That Food Guy
Monday, January 27, 2014
SPARC After Holiday Party - Kristina's Cafe
.jpg "Panorama of SPARC. I hope I got everyone in the picture. Sorry if I left you out.")
Kristina’s Café
3590 34th St N, St Petersburg, FL 33713 (727) 526-6673
The St Petersburg Amateur Radio Club holds an annual after the holidays party. Traditionally it is held at Kristina’s Café. From the perspective of the club members it is a time to meet, come face to face with voices on the radio, remake and rekindle or make new friendships and, well I “gotta” say it, catch up on all the gossip all while having a lot of fun.
From the perspective of the harried servers and cooks at Kristina’s it is the sudden arrival of fifty plus ravenous appetites, loud and laughing and having a good time (but otherwise well behaved) customers all ordering at the same time and from the full menu. How can you possibly plan for that?
A special note at this year’s party was the attendance of Woody, K4SCL. The club honored Woody with a plaque citing his over forty years of Amateur Radio Service both to the club and to the community. Active in the club, serving in many roles, of late he has been a net control operator and liaison to the National Traffic Net spending many hours every day handling traffic for the net. I have talked with Woody many times on the radio but had never met him in person. In later years, as Bob, KC4SXO said, “Woody sightings have become few and far between.” Over ninety years of age, Woody has decided it is time to slow down a bit. We were all honored to have him and his wife join us for the After Holiday Party.
Usually a restaurant will offer a limited menu for large group gatherings. The constraints of so many people, such short time and so many possible selections can be wholly intimidating. Each year the staff of Kristina’s is up to the daunting challenge.
Although I saw dishes from all parts of the menu being served, I will only report on my wife Janis’ and my selection. Memory can be persistent even if only subliminally. Janis and I both duplicated our order from last year’s party almost exactly. It was good then so it will most likely be good again.
.jpg "A bowl of tasty potato soup - soup of the day for Sunday.")
Janis started off with a bowl of the soup of the day. Kristina features a
different soup each day of the week. Since this was Sunday, the selection was
Cream of Potato Soup ($2.25 bowl).
It was a nice thick and creamy soup with lots of potatoes and vegetables served with several packets of saltine crackers. She said it was very good, very tasty and she certainly had no trouble finishing her bowl of soup.
.jpg "Roast beef and turkey club with coleslaw.")
The main part of her meal was to be the Roast Beef and Turkey Club ($6.25);
the same as last year. Since she was having the soup, she didn’t want the side
order that would come with her sandwich. Since my plate is a convenient
depository for unwanted food, she asked me what I wanted her to order. I chose
the coleslaw since I was already having French fries with my order. The sandwich
was made with the thinner, sandwich sliced bread and toasted nicely. The thin
slices of bread mean that the filling has to be more than adequate to make the
sandwich stand out. There is plenty of beef and turkey as well as the lettuce
and tomato to fill the sandwich.
Janis enjoyed her sandwich saying that it was very good but could only eat half and asked for a take home container for the other half to enjoy at a later time.
.jpg "Steak Hoagie with beef, onions, peppers, mushrooms and Mozzarella cheese. What is not to like?")
My Déjà vu order was the Steak Hoagie ($6.25); similar to a Philly
cheesesteak sandwich but with sautéed onions, peppers, mushrooms and melted
Mozzarella cheese all on a hot, toasted hoagie bun. My side of choice was French
fries but don’t forget, I was also having coleslaw. On arrival it was a full
plate and included a spear of dill pickle.
The sandwich was full of all kinds of good things, meat, peppers onions, mushrooms and cheese. So much in fact that picking up the sandwich dumped lots of the filling on the plate. No matter, it tasted just as good off a fork. It was nice tender beef with lots of flavor from the vegetables and cheese; a thoroughly and filling sandwich. The coleslaw, a small serving actually, was good. It is a finely chopped cabbage with a mild dressing, not too tart and not too sweet; enough to moisten the cabbage but not compete with the flavor and not too much to drip into the serving plate.A good accompaniment but not an all-star to stand by itself. The French fries, still hot from the fryer, were not oily, were crisp and tasty. They were good French fries. I enjoyed my meal very much. It was good food to start with but being surrounded by so many, as Donn, N4KII, would say, “hamsters” made it even more enjoyable. I am already looking forward to next year.
