Skipper's had been an institution in Tampa since the mid 1980's. More known for being one of the best blues and live music clubs in the United States,.it also became famous for their slogan "We Smoke Anything". During the pandemic, like many restaurants and bars, they tried a modified concept to try to stay open but ultimately decided to close in the middle of last year. It was a sad day for Tampa since there weren't many live music venues as it was and Skipper's was one of the best. And they had very good good as well. So the owners tried to sell the place and weren't able to come to an agreement with anyone. So within the the last few weeks of this post, the owners decided to have a renaissance of Skipper's called Skipper's Two Point Oh. They don't have an opening date said yet. They recently announced they would have a soft opening for the dining room so I was able to grab one of the few they had. And I am glad I got to experience this renaissance.
I'll start with the friendly staff. That is where Skipper's always shined. From the greeter near the entrance to the Skipperdome, to the staff at the restaurant podium inside, everyone was smiling and welcoming. And we had the fabulous (and magical) Katlyn as our server. She was fantastic in quickly getting our drink orders. I was so happy to see they had more offerings of draft beer and a craft brewery of the month. We ordered a Palm Bender IPA and Bromosa, both from Big Storm.
Katlyn gave us a great review of the menu and what was different, new or the same as before. She had some great recommendations with the Fried Green Tomato BLT and the smoked (magical) cheese grits. For ordering we went with a "Something Old and Something New" approach.
If you go to Skipper's, you have to order oysters. Those have alwaya been a staple. And we did. Twelve freshly shucked beauties. Sweet and tasty on their own. The great cocktail sauce was like I remembered. There was also a new sauce which was a mignonette of watermelon, shallots and what I think was red wine vinegar. That went perfectly with the oysters.
Ever since I had made the soft opening reservations, I had hoped that the onion rings were on the menu. And they were. And they delivered. The batter is similar to tempura. So light and crisp. The best onions rings I have ever had. And served with a perfect, slightly sweet and garlicky aioli. A great match of the crispy rings.
Katlyn had recommend the smoked fish chowder and it also delivered on flavor. There was a big spoonful of smoked fish on top along with a drizzle of hot sauce to offset the creaminess. Well done by the chef.
My wife got a grouper Reuben. This is the sandwich that was on the Travel Channel program "Best Sandwiches in America" with Adam Richland a few years ago.
We had always loved this sandwich. And it also delivered. Crisp, toasted marbled rye. Well cooked grouper. And sauerkraut. Nothing to detract from the star attraction. Skipper's has added to their sides and she got the fried okra. These were well fried and crispy but not greasy and well seasoned out of the fryer. They went well with the dipping sauce we had leftover from the onion rings.
I went with the Fried Green Tomato BLT.
This again featured crispy toast around fried tomatoes, bacon and pimento cheese spread. The tomatoes were definitely the star here - as they should be. They had a light batter and were crisp. I appreciated that they were not overcooked. The tomatoes still had a bit of an "al dente" texture so the sandwich didn't become wet and muddled. So smart. The pimento cheese gave a bit of a bite. I would have liked a little more of that on the bread. The bacon added just enough saltiness. A well composed sandwich. Maybe this could be a contender for Best Sandwich in America.
My side was the smoked cheese grits.
I have had some pretty good grits over the years. None surpassed these. Creamy, without being gluey. Smokey without overpowering the corn flavor. Cheesy without being stringy. I imagined how good they would be with a couple of runny fried eggs. But that would be a different menu for a different meal.
I finished the meal with another recommendation from Katlyn. This was the Smoked Peach Cobbler.
I enjoyed the flavor and the texture of the cobbler cake. I would have liked a few more peaches to make it more well balanced between cake and fruit. A small issue to an otherwise delicious dessert.
I know Skipper's is not yet open. But if tonight's meal is an indication of the effort that the staff has put in for other parts of the restaurant, Tampa is going to enjoy this renaissance of Skipper's 2.0.
#skipperssmokehouse #skipperstwopointoh
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