From where I sit, there are only a handful of walkable restaurants – the Waffle House, a PF Changs, something called Maggiano’s, a fancy-ish place called the Palms, a Chipotle, something else called Via! and a Mitchell’s Fish Market. I was hungry, we’re in Tampa, it’s coastal. We went with Mitchell’s. No surprises there.
Mitchell’s is a smallish chain – their website sports the Ruth’s logo, as in Ruth’s Chris steak houses. It’s shiny and noisy inside, decorated in a style inspired by old fashioned steamer ships – there are portholes and shiny wood and a faux elegance – I’m guessing it’s designed to make you forget you’re at the mall, to transport you to the grand dining room of some ocean crossing vessel. Um, okay, I’ll bite. Plus, there’s fish on the menu.
The poor waitress was not really prepared for my questions. “Where’s George’s Bank?” That’s where the scallops were from. “Is grouper the same as cod? And what fishery does the sea bass come from? Do you make sure your fish comes from sustainable fisheries?” I left her a hefty tip because in spite of the fact that she could not directly answer my questions, she scampered back to the kitchen every time to ask. I appreciated that.
I really needed to be talking to the buyer or the chef, but it was Friday night at prime time, that wasn’t going to happen. I figured I’d email Mitchell’s when I got the chance. Lucky Mitchell’s – they’ve got a statement on their site about their commitment to sustainable seafood. Kudos. Though they’re still getting an email – if they’re committed to sustainability, I think their servers should be able to talk about it. I’m quite convinced that the server didn’t understand my question because she came back with the name of the fish distributor, not the actual geographic location of the sea bass fishery.
She tried. I’m fairly confident it’s not every day that the waitstaff at the mall by the airport in Tampa gets grilled about their commitment to sustainable seafood.
And hey, about that seafood. It was okay. The scallops were perfectly cooked, no small feat – they were absolutely the best thing on the plate and worth their price. The snapper and the grouper were overdone, dry on the edges and very, very plain tasting. The preparation was nice – they call it Shang Hai style – you get a bed of rice some spinach, the lot dressed in soy and ginger and black sesame seeds – I like to do fish this way myself, at home.
I’d rather do independent/local when I have the option and probably, I should have called a cab and buzzed into town (or out to some low rise strip mall) for Cuban food. I wanted to walk, I didn’t want wheels underneath me. It was okay. Mostly, I am pleased to know that in the opposite corner of the country from my home, there’s an acceptable chain restaurant that’s openly committed to serving sustainable seafood – even if their staff doesn’t totally get it. It’s a start.
This is scary, but when you listed off the restaurants, I knew exactly where you were. (And I have spent a total 13 days in Tampa during my life – 2 below the age of 5). They may be chains, but the combination of chains must make a place unique.
Oh, it is touristy,etc, but have dinner at the Columbia restaurant in Ybor and be sure to try the Sangria de Cava. The food was good too.