.jpg "Woody. K4SCL, receiving plaque of appreciation from Club President, Bob, N2ESP")
Kristina’s Café
3590 34th St N, St Petersburg, FL 33713 (727) 526-6673
The St Petersburg Amateur Radio Club holds an annual after the holidays party. Traditionally it is held at Kristina’s Café. From the perspective of the club members it is a time to meet, come face to face with voices on the radio, remake and rekindle or make new friendships and, well I “gotta” say it, catch up on all the gossip all while having a lot of fun.
From the perspective of the harried servers and cooks at Kristina’s it is the sudden arrival of fifty plus ravenous appetites, loud and laughing and having a good time (but otherwise well behaved) customers all ordering at the same time and from the full menu. How can you possibly plan for that?
A special note at this year’s party was the attendance of Woody, K4SCL. The club honored Woody with a plaque citing his over forty years of Amateur Radio Service both to the club and to the community. Active in the club, serving in many roles, of late he has been a net control operator and liaison to the National Traffic Net spending many hours every day handling traffic for the net. I have talked with Woody many times on the radio but had never met him in person. In later years, as Bob, KC4SXO said, “Woody sightings have become few and far between.” Over ninety years of age, Woody has decided it is time to slow down a bit. We were all honored to have him and his wife join us for the After Holiday Party.
Usually a restaurant will offer a limited menu for large group gatherings. The constraints of so many people, such short time and so many possible selections can be wholly intimidating. Each year the staff of Kristina’s is up to the daunting challenge.
Although I saw dishes from all parts of the menu being served, I will only report on my wife Janis’ and my selection. Memory can be persistent even if only subliminally. Janis and I both duplicated our order from last year’s party almost exactly. It was good then so it will most likely be good again.
Janis started off with a bowl of the soup of the day. Kristina features a
different soup each day of the week. Since this was Sunday, the selection was
Cream of Potato Soup ($2.25 bowl).It was a nice thick and creamy soup with lots of potatoes and vegetables served with several packets of saltine crackers. She said it was very good, very tasty and she certainly had no trouble finishing her bowl of soup.
The main part of her meal was to be the Roast Beef and Turkey Club ($6.25);
the same as last year. Since she was having the soup, she didn’t want the side
order that would come with her sandwich. Since my plate is a convenient
depository for unwanted food, she asked me what I wanted her to order. I chose
the coleslaw since I was already having French fries with my order. The sandwich
was made with the thinner, sandwich sliced bread and toasted nicely. The thin
slices of bread mean that the filling has to be more than adequate to make the
sandwich stand out. There is plenty of beef and turkey as well as the lettuce
and tomato to fill the sandwich.Janis enjoyed her sandwich saying that it was very good but could only eat half and asked for a take home container for the other half to enjoy at a later time.
My Déjà vu order was the Steak Hoagie ($6.25); similar to a Philly
cheesesteak sandwich but with sautéed onions, peppers, mushrooms and melted
Mozzarella cheese all on a hot, toasted hoagie bun. My side of choice was French
fries but don’t forget, I was also having coleslaw. On arrival it was a full
plate and included a spear of dill pickle. The sandwich was full of all kinds of good things, meat, peppers onions, mushrooms and cheese. So much in fact that picking up the sandwich dumped lots of the filling on the plate. No matter, it tasted just as good off a fork. It was nice tender beef with lots of flavor from the vegetables and cheese; a thoroughly and filling sandwich. The coleslaw, a small serving actually, was good. It is a finely chopped cabbage with a mild dressing, not too tart and not too sweet; enough to moisten the cabbage but not compete with the flavor and not too much to drip into the serving plate.A good accompaniment but not an all-star to stand by itself. The French fries, still hot from the fryer, were not oily, were crisp and tasty. They were good French fries. I enjoyed my meal very much. It was good food to start with but being surrounded by so many, as Donn, N4KII, would say, “hamsters” made it even more enjoyable. I am already looking forward to next year.
Labels: After Holidays Party, Amateur Radio, cheese, cheesesteak, club sandwich, coleslaw, French fries, hoagie, Kristina's, mozzarella, mushrooms, pepper. onions, potato soup, roast beef, SPARC, St Petersburg, steak, turkey
¶ 10:05 AM 0 Comments
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Sonny's Barbecue - A Changed Perspective
(727) 341-2990 http://www.sonnysbbq.com/
The ribs, two portions of what I would guess you call a half-rack
of ribs, were meaty, cooked to fall off the bone tender. They were very
flavorful. The order came with a selection of sauces; mild and sweet were our
favorites. The barbecue beans were tender and flavorful, an excellent side. The
macaroni and cheese was very good but not as creamy as I remembered from the
SPARC Field Day meal. Nonetheless, it too was an excellent side dish and the
blandness of the mac and cheese made a nice contrast to the spiciness of the
ribs in barbecue sauce. The broccoli was steamed tender, not overcooked, and
with the slightest sprinkle of salt or salt substitute, very tasty. The toast
was mildly garlic but toasted just right. We set the table with a roll of paper
towels instead of the usual soft paper napkins. That was a good idea; the
barbecue sauce is sticky and seems to migrate everywhere on your face and chin.
A damp washcloth would have been even better.
Sonny’s
Real Pit Bar-B-Q (my local store)
3650
Tyrone Blvd N, St Petersburg, FL 33710
A few weeks
ago if you asked me about Sonny’s Barbecue I would have said, “Yes. I have
eaten there a couple of times quite a long time ago.” My first visit was in
January of 2007. I would have added that I thought the meat was fine but that I
really didn’t care for the barbecue sauce, the vinegary Carolina style (and I did
try all of the sauces provided in a table rack of cruets). I would have
concluded my comments with I wasn’t at all interested in going back for a third
visit to Sonny’s; not that it was bad, it just wasn’t to my tastes.
To anyone
who grew up in California in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, Loves Barbecue and the
jingle, “When you’re in Love’s the whole world’s delicious” are well known. I
think most of us have eaten at Loves at least once. That of course would set
the bench mark for which all future barbecue encounters would be judged. Their
sauce was thick and clingy, tomato based and slightly sweet. When paired with
their excellently prepared beef, pork and chicken it was a defiant statement;
this is barbecue! Alas, Loves is no more. The once thriving chain has fallen
victim to corporate infighting and franchise disputes. They have a web site
that offers their barbecue sauce and I am thinking that I will order some just
to see.
Unfortunately
for Sonny’s, my memories of Love’s were strong and Sonny’s fare did not measure
up to what I expected or remembered; the benchmark set by Love’s. In all likely
hoods the meat fresh from the smoker at both places would have been comparable;
the conflict was simply in the sauce. That is the way it would have remained
had it not been for a chance encounter with a Sonny’s product I had never
sampled before. It was sort of a blind taste test. My amateur radio club,
SPARC, was participating in the National ARRL Field Day, a marathon of radio
communications for twenty-four hours. The club provided the evening meal:
barbecued ribs in a thick sweet sauce, macaroni and cheese in a succulent thick
cheese sauce, barbecued beans that were scrumptious, a wonderful coleslaw and a
magnificent cornbread (descriptions may reflect that I was very hungry at the
time). Kidding aside, it was a delicious meal. I asked around, curious about
this new barbecue place with the excellent food. I was, to say the least,
flabbergasted when I learned it was Sonny’s.
The wife and
I agreed that one day, when we had been busy and time was short for dinner, we
would order out from Sonny’s, an outing of rediscovery. That night was tonight.
