Last meal with Tampa Bay Times food critic Helen Freund
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Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photo: Courtesy of Helen Freund
After six months off the beat, Tampa Bay Times food critic Helen Freund is back with some great ideas on how to cover our restaurant scene.
- "The question of what it costs to dine out right now in Tampa Bay and who can afford to do so is top of mind," Freund wrote in a recent column announcing her return to the beat.
We wanted to know: What would she eat if she only had one meal left? Here's her response, in her own words:
There's no question that my perfect meal would start with oysters.
- I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and cold-water bivalves from anywhere on the West Coast would always be my first choice.
Yes, but: I can't deny the allure of a dozen raw Gulf Coast oysters, served at a beachside shack alongside a cold beer, cocktail sauce, saltines and hot sauce (Crystal, of course).
Next up, if the season is right, I'm getting stone crab claws, served cold with mustard sauce.
- My favorite spot to go locally is Star Fish Company in Cortez, where you can grab a seat right on the deck next to a pod of curious pelicans.
For an entree, I'm torn: It's either a plate of carnitas tacos (I'm partial to the ones from the Te Invito food truck) or a really good roast chicken. Bonus points for extra-crispy skin, potatoes and croutons that cook and crisp in the chicken fat.
- All you really need to round out that meal is a fresh, simple green salad and a good bottle of red wine.
- My favorite version of this is hands down the roast chicken and bread salad at Zuni Cafe in San Francisco — a legendary dish that's every bit worth the hype.
For dessert, well, I'd probably skip dessert. I'm not a dessert person, sorry!
- But if I did end up ordering something, it would be either a slice of key lime pie from Mike's Pies or the fantastic pistachio and coconut cake they do at Allelo in St. Petersburg.