wall local places–they are the best and the fresh fish is incredible!! anne

    Reply
  5. Kim says

    March 25, 2012 at 12:27 PM

    Sounds and looks like a wonderful time, Roz. Those are two gorgeous sandwiches.

    Reply
  6. Heather @girlichef.com says

    March 25, 2012 at 2:14 PM

    Oh my goodness that looks fantastic – the fish and the rings. Yum!

    Reply
  7. Maureen @ Orgasmic Chef says

    March 26, 2012 at 1:15 AM

    I love Tampa and Treasure Island. It’s been a long time since I lived in Florida but I really enjoyed it.

    Those onion rings made me swoon 🙂

    Reply
  8. Kitchen Belleicious says

    March 26, 2012 at 3:10 PM

    if only i could sink my teeth into this!

    Reply
  9. the food dude says

    March 26, 2012 at 9:35 PM

    Man, those onion rings look awesome! And those sandwiches look really good, this is my kind of place!

    Reply
  10. Sam @ My Carolina Kitchen says

    March 27, 2012 at 6:00 AM

    We lived in St. Pete for a while and loved to go to the St. Pete beach. There’s just something so special about that place and the little restaurants there.

    Sounds like you had a nice time Roz. If you had come further down to Fort Myers, I would have loved to see you.
    Sam

    Reply
  11. Roz @ weightingfor50 says

    March 27, 2012 at 6:42 PM

    Hi U.S. Roz. All the best to you in Florida from me in Vancouver. LOVE the food pictures and the views. Canadian Roz.

    Reply
  12. Lizzy says

    March 30, 2012 at 5:40 PM

    Sounds like a fabulous local treasure! I love onion rings, too…a guilty pleasure, but worth a splurge every now and then 🙂 Hope you’re doing well, my friend!

    Reply
  13. LindyLouMac in Italy says

    March 31, 2012 at 6:41 AM

    Whilst the food looks great, I agree with you what huge portions. Have fun in Florida.

    Reply
  14. Ciao Chow Linda says

    March 31, 2012 at 6:50 PM

    Those crunchy fish filets look so darn tempting. Wishing I could bite into one right now.

    Reply
  15. Jerry says

    April 1, 2012 at 9:44 AM

    I am one of those rare Canadians who has never been to Florida. Picture sof delicious looking food like this might just get me heading south! Hope you had a great trip!!!

    Reply
  16. bellini says

    April 1, 2012 at 11:10 AM

    Back in the day when we used to travel to Florida I always wanted to head north to St. Petersburrg.

    Reply

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Welcome!

Welcome!

Ciao, I'm Roz!
From my family's kitchens and restaurants in the U.S. and Italy, I share classic, delicious recipes . . . and always served with 'amore'! I'll help you master the art of cooking with easy to follow instructions and cooking tips. Get ready for the compliments! Buon Appetito!

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