We telephoned in our order; Ribs for Two ($21.97 Enjoy an overflowing
plate of our Sweet & Smokey or Classic Dry Rub Ribs served with your choice
of three Sidekicks and Garlic Bread or Homemade Cornbread. Not available at all locations.)
Ribs For Two was available at the Tyrone store. We selected our sidekicks; (Sidekicks: Crinkle Cut French Fries, Baked Potato - Not available at
all locations, Baked Sweet Potato, Homemade Macaroni &
Cheese, Corn on the Cob, Original Recipe Bar-B-Q Beans, Fresh Made Coleslaw, Vegetables
- Varies by locations, Backyard Garden Salad - Varies by locations, Loaded Mashed Potatoes - Not available at all locations, and Cinnamon Apples - Not available at all locations). Our first
choices were macaroni and cheese, barbecued beans and cinnamon apples. The
cinnamon apples were not available at the Tyrone store so we then chose
vegetables. There was an additional choice of either steamed green beans or
broccoli. We chose the broccoli. We also selected the garlic bread.
The on-line menu is not all that easy to read. The to-go
section lists a family of four selection and under ribs and specialties it list
the ribs for two but they are available to go – you basically have to read all
the menu to find your choices.
Ordering over the phone went smoothly. In spite of the
receptionist being in a high noise area, we didn’t have to repeat ourselves and
the read back of the order was correct. She was polite and helpful and on
request totaled the order for us. Our name given, she said the order would be
ready on-call, just ask for Andersen, at the take-out window in about ten
minutes.
On arrival we opened the packages and surveyed our
purchase. At first I thought the side orders were a bit on the small side. But
considering the size of the barbecued ribs portion it was indeed a meal for
two. Enough a meal for two that we split one portion of the ribs and saved the
other for the next night. All we would need would be a side made at home to
make the meal complete.
The ribs, two portions of what I would guess you call a half-rack
of ribs, were meaty, cooked to fall off the bone tender. They were very
flavorful. The order came with a selection of sauces; mild and sweet were our
favorites. The barbecue beans were tender and flavorful, an excellent side. The
macaroni and cheese was very good but not as creamy as I remembered from the
SPARC Field Day meal. Nonetheless, it too was an excellent side dish and the
blandness of the mac and cheese made a nice contrast to the spiciness of the
ribs in barbecue sauce. The broccoli was steamed tender, not overcooked, and
with the slightest sprinkle of salt or salt substitute, very tasty. The toast
was mildly garlic but toasted just right. We set the table with a roll of paper
towels instead of the usual soft paper napkins. That was a good idea; the
barbecue sauce is sticky and seems to migrate everywhere on your face and chin.
A damp washcloth would have been even better.
Out of curiosity, I looked at the catering menu. The cost
per person of the food serve at the Field Day was about $10.99. That pits the
catered meal on a par with our meal, a dinner for two at $21.97 (you know, with
tax and all that stuff). Considering the entrée, the ribs, will last us through
two meals, even with adding a home cooked side, the cost per meal for our at
home meal will be just a bit over six dollars, pretty reasonable for an
excellent, satisfying meal.
I don’t know if the ribs were on the Sonny’s menu before.
They may very well have been there but as I mentioned, the menu isn’t all that
easy to read; an unusual grouping at least on the online version. From this I
have learned to read the entire menu even if I have already decided what I want
to order. Otherwise I might just miss something better. In this case
happenstance reintroduced me to a restaurant I would have otherwise ignored.
Now, if someone asks me about Sonny’s, I will say, “Yes! I have eaten there and
they have some wonderful things that call for another visit one day soon.”
Labels: Amateur Radio, bar-b-q, barbecue, barbecue sauce, barbecued beans, club, garlic toast, love's, mac and cheese, macaroni and cheese, ribs, Sonny's, SPARC, St Petersburg
¶ 8:29 AM 0 Comments
