Fourth Street Shrimp Store & The Getaway – Saint Petersburg, FL

Our late breakfast at The Frog Pond held us over until dinnertime. We spent the afternoon in Saint Petersburg, and then grabbed a small bite to eat at Fourth Street Shrimp Store.  They have all-you-can-eat shrimp on Wednesdays, but after such a large meal earlier, we decided to just order some appetizers as our dinner. 

Lance had the peel-and-eat steamed shrimp, and I had the coconut shrimp with Creole marmalade.  I would definitely order my coconut shrimp again. 

On our way back home, we stopped at The Getaway for a drink.  We pass by this bar on a regular basis since we drive over the Gandy Bridge to St. Pete pretty frequently.  It just opened this past year, and always seems to be busy.  It’s located right next to the “Redneck Riviera” beach (where a bunch of people park their trucks to go fishing). 

The main bar is located under a giant open tiki hut.  There are tables undercover by the bar, along with picnic tables, Adirondack chairs, and benches in the sand where you can relax.  With the tropical drinks, sunset, and view of the water, we felt like we were on vacation at a beach resort.  It really makes me appreciate living in Florida.  People go on vacation to feel like they’re in paradise – I’ve got it here right in my backyard. 

The fruity drinks are a bit pricey ($9-11), but they have beer as well at a more reasonable price.  We would have stayed longer, but the mosquitoes were out tonight, so we were getting too many bug bites.  Maybe bring some bug spray if you plan to be there on a hot night like we were. 

It would be a fun place to go with a group of friends.  They have oversized Connect 4 and Jenga sets, corn hole, and food trucks daily if you want a bite to eat.    

Fourth Street Shrimp Store is located at 1006 4th St N, St Petersburg, FL 33701 and is open from 11am – 9pm every day. 

The Getaway is located at 13090 Gandy Blvd N, St Petersburg, FL 33702 and is open from 11am – 10pm Sunday – Wednesday, and 11am – 12am Thursday through Saturday. 

The Frog Pond - Saint Petersburg Beach, FL

This morning we tried a new breakfast place called The Frog Pond.  It was featured in a Creative Loafing Breakfast Guide that included some of our other favorites – Datz, The Brunchery, First Watch, Lenny’s, and Pinky’s were all featured, so it was in good company.

There are two locations – one in Saint Petersburg Beach and one in North Redington Beach.  The one we tried today was the Saint Pete location. 

As soon as we walked in, we could see where it gets its name – the whole restaurant is filled with frog-themed décor.  My Grandma Pat loves frogs – we used to always give her frog decorations as gifts, but over the years she’s gotten so many that we’ve had to cut back on all the frog presents.  We’ll have to bring her here sometime.  

The breakfast menu was pretty extensive – they have a variety of different omelettes & benedicts, along with waffles, pancakes, crepes, quiche, & frittatas.   

I ordered the Frog Benedict – which had poached eggs, Canadian bacon, mushrooms, and swiss cheese served over an English muffin with Hollandaise sauce.  It came with a side of home fries.  Lance ordered the sausage pancake – which had chunks of sausage inside, along with a sausage link served on top. 

Both were large portions – and we saw that everything else served to other customers were huge servings as well.  So this is the place to go if you’re extra hungry. 

The server was very friendly and attentive.  We would definitely go back again!

The Frog Pond is located at 7390 Gulf Blvd, St Pete Beach, FL 33706 and is open from 7am – 2pm Monday through Saturday and 8am – 2pm on Sundays. 

Happy National Ice Cream Day!

Happy National Ice Cream Day everybody!  This celebration has been around since 1984 when President Ronald Reagan declared it a holiday.  I celebrated with my mom and dad by taking a trip to Old Farmer’s Creamery in Saint Petersburg. 

This is one of my favorite ice cream places in the Tampa Bay area – they have a huge selection of flavors and they are very friendly.  The store is in a large barn-shaped building so you can’t miss it while driving down 4^th Street.  Keep in mind that they are cash only, so come prepared. 

Today I got a waffle cone with Mocha Almond Fudge & Peanut Butter Punch Out.  If you get 2 flavors, ask for one scoop split into 2 flavors, because it’s still a lot of ice cream (I can’t imagine how large 2 full scoops would have been!)  I would definitely recommend both my flavors – there were several whole chocolate covered almonds in my Mocha Almond Fudge, and the Peanut Butter Punch Out had lots of chunks too. 

I will say that the waffle cones are just all right – I don’t think they are made there in the store.  Most of the times that I’ve gone here I’ve gotten ice cream in a cup – just thought I would splurge today for the holiday.  For freshly made waffle cones, Kilwins is still my favorite. But if you’re in the Saint Petersburg area, definitely check it out!  You won’t be disappointed - I’ve never had a flavor there I didn’t like! 

Old Farmer’s Creamery is located at 2531 4th St N, St Petersburg, FL 33704 and is open from 1pm – 10pm Sunday through Thursday and 1pm – 11pm on Fridays & Saturdays.

the Avenue - St. Petersburg, FL

My boyfriend Lance & I both had off work today, so we headed to St. Petersburg for the day.  We spent the morning exploring Sawgrass Lake Park, then took a walk around downtown St. Pete.  After reading good reviews (and seeing some awesome food photos!) on Yelp, we decided to try out the Avenue eat/drink.  

Right in the heart of downtown, the Avenue describes its restaurant as a "modern eatery specializing in original burger creations".  

Before we even saw the menu, I was happy with our restaurant choice.  It has a rustic industrial design with an inviting atmosphere.  

I knew I wanted to try a burger since that is their specialty, but it was hard to pick just one thing off the menu since everything sounded delicious! I ended up choosing the Rasta Monsta - a burger with jerk seasoning, applewood bacon, jerk sauce, pepperjack cheese, and mango & pineapple chutney.  Lance chose the Philly - a hoagie with steak, onions, poblano peppers, mushrooms, and American cheese.  And while we waited, we split a pitcher of Yuengling - on special for only $7!  

There is lots to look at while you wait for your food - we were seating at a booth right next to a wall of knick-knacks.  They had the World Cup playing on several of the TVs, but I was happy that several of the TVs were actually playing Food Network!  So we watched Rachael Ray while waiting for our food.   

The food arrived and of course I had to take photos before we dug in.  I ordered the sweet potato fries to accompany my meal - Lance had the cajun fries.  They showed up in mini-metal baskets on our plates.  I would definitely recommend my meal, although only to people with a sweet-tooth like me.  My fries were covered in a honey drizzle and powdered sugar (reminded me of a funnel cake), and the chutney on my burger was pretty sweet too.  

The cajun spice on Lance's fries had a nice kick.  The Philly sandwich was overall tasty, but nothing too special.  We just had burgers at my parents' place a few nights ago for Father's Day, so he said he wanted to switch it up, but he agreed that the burgers are the thing to order at the Avenue.  

This was a great find and we'll definitely be back to the Avenue in the future.  We found out they have $5 burger specials on Wednesdays and they also have some fancy cocktails we want to try out if we are there for dinner next time.  If you're looking for a unique burger in the Tampa Bay area, it's worth the trip over the bridge.  

The Avenue is located at 330 1st Ave South, Saint Petersburg, FL 33701 and open 11:30am - 3:00am Monday through Sunday.