We
headed to St. Pete around noon, but realized that none of them opened until 2pm
(I guess most people don’t start drinking that early on a Wednesday!) So we spent a few hours wandering downtown
and checking out the local shops. We saw
a piece
on the news recently about huge graffiti murals decorating alleyways behind
Central Avenue – and while we explored the city we stumbled upon them. They are enormous, whimsical designs that
brighten an otherwise dreary back street.
We
stopped in a few art galleries and antique stores, then came upon the Kalamazoo Olive Company. They have a huge selection of gourmet oils
and vinegars in stainless steel dispensers that are all available to
sample. James was very welcoming and
gladly let us sample as many as we wanted.
He was knowledgeable about his products, and we ended up going home with
a bottle of the Garlic Olive Oil.
Next
time I’m in the area I may get a bottle of the Tangerine Balsamic (I would have
bought it this time, but I still have Cinnamon Pear Balsamic leftover from Joe & Son’s). When I brought it home, I realized that they both
come from the same distributer, Veronica
Foods in Oakland, CA – which is why they had a lot of the same products. If you do want to check out Kalamazoo, they
have a Groupon
available for 1 more day for either $25 worth of oils or vinegars for only $12,
or a $40 Trip to Italy sampler pack for $20.
When
2pm came around, we headed to St.
Pete Brewing Company. It was so hot
outside today that we were anxious to get inside in the AC. We were greeted by Rob, who explained a bit
about the beers and poured us flights. I
really loved the fact that you weren’t obligated to choose 4 beers for the
flights – you could pick as many or as few as you liked, and they were only
$1.50 each. I got 3 of the lighter
beers, and Lance got 4 of the IPAs and darker beers. My favorite was the Summer Ale – a lemon
wheat beer. Lance really loved the I-275
Imperial Red, which was made in collaboration with the Sarasota brewery JDubs.
They
had an old-school TV set up with Mario Kart 64, so Lance and I raced a game
while finishing our beers (I won…although to be fair, I was the one who grew up
with a Nintendo 64. Lance had the
original Super Nintendo.)
It
was nice to see that the local breweries support their competition – it seems
to be a tightly knit community between all of them. St. Pete Brewing had arrows pointing to the
other breweries nearby. Rob explained
that although they do all brew beer, they each have unique styles that they
specialize in, so each has their own niche.
Next,
we headed to Green Bench Brewing, which
was a little over a half mile down the road.
Again, it was incredibly hot outside today, so we were thirsty again by
the time we got there. I absolutely loved
the design of this space – it is located in a restored
1920’s brick warehouse that used to be a mechanic shop. The interior has a polished concrete bar with
an interesting hexagon backsplash, large weathered metal pendant lights, funky
industrial lights made of pipes, and of course, a green bench. You can see the brewing process through the
windows behind the bar.
We
ordered sample flights here as well – again mine are all the light beers. I’m slowly acquiring the taste for darker
beers, but most IPAs are way too hoppy for me.
My favorite was a tie between the Happy Hermit Pale Ale & the Rye
Saison. Lance liked the Surrealist –
which was a sour IPA.
When
it gets cooler outside I’d love to come back with friends and drink outside in
their courtyard. They have lounge chairs
and picnic tables set up out on a lawn, lights strung above, and a cool mural
that says “Greetings from Green Bench Brewing Co.” You
can play corn hole or bocce ball on the lawn, and apparently they have a fire
pit at night.
We
decided to take a break from the beer for lunch at Bodega – a walk-up restaurant that
sells Latin market food. It was right
across the street from Green Bench and I’ve heard great reviews about it. It doesn’t seem like much, but they have some
seating in front of the order window and a cute little covered patio in the back. The tables were decorated with succulents
growing in leftover cans.
I
ordered the Pollo Asado – coconut marinated grilled chicken breast that came
with white rice, black beans, and maduros (sweet plantains). Lance ordered the Cuban sandwich. Mine was a large portion – the chicken was
moist and seasoned perfectly, and the plantains are the best I’ve ever
had. I only wish they’d given me more
plantains and less rice. Lance’s Cuban
was very good, but I didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary. This restaurant is well worth visiting!
The
last brewery on our tour was Cycle
Brewing – which was located back near St. Pete Brewing. They have an
awesome logo with a funny creature drinking beer while riding a bike (a large
metal sculpture version of it is backlit on the wall right when you enter the
bar). They have colorful art hanging on
the walls, a rack to hang bikes, and a chalkboard outlining the available
beers.
Unfortunately they did not have
the option to try a sampling, so we each picked just 1 beer. I had the Ryerish Red and Lance had the
Nooner #6. I would definitely get mine
again – Lance liked his but it was very strong.
We
finished our day by returning back to where we started at St. Pete Brewing – Rob
had told us that his girlfriend sells boozy cupcakes at the bar Wednesdays
starting at 5:30pm. Tonight’s flavor was
the “St. Pete Cannonball”, which was a chocolate imperial stout cupcake filled
with Irish Whiskey ganache & topped with Baileys frosting. WOW they were amazing – and they were only
$1.50! Check out her website – Baked by Erin.
We
are exhausted now after the long afternoon of brewery-hopping, but we had so
much fun! I’d highly recommend it!
.JPG "Southeast Breweries Map | Florida Food Lover